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With the 2019 WWE draft now over, fans can expect to see the likes of Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles and Seth Rollins in the top storylines on RAW for the foreseeable future.
Right now, WWE’s main focus is on the upcoming Crown Jewel and Survivor Series events, with Rollins vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Team Hulk Hogan vs. Team Ric Flair among the high-profile storylines that will feature on Monday nights over the next two weeks.
Once everybody has settled into their new roles on the RAW roster, it will be interesting to see which Superstars begin to appear prominently on the Red brand and who ends up getting lost in the shuffle.
After all, with less than six months to go until WrestleMania 36, there are plenty of ‘Mania-worthy storylines that fans are waiting to see on RAW. It is just a question of whether WWE books the rivalries as soon as possible or whether they hold off until next year’s “Showcase of the Immortals”.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five major feuds that we could realistically see on RAW over the next six months.
#5 Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka
One of the most surprising moments in recent WrestleMania history came in 2018 when Charlotte Flair made Asuka tap out to a one-armed Figure Eight at WrestleMania 34, ending the Japanese Superstar’s 914-day undefeated streak.
Later in the year, Asuka defeated Flair and Becky Lynch in a Triple Threat TLC match at the TLC pay-per-view to finally win the SmackDown Women’s Championship. However, three months later, “The Queen” regained the title when she defeated her long-term rival in an impromptu match on SmackDown before WrestleMania 35.
Looking at the women’s division after the 2019 draft, Flair has faced almost everybody there is to face on the RAW roster, which means she is likely to be involved in feuds with former rivals in the coming months.
The Lynch vs. Flair story will almost certainly continue after both women were selected by RAW in the draft, but there is a lot more unfinished business between Flair and Asuka right now, especially after the 10-time Women’s Champion essentially robbed “The Empress of Tomorrow” of a match at WrestleMania 35.
The next chapter in the Flair vs. Asuka story may not be written at WrestleMania 36, but this is certainly a ‘Mania-worthy rivalry.
#4 AOP vs. The Viking Raiders
The RAW, SmackDown and Women’s Tag Team Championship storylines have not been given much attention on television compared to WWE’s other titles in 2019.
In fact, the lack of focus on WWE’s tag teams reportedly led to The Revival requesting their release in January 2019, but they have since remained with the company and gone on to become three-time Tag Team Champions.
Only two tag teams have really been protected by WWE’s decision-makers in recent weeks, with The Viking Raiders defeating Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode for the RAW Tag Team titles and AOP duo Akam & Rezar being portrayed as a serious threat to the rest of the roster in their backstage interview segments.
Former RAW Tag Team Champions Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder are unlikely to regain the titles any time soon, while The Street Profits and The O.C. are now involved in a non-title rivalry.
With The Usos and The Ascension going undrafted in the recent roster changes, that leaves AOP vs. The Viking Raiders as the biggest match in the RAW tag team division right now.
If WWE can keep the destructive duos separate until WrestleMania 36, a rare two-on-two title match would not look out of place on a ‘Mania main card. If not, there would be few complaints from fans if WWE went ahead with this rivalry before then.
#3 AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
AJ Styles is capable of having a Match of the Night contender with almost anyone on the WWE roster, as he proved at WrestleMania 33 when he defeated Shane McMahon in an entertaining encounter which many fans had low expectations for.
Earlier in 2019, “The Phenomenal One” moved away from the World Championship picture and defeated Ricochet at Extreme Rules to win the United States Championship. Since then, he has retained his title against Ricochet, Braun Strowman and Cedric Alexander, and he currently finds himself without an obvious opponent following the 2019 draft.
Much like SmackDown in 2016, it appears that the RAW men’s division could become “the land of opportunity” after the recent roster changes, with Superstars including Aleister Black, Ali, Andrade, Buddy Murphy and Cedric Alexander destined to receive more chances on Monday nights.
Out of those Superstars, Black is the one who many people have touted as a future World Champion in WWE.
The former NXT Champion is undefeated in one-on-one matches since moving to the main roster in February 2019, with his latest victory coming against Eric Young on the draft episode of RAW.
WWE is yet to push Black to the next level when it comes to the quality of his opponents, so perhaps a high-profile feud with Styles could be in store in the next few months.
#2 Drew McIntyre vs. The Undertaker
The Undertaker followed up his disastrous match against Goldberg at Super ShowDown by teaming with Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules to defeat Drew McIntyre & Shane McMahon in a No Holds Barred tag team match.
It was reported at the time by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer that ‘Taker personally requested to work with McIntyre, while WWE reportedly sent out local advertisements in Toronto to promote a one-on-one match between the two men at SummerSlam.
That match did not come to fruition, of course, but that does not necessarily mean we will not see it in the future. After all, McIntyre is on course to return soon after moving to RAW in a high position (#5) in the draft, and ‘Taker has been advertised to appear at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on October 31.
Regardless of whether or not “The Deadman” competes in a match at the event, there is a ready-made storyline in place for him to face McIntyre at some point in the next few months.
According to Sportskeeda’s Tom Colohue, “The Scottish Psychopath” was due to feud with Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship before his recent injury, so it is safe to assume that he will feature prominently on RAW upon his return.
As for ‘Taker, he was not drafted to RAW or SmackDown in the draft, which presumably means he is a free agent who can show up on either brand.
#1 Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax
It is crazy to think that, with the exception of Charlotte Flair, two of Becky Lynch’s most memorable rivals are Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax, yet she has never faced either of them in a one-on-one match.
In November 2018, “The Man” was supposed to face “The Baddest Woman on the Planet” in a Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series. However, she suffered a face-breaking injury at the hands of Nia Jax in a brawl on RAW, meaning the match was cancelled.
Two months later, Lynch eliminated Jax from the 2019 Royal Rumble, setting up a match against Rousey (and Flair) at WrestleMania 35, where she began her current reign as RAW Women’s Champion.
You could argue that the Lynch vs. Jax story has already been told, but it would only take one attack from “The Facebreaker” upon her return from injury to revive the rivalry between the two women.
Unless WWE plans on bringing back Rousey any time soon, Lynch vs. Jax is arguably the biggest match that the company can book in the RAW women’s division.
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