The last Monday Night Raw of 2016 is almost here. Even though Raw has been getting heat due to the comparisons to SmackDown, the WWE creative team has been making efforts to make Raw look better. With what went down last week, there is a sense of curiosity among the fans on what to expect this week.
The run of Braun Strowman is indeed what makes the show interesting while Bayley going up against Charlotte is another fresh move that WWE could bank on.
The mid card might poke up with some interesting twists and turns as well when WWE rolls out the latest episode. As always, we are going to preview the episode and look at what all WWE could serve on their menu.
#5 Upgrading the Cruiserweight division/Tajiri’s return
Roadblock was a turning point for the Cruiserweight division. WWE has finally realised that the division is going nowhere and has started to make things better.
The return and heel turn of Neville was the first major move that WWE made. Neville brought eyes onto the division and once this happened, WWE pulled the Alicia Fox angle involving Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar.
Austin Aries as the commentator for the division on Raw proved to be yet another positive move. Now there are rumours about Tajiri making his return directly to the division. WWE manage to pull off a surprise appearance from Tajiri on this week on Raw, it would be a great way for the Cruiserweights to head into 2017.
#4 The Cage of Jericho
Last week, WWE made a big announcement that Chris Jericho would be in a Shark Cage at Royal Rumble. Kevin Owens and Roman Reign will battle it out for the gold while Jericho would be suspended above the ring so that he cannot make any interference. Last week, Jericho did a great job of selling his fear of heights.
WWE has the opportunity to come up with some great comedy segments thanks to this and from the looks of it; they will be taking the same path. Amidst all these, WWE should also think about Seth Rollins, as he should stop playing second fiddle to Roman Reigns.
#3 New friend for Rusev
The beat down segment featuring Rusev, Jinder Mahal, Lana and Enzo Amore last week was gold. It seemed brutal and at the same time, it did the job of pushing forward the storyline. A big takeaway from the segment was the association of Jinder Mahal and Rusev.
With Enzo taking shots at Jinder earlier in the show, it was understandable why Jinder wanted to beat up Enzo.
But then again, this could be WWE’s way of pairing up Rusev and Jinder as the foreign heel pair, so that they could face Enzo and Big Cass. The execution has been spot on so far and we will have a better idea this week.
#2 Bayley drawing battle lines
The efforts of Sasha Banks to end the streak of Charlotte went nowhere. Last week, WWE rightfully pushed Sasha into a different storyline while letting Bayley enter into the championship scene. Bayley got an upper hand immediately over Charlotte with the win on Raw but then again, we’ve seen this a million times with Sasha.
Sasha used to get wins over Charlotte regularly on weekly television and would then stumble and fall when it came to the big stage. If WWE goes with a similar booking for Bayley, it will be the Women’s championship that suffers. As New Day said, Charlotte could break her father’s record in no time.
#1 The destruction by Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman wanted Sami Zayn. He didn’t get Sami so he went on to have a destructive run where he took out everyone that crossed his path.
While WWE could’ve let Strowman end up as a mid card destroyer, they took things to another level. Strowman took out Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins towards the end of Raw and this is what made everyone notice.
People are invested in the storyline of Strowman now and if WWE plans to continue with the Sami Zayn angle, both Zayn and Strowman will benefit. Similarly, if WWE plans to do something different with Strowman, it could click with the fans as well considering the momentum he has.
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