5 ways to improve Monday Night Raw

After another underwhelming preview posted on WWE.com, tonight's edition of Monday Night Raw once again looks like it will be entirely forgettable, except in how bad it might turn out to be, that is. As has become all too often the norm, nothing feels like it matters on Monday nights, giving the viewer few reasons to want to tune in to watch the show.

The situation has completely reversed since WrestleMania and the superstar shakeup. Beforehand, SmackDown was the unwatchable show. Now, it's Raw. The situation is dire. All things are conspiring together to sink the red brand - an absentee champion, a ceiling put on the most popular babyfaces on the show, no true top heel, an invisible tag team division, and a women's division being dragged down by its champion.

What can be done to fix this situation?

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#1 Book some actual tag team matches

Aside from the "B team's" over-celebrations, there's not been much tag team action on either show. This is in stark contrast to last year when tag team wrestling was consistently good in an up-and-down year.

So why not just do what the company did last year and showcase some tag teams? On a three-hour show, there's certainly time to do so, especially when segments like last week's barbecue food fight and Lashley's sisters the week before were taking up time.

Why are the Authors of Pain invisible? Perhaps things will get better for one of NXT's top tag teams after the filler feud between the Deleters of Worlds and the "B team" is over with. A few run-ins with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler would certainly make for some interesting television.

To make Raw better, the rebuilding of the tag team division needs to come quickly, hopefully immediately after Money in the Bank.

#2 Nia Jax to drop the Raw Women's Championship

Hey, remember a month ago when Nia Jax cut the worst promo of 2018 telling the audience to not be bullies? Well, suddenly she's now the bully since someone needs to play the heel in the feud with her and an incredibly stiff Ronda Rousey, continuity be damned. Sure, Nia Jax should never have turned babyface in the first place, but this stretches suspension of disbelief to the end of the universe.

It's just the latest in a long line of incidents proving, as I warned months ago, that Nia Jax shouldn't be champion and should drop the title as quickly as possible. Obviously, Ronda Rousey isn't ready yet, either, so the best option would be for a Money in the Bank cash-in.

Hopefully, it's from Natalya and not Alexa Bliss. Alexa Bliss is far more colorful, but she's had her time on top. Natalya is the better choice to work with Ronda Rousey, who will obviously be pushed regardless of her limitations. An Alexa/Ronda feud suffers from the same weaknesses, ring-wise, that a Nia Jax/Ronda feud does.

#3 Turn Bobby Lashley heel

Yes, WWE is so bad at booking babyfaces that it's become cliche, but it applies to Bobby Lashley more than most. He's dying a terrible death every time he goes out there, and with Brock Lesnar perpetually absent and Drew McIntyre still slowly gaining steam in the tag team division, Raw is suffering from the same problem that plagued SmackDown last year - it has no true main event level heels.

For the time being, it's stuck with Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn, the same acts that flopped on Tuesday nights. Already, Sami Zayn is involved in one of the worst feuds of the year. Kevin Owens is still doing the same anti-authority nonsense, and, while Jinder Mahal is doing better, no one wants to see him at the top of the card.

The solution is simple. Turn Bobby Lashley heel. Both he and the show will be far better off. Why he's being kept as a goofy babyface, a role he's terrible at, is beyond me.

#4 Brock Lesnar must drop the Universal Championship

If Brock Lesnar's reign ended yesterday, it wouldn't be soon enough.

Aside from one brilliant four-month stint from June to September of last year which saw rivalries with Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, and, in the SummerSlam main event, Roman Reigns, his run with the championship has been a disaster for Raw.

Everything is in a wheel-spinning, holding pattern as long as he continues to hold the title hostage. While there's something to be said about the champion not fighting every week, Brock Lesnar's appearances have been so infrequent as to render that position moot. The championship has simply become forgettable.

It's time for Brock to drop the title, and he should drop it to a very specific person.

#5 Seth Rollins to become Universal Champion

There are really only two people that are in an optimal position to take the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar right now - Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins. Last year, Braun Strowman would have been the best choice. Now, he's second.

2018 has been the year of Seth Rollins. Michael Cole saying it on loop is as annoying as always, but this time, he has a point. No one in the company is hotter right now than Seth Rollins. Week in and week out, he's the only must-see part of Monday Night Raw. It's time to lift the ceiling hanging over all the babyfaces on Raw right now and crown the Kingslayer in Brooklyn.

Such a match would be magical. The crowd is clamoring for someone to take the championship from Brock Lesnar, and would be fully behind Seth Rollins as he stares down the biggest battle of his life. Every move and kick out would feel huge, and a victory for Rollins would send Brooklyn into euphoria.

From there, a host of intriguing feuds potentially awaits Seth Rollins as champion - Jason Jordan, Dean Ambrose, a heel Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns, and Drew McIntyre, to name a few.

Raw's main event would finally be must-see again. Let's hope some of the chatter is true and that Seth Rollins is the choice to challenge for and ultimately take the title at SummerSlam. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns IV would only be the same disaster we saw at WrestleMania.

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What else do you think can be done to improve the quality of Monday Night Raw? Let us know in the comments below!