10 Booking Steps For WWE Raw (April 18)
Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose are surely heading for a collision at Payback...
When Shane McMahon fell to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32, the pre-match stipulation called for his dismissal from television. Instead, he's been running the show on Monday Night Raw ever since, confusing everyone in the process.
Some kind of explanation for this needs to be offered up, otherwise it sheds a bad light on the writing. If the result of a major stipulation match at 'Mania doesn't turn out to mean anything, what faith will people have in any future outcomes?
There's a simple way to go about this, but it must happen quickly. Vince McMahon is the perfect character to discuss the situation. Even if his words don't explain why WWE booked themselves into a corner, at least they'd acknowledge the unresolved plot point.
Keeping Shane away from as much of Raw as possible this coming Monday would be wise. Again, he lost to The Undertaker, so his fingerprints don't deserve to be all over the show.
That doesn't mean Raw can't be an entertaining program, and here's how WWE ensure that happens...
10. Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho Beat Sami Zayn & Dean Ambrose
Right now in WWE, tag-team matches just work. It's the perfect way to bring multiple feuds together, and routinely leads to enjoyable bouts. There are rivalries going on between Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose, so why not amalgamate both into one situation on Monday Night Raw?
Opening the show with a hot tag match would set the pace right off the bat. Owens and Jericho are both dirt bag heels who also wouldn't trust one another, so there's an interesting story there right away. By contrast, Zayn and Ambrose couldn't be more different as babyfaces, making the situation even more intriguing.
By having Owens cheat to win over Zayn, it would only up the intensity of their feud. It's confusing that WWE elected to remove the Intercontinental Title from their midst, but it doesn't mean their upcoming matches will lose heat.
Ideally, KO would take advantage of Zayn being distracted by Jericho and Ambrose brawling on the outside to pick up the win for his team.