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Last week's edition of SmackDown scored a very pitifully low number and RAW could also suffer the same fate unless the pace picks up significantly. The fact that there was some good professional wrestling on the show did not change the fact that the numbers did not reflect this.
RAW is a completely different story and every mistake that WWE made with the Blue brand could be rectified on the red one. So, with this in mind, here are 5 surprises that could potentially happen on RAW on the road to Extreme Rules 2020.
As always, I am not an insider, so there's no guarantee that the following surprises will happen on RAW, but I am a fan like you, so feel free to suggest your own surprises in the comments below too.
#5 Orton turns on Ric Flair on RAW this week, becoming the 'legend killer' once again
Why is Ric Flair showing up on RAW at this age, in what is honestly a very dangerous time, from a health perspective, you wonder?
Tom Colohue offered a very unique perspective on the latest edition of Dropkick DiSKussions, presented by Sportskeeda.
The most obvious suggestion from where I'm sitting would be that the WWE has brought back the Legend Killer, and want to close the angle out by punting one of the biggest legends in the history in the face. Certainly possible, wouldn't like to see it myself.
So, let's assume that both men show up in the middle of the ring, and when Flair least expects it, he gets attacked by Orton on RAW this week. This would be the ultimate way for him to earn heel heat and become the feared 'legend killer' that we remember and dread so well.
#4 The giant ninja returns to RAW and becomes the new 24/7 Champion
The toughest thing I do as a part of the Sportskeeda writing team is writing about the 24/7 Championship. And this is because, by the time I finish an article, there may be a brand new 24/7 Champion, putting all my work over the past few hours to waste. As I write this, RAW Superstar R-Truth is the 24/7 Champion. And I hope that by the time you read this, nothing changes ahead of RAW so that the point still makes sense.
R-Truth probably thinks that he's in the clear after capturing the 24/7 Championship but what he has probably forgotten is that there is a giant ninja on his trail, who could potentially show up on RAW this week. I would love to see the ninja become the new 24/7 Champion because then, the whole roster would try and defeat the big man and fail and it would just introduce a whole new vibe to RAW, in my personal opinion, at least.
#3 Bobby Lashley is kept away from the US Championship picture, MVP changes the landscape of RAW completely
Check out this interview that RAW Superstar Bobby Lashley had done with Gary Cassidy from Sportskeeda, where Lashley delivered a very important message. Well, that was in the past, and now, we must look at the future, as RAW builds to Extreme Rules and beyond.
Now, it was MVP who defeated Apollo Crews on RAW this past week, and that means that it should ideally be MVP who enters the United States Championship picture. And this may be a good step, all said and done, if the plans at SummerSlam are to do Bobby Lashley vs. Lesnar as many experts have been reporting thus far.
The entire landscape of RAW could change if Bobby Lashley does not enter the United States Championship picture on RAW, in my personal opinion. If Lashley did, chances are that he would become the US Champion, but now WWE can keep the title on Apollo Crews a bit longer, provided he beats MVP.
#2 Lana hires a new Superstar in her RAW stable
This week on RAW, could we see a brand new all-female faction that takes the whole roster by storm? Lana could be the brains of the operation, Natalya could be the workhorse, and Shayna Baszler could be brought on board as the silent killer. Natalya and Shayna Baszler could then come together and form the tag team that ends up taking the Women's Tag Team Championships away from Bayley and Sasha Banks.
Shayna Baszler has not been seen on RAW for the longest time and various rumors have been doing the rounds.
One such rumor states that she hasn't been on RAW because Vince McMahon does not really see what's special about her. Here's the real reason she hasn't been on RAW lately:
Vince also soured on Baszler completely because he never conceptually grasped the style that an MMA fighter should use in pro wrestling and she doesn’t check his buttons when it comes to women in wrestling, so he made the call to remove her push and take her off television. This was all before Heyman was dumped.
#1 Angel Garza and Andrade come to blows on RAW, Zelina Vega approaches Humberto Carrillo
Even though Andrade and Angel Garza seem to have entered the RAW Tag Team Championship picture at the moment, the fact of the matter is that they are not on the same page at all. And this drama could play out in a big manner, this week on RAW as well.
What if Zelina Vega, who is unable to control the chaos within her own RAW faction makes an offer to Humberto Carrillo, to be a part of her faction? Not only will it cause two storylines on RAW to intersect in an interesting manner, but it will also lead to some potentially fun matches on RAW as Extreme Rules approaches.
These could also be the seeds for a potential face turn from Angel Garza on RAW down the line. Garza can excel and thrive as a babyface and this could be the start of that storyline.
Also, Humberto Carrillo hasn't really found his footing as a babyface thus far, so maybe he can do so as a heel.
