5 Surprises that could happen on RAW
Because RAW is weighed down with an extra hour, sometimes the show can become a little difficult to watch as opposed to SmackDown or AEW, because there is no crowd in attendance. The audience is the heart and the soul of what we’ve come to know and love as sports entertainment and RAW has suffered ever since the world went sideways.
Paul Heyman has been in charge of RAW in recent times and under his able leadership we have seen some commendable changes- from Drew McIntyre finally getting his due to superstars such as Angel Garza and Austin Theory actually getting the time to shine on RAW. The genius behind ECW can be relied upon to make RAW even more interesting than it is right now, with the following changes.
5. Akam returns to RAW
We know that Rezar is injured and while Drew McIntyre may believe that he has Seth Rollins’ number and now that he knows about Murphy, he can also keep the disciple at bay, there may be a nasty and huge surprise awaiting him on RAW, I fear.
Akam is certainly a formidable foe even without his trusty aide by his side and he could return to take his place by Seth Rollins’ side this week. So, when a confrontation between the Champion and the challenger ensues on this week’s show, it is all too likely that Drew McIntyre could be surprised by the big man that everyone seems to have forgotten about.
Akam vs. Drew McIntyre could also be a very fun non-PPV main event on RAW, in my opinion. It is certainly a match I would personally be intrigued to see unfold.
4. AJ Styles replaces Apollo Crews
Back when Rey Mysterio, Aleister Black, and Apollo Crews were the three men shortlisted from RAW for the Money in the Bank ladder match, the first thought that occurred to me was that the lineup was a little too strong on the babyface side for my liking. Last week on RAW, Apollo Crews got the biggest push of his career but he came up short against Andrade and was so injured following the match that he had to pull out of Money in the Bank.
There is a Last Chance Gauntlet Match to determine who will replace Apollo Crews in the match on the RAW and one of the rumors doing the rounds is that AJ Styles could make his big return. If you remember, AJ Styles was last spotted in the Boneyard Match and has not been seen since on the Red brand.
3. Brand new tag team champions are crowned on RAW
One of the highlights of RAW this week is a clash between The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits. While it has not been categorically mentioned that the RAW Tag Team Championships are on the line, it only stands to reason that The Viking Raiders will ask for the stipulation for the match if the titles aren’t necessarily on the line.
The Viking Raiders said they want the smoke. They’ll get it this Monday on Raw when they face Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits.
It only stands to reason that the challengers have a good chance of winning the RAW Tag Team titles considering how strongly Ricochet and Cedric Alexander are being booked as a tag team parallelly too.
2. Bobby Lashley finds yet another manager
It is quickly becoming clearer by the day that Bobby Lashley wants to distance himself from Lana and become the beast that he was always destined to be, almost like the Braun Strowman of the RAW roster. And the way to achieve this could be for him to finally align himself with a brand new manager like maybe, MVP who has been a constant fixture on RAW lately. MVP could certainly tell Lashley that he has the man’s best interests at heart and he will make him worthy enough to face Brock Lesnar someday.
This could make Lana very mad indeed and she could retaliate by introducing a beast of her own who could battle with Bobby Lashley for a very long period of time. But this week on RAW, all of these events could start with a conversation between Bobby Lashley and MVP. Bobby Lashley needs to look like a powerhouse on RAW before he goes on to face Drew McIntyre.
1. Drew McIntyre is confronted by Jinder Mahal on RAW
We all know that Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal used to be part of the same faction once upon a time, and both men have gone on to become WWE Champion since. The very fact that Jinder Mahal’s past as WWE Champion is brought up so often pretty much indicates that we could see a program between the two men from 3MB sometime.
Sure, you may say that Drew McIntyre beat Brock Lesnar clean, and thus, he is nowhere in the same league as Mahal is right now in the RAW roster. You would certainly have a valid point if you were to make the argument.
But Drew McIntyre may need an opponent to squash before he faces someone like AJ Styles or Randy Orton at SummerSlam, and there’s nobody better than Jinder Mahal for the role. And for the same reason, he may just show up on RAW and be confronted by his former stablemate, who could offer his backup services against Murphy and McIntyre could refuse, kickstarting this feud.