10 Booking Steps For WWE Raw (Aug 8)
Raw is Finn Balor's time to show some more verbal fire...
Once the next edition of Monday Night Raw rolls around, WWE will have just two episodes of the show to go before presenting SummerSlam. All in all, that's six hours of television time, which is certainly ample enough to properly hype up matches like Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns vs. Rusev.
More of a struggle may be the marquee monster pitting Brock Lesnar against Randy Orton. The writing team have already worked wonders there, using some cross-brand infiltration from both men to sell the respective threats they pose to one another. It may be challenging to keep that going and maintain a sense of realism at the same time.
One idea may be to have everybody on edge come Raw, selling the idea that Orton could strike at any time. This simple strategy avoids the need for either Randy or Brock to actually appear in person, but still talks up the impending match.
Elsewhere, some more sizzle might be added to the WWE Women's Title bout, including a major stipulation that could help that match steal the spotlight come SummerSlam.
Let's look at what WWE may have in store come Monday...
10. Raw Management Put Over The Threat Of Randy Orton
On last week's show, Paul Heyman flanked Brock Lesnar to boast about his man's credentials leading into SummerSlam. Brilliantly putting over the RKO as Randy Orton's biggest chance of victory, the manager foreshadowed what was to come when Orton invaded Raw. That, and the fact Lesnar infiltrated SmackDown for revenge on Tuesday, must be mentioned this week.
As soon as the show opens, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley are addressing security, imploring the crew to alert them about any presence of Randy Orton. Immediately, this puts over the immense threat of 'The Viper', subtly putting him on the same level as Lesnar before their big pay-per-view clash.
This should be a thread running throughout the entire program, perhaps even enhanced by a promo delivered by Paul Heyman. Flustered over what happened last week, Heyman would also be bullish, saying that things will be different when Orton is standing in front of his client.
Nothing needs to necessarily happen, simply showing Brock's manager on edge and having the illusion of an invasion might be enough.