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This week's RAW looks to be another exciting edition of the red brand. With the feud between Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio picking pace, could Rollins become the next US Champion?
Let us take a look at 5 interesting backstage rumors that could have a major impact on Monday Night Raw. From bad news for an injured Superstar to a big possible return, let us take a look at these possibilities:
#5 EC3 not returning soon
EC3's WWE career has fallen flat so far and the former Impact Wrestling World Champion just can't seem to catch a break. It was reported by WON, that the reason behind the Superstar who calls himself the part of the top 1% being absent from WWE recently, was a concussion suffered by him.
Fightful (via Cagesideseats) has now reported that his concussion may be worse than anything he has previously sustained:
EC3 has been sidelined with a concussion Fightful was told is “worse than some he’d sustained previously”. There’s no target for his return, but he is recovering.
The Observer had reported that EC3 has been out with injury after he suffered a concussion at the end of Septemeber. Even though the he may be out due to a concussion as of now, he was not being used much before he got injured.
EC3 was last seen competing against Rusev on the 23rd September edition of Monday Night RAW. While EC3 wasn't an active member of the RAW roster since the brand split, he was used sporadically as an enhancement talent now and then before getting injured.
The former NXT Superstar had also tweeted out a video of him addressing the rumors regarding his injury, but it was merely a prank as EC3 ended up talking about something entirely irrelevant to his career and WWE.
The 36-year-old has constantly displayed his displeasure with the way he has been booked on the main roster on social media, and we can only hope that he gets the push he has long deserved whenever he can make his return to RAW.
#2 Paul Heyman's plans for Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch cut a remarkable promo last week on RAW, urging Asuka to agree to have a match against her. The reason for this appeal was that Lynch has never beaten Asuka in a singles match and even lost to Asuka and Kairi Sane at TLC.
Lynch had teamed up with Charlotte Flair to take on the Kabuki Warriors at TLC in a TLC match which was won by the current Women's Tag Team Champions. It looks like WWE will be pitting Asuka against Becky Lynch at the Royal Rumble, so expect the two fiery women to begin their feud on RAW.
It was revealed by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Paul Heyman made the call months ago to build towards the direction of setting up Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the early half of 2020.
It is clear that Paul Heyman had already chalked out this feud long time back, and we will finally see it pick up pace come Monday Night RAW.
Do you think Asuka is the perfect opponent for The Man to face at Royal Rumble?
#3 Two Superstars to get a major push
One thing that has been very refreshing ever since Paul Heyman took charge of RAW has been the focus that is being given to new and upcoming talent. Whether it is Buddy Murphy or Akira Tozawa, overlooked Superstars are finally getting a chance to shine.
As per the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there are major backstage plans to push Humberto Carrillo and Andrade.
WWE has booked a feud between Humberto Carrillo and Andrade with the idea of getting both the Superstars over. The Hispanic Superstars are currently two of the talents that the company wants to push.
Andrade is set to feud with Rey Mysterio as well, while the master of 619 will have to juggle Andrade as well as Seth Rollins in simultaneous feuds on Monday Nights.
Andrade is a former NXT Champion, and even though he has been relatively protected since joining the main roster, he has not yet had a breakout feud that would finally launch his into the main event scene.
Do you think a feud with Mysterio could help Andrade become a top card talent?
#2 Brock Lesnar to face old rival at Royal Rumble
The Beast Incarnate, current WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, has not been seen in action ever since he won his big fight against Rey Mysterio at Survivor Series. While his feud with Mysterio might be over, it looks like WWE are planning to reignite his feud with Cain Velasquez for Royal Rumble.
With Velasquez holding a UFC win over Lesnar, and The Beast holding a WWE win over Velasquez, it looks as though we would be getting a rubber match between the two at Royal Rumble. So Velasquez making a return to RAW may be a strong possibility.
Here is what SportsKeeda's Tom Colohue stated:
There are rumors as ever of Cain Velasquez, he is rumored to be coming in for a match at the Royal Rumble, possibly against Brock Lesnar. Brock needs to wrestle someone, there isn’t a storyline so far. We will have to see how that plays out, that will probably start to be built after the Christmas season in the New Year show.
Brock Lesnar will have to appear at least, to start a feud, and will undoubtedly appear on the go-home show as well. So whoever he will be feuding with, whether it be someone like Kevin Owens or Randy Orton or Cain Velasquez, we will see as that time comes. If Cain Velasquez does have a match with Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, he will be a brief one, it won’t last too long and it won’t be leading into a feud.
#1 Company had to change plans for Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins has been 'burning it down' ever since he embraced the dark side again and become a full-fledged heel by aligning himself with AOP. The Architect did not have a match at TLC owing to a finger injury, but original plans for him had him compete at TLC and turn heel after the PPV.
As per SportsKeeda's Tom Colohue, Rollins was set to face Kevin Owens at TLC and turn heel only after the event. It was due to the former WWE Champion's untimely injury that the company had to rush into the heel turn.
“It was a little bit rushed. The injury, even if it was a small injury to Seth Rollins’ hand, did mean that he couldn’t wrestle at least for a little while, so they pulled the trigger a bit early.”
“It was supposed to be a match at TLC, it was supposed to be a heel turn in the days after, maybe on Monday night [after TLC], but they brought it ahead a little bit. I thought it still had a lot of impact, but it’s a real shame they couldn’t be on the TLC card to really follow it up.”
While a slow-burn heel turn would have been interesting to watch, it will be exciting to see how the new and more aggressive Seth Rollins takes on Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens this week.
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