5 Burning Issues For WWE Raw Tonight (Oct 16)

Desperate Measures

Roman Reigns Braun Strowman
WWE.com

Just a week removed from SmackDown Live!'s Hell In A Cell, WWE have elected to trot out the (topless) mesh yet again to promote one more go around of the sensational Roman Reigns/Bruan Strowman combination.

The two have been responsible for some of the red brand's best efforts of 2017, and a caged rematch feels like a dependable placeholder ahead of The Shield's presumably triumphant pay-per-view return at Sunday's Tables, Ladders and Chairs supercard.

What, you weren't aware?

Indeed, WWE will present yet another Sunday special despite superlative showdowns between The Usos, The New Day, Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon still lingering in the minds eye of most fans that appreciate the stunt-n-bump nature of the brawls.

Its perhaps why the show has felt somewhat overlooked until last week's explosive coming together for 'The Big Dog', Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. But after dedicating mammoth portions of the show to the terrifying triumvirate last week, the company would be well served to flesh out the remaining issues currently at large.

With so many of the brand's titles trapped in the handicap main event, the stakes of the other battles need to made as artificially high as Bray Wyatt's 'Sister Abigail' voice. About that metamorphosis...

5. Wyatt Family Values

Roman Reigns Braun Strowman
WWE.com

Last week, Bray Wyatt added makeup, a lisp and a dress to his usual facade in 'morphing' into Sister Abigail some four years after first teasing her presence and mere months removed from Randy Orton definitively destroying her when he burned Bray's house to the ground ahead of their tepid WrestleMania war.

In short, it's utterly batsh*t, and without doubt the worst thing the 'Eater Of Worlds' has been involved in. Same too for Finn Bálor, with the poor former Universal Champion now seemingly as trapped in this angle as Bray himself in a perpetual state of silliness on the main roster.

Wrestling is a weird, weird game though. The reaction to the ludicrous portrayal was overwhelmingly negative, but few could deny how curious they were to see more. Such a response has been missing from virtually anything Bray Wyatt has been involved with on the main roster, even if poor Finn is caught in the crossfire of his cross-dressing.

Bálor said he 'knew what he needed to do'. Even that is fascinating? He's beat him as a demon, and a man - could Finn's feminine side show itself this week and allow for a 'Woman Vs Woman' match to become the latest bizarre chapter in their insane arc?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett