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What’s the story?
This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw will kick off the road to Survivor Series and a big name from SmackDown Live may make an appearance on tonight’s episode for that same reason.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that Shane McMahon is backstage for tonight’s Raw.
In case you didn’t know...
Shane was last seen at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view when he faced Kevin Owens.
Towards the end of the match, Shane attempted an elbow drop from the top of the Hell in a Cell, but Sami Zayn pulled Owens out of the way and pulled Owens on top of Shane for the pin.
The heart of the matter
Shane is advertised to return to TV on SmackDown Live this Tuesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but was seen coming into Green Bay, Wisconsin this morning according to PWInsider.
Shane’s role as Commissioner for Smackdown Live is an on-screen role, so being backstage for Raw could have implications for the Survivor Series pay-per-view.
With many talents out of action due to illness or requested time off, there’s no telling what affect those absences could have on WWE’s booking for Survivor Series.
What’s next?
Shane could be there in anticipation of Brock Lesnar’s response to Jinder Mahal, but there is also a chance that he could be there to request a Raw Superstar for a future pay-per-view.
The commentary team at the TLC pay-per-view mentioned that AJ Styles coming to wrestle Finn Bálor was a favour to Raw, so Shane could also be returning to Raw to request a rematch for Survivor Series; which was mentioned on the Raw Talk following TLC.
Author’s Take
Shane being present for Raw during any other time of year wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but with Survivor Series around the corner and many big names absent from programming, this could have some big implications.
