10 Burning Questions For WWE Raw Superstar Shakeup
Who stays? Who goes? What happens with Rousey, Lashley, AOP?
WrestleMania week is officially over, and it’s back to business
for WWE, although not quite.
Just as things seemed to be settling back to normal, we get the Superstar Shakeup this week, with wrestlers (and possibly other talent) due to change brands this week. This will inevitably lead to new faces showing up on Raw Monday night, and some others turning up on SmackDown the following evening.
This means there will be new rivalries to develop, new title chases, and new alliances. But even as the rosters will get switched up a bit, there still are some existing storylines that came out of WrestleMania and Raw last week that have produced some critical questions WWE will need to answer.
We saw a couple debuts and returns on Raw, and you’ve got to wonder what’s in store for all of them. You’ve also got to wonder what will happen with the Universal Championship scene. Roman Reigns lost at Mania but got another title shot, but he was less than thrilled about it.
Stephanie McMahon got armbarred again, and it’s not likely that she’ll allow herself to be woman-handled again that easily. Paige announced her in-ring retirement, leaving the future of Absolution up in the air.
All of these questions and more need to be answered on Raw this week. Let’s get to it…
10. Will AOP Find A New Manager?
One of the traditions of the Raw after WrestleMania is the
introduction of new superstars who have been promoted from NXT. They often make
their appearances in a big surprise, eliciting a huge reaction from the amped
crowd.
Last week was no exception, as the Authors of Pain were among the newly minted Raw superstars. They squashed Heath Slater & Rhyno, treating the former SmackDown Tag Team Champions as jobbers. However, when they went to leave ringside, they prevented manager Paul Ellering from leaving with them, essentially firing him.
Ellering had been Akam and Rezar’s mouthpiece throughout their NXT run, and neither has really shown that they can carry the mic work, so it makes you wonder whether they will land a new manager on Raw. They could do fine as silent assassins, but WWE seems to love to have its superstars talk to build up feuds, and if AOP falls short in that area, then they’d be better served to have someone doing the talking for them.