Can RAW 1000 be a fresh start for WWE?

For the last couple of months, the wrestling scene as a whole and WWE in particular, have just seemed down and boring in my opinion. There aren’t many great feuds or captivating stories going on, and the ups and downs of WWE’s storyline involving AJ/Daniel Bryan/CM Punk has really been the only story worth following it seems. Last year, Punk seemed like the guy who was going to change everything with his shoot promos that seemingly had no filter. Now he’s just became another main event face that teams up with John Cena like they’re best friends and goes about his rather uneventful title reign.

Fast forward to the 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW. In terms of what’s going on with the current roster, the main event will be John Cena cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase against Punk for the WWE Championship. It’s probably the biggest current match they could book, so it makes sense. The only other actual match that seems to be somewhat set is Christian defending the Intercontinental Title against an opponent that has yet to be announced.

Now on to the major selling points of RAW 1000: the returns. There are a ton of special returns both announced and unannounced that are lined up for this event. Of course, The Rock‘s return to RAW has been pushed heavily, so we are likely looking at a promo from him which will give us an idea of what his next feud/match will be. The show is set to kick off with a DX reunion, which at first glance just seemed like Triple H and Shawn Michaels reuniting for the umpteenth time, but now word is that we may actually be getting a REAL DX reunion possibly including X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Billy Gunn. If that’s not enough for you, WWE is also advertising the announcement of the permanent RAW GM, the Daniel Bryan/AJ wedding, the return of Brock Lesnar/on screen reunion with Paul Heyman, and a ton of surprises/returns.

And then we have the variables; the surprises/returns that are unannounced which has many fans speculating on what all could go down. Word is that most of the legends we have seen return in the past few weeks will be at RAW (Vader, Sid, Animal, etc.), and we will also probably see the returns of semi regular legends like Roddy Piper and Bret Hart. As far as returns/legends go, I feel the only HUGE jaw dropping returns that would shock anyone would be that of Goldberg or the Ultimate Warrior (both of whom have denied making returns to RAW). Other than those two, I don’t see any other returns that will really shock anyone. The return of The Undertaker and Steve Austin will most likely happen (even though they are unadvertised), but those returns have become pretty standard so we pretty much know what to expect there.

The one rumor that could really make this RAW 1000 buzz continue on is that WWE plans to run a huge “summer angle” like they’ve done in the past couple of years with Punk’s “pipe bomb” promo and the formation of The Nexus. If WWE can pull of a truly shocking angle that will hook viewers, they may be on to something. The returns and reunions will be awesome, but let’s hope WWE doesn’t dump us right back into the current crap next week. Hopefully, WWE realizes that a ton of people will be watching tonight, and now is the chance to hook them and give them something to follow again.

This show should be the biggest since WrestleMania and promises to be a mega show that pulls out all the stops!