10 ways WWE RAW can be made great again in 2017

WWE RAW has had its fair share of successes in 2017, like the push of Braun Strowman and the rise of Samoa Joe.

But although the red brand has been on an upswing lately with better storylines and more entertaining programming, it's had its fair share of problems throughout the year. The women's division has been a mess, and so has the mid-card, the Cruiserweight division, and suddenly, the tag team division.

In other words, RAW has plenty of issues it needs to fix if it wants to get back on track and improve for the long haul, which is easier said than done.

Here are 10 ways Raw can be made great again in 2017.

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#10 Call Up Asuka

Is Asuka the answer to RAW's struggling women's division?

Since the "Superstar Shakeup," the RAW women's division has focused almost exclusively on four women who seem to constantly feud with one another: Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Nia Jax.

In part, because SmackDown's women's division benefits from consistently better booking, the red brand's women often fail to give us entertaining feuds, even though they're all very talented.

If RAW is intent on not using performers like Emma, Summer Rae or Mickie James, then the best solution to save the struggling women's division is to bring up Asuka.

The undefeated NXT Women's Champion has accomplished just about everything she set out to do in NXT, where she has proven capable of working as either a heel or babyface.

Asuka isn't going to fix all of the problems with RAW's women's division overnight, but she would instantly make it more intriguing and potentially improve the quality of the division over the long haul as well

#9 Integrate the Cruiserweights

The Cruiserweights don't need to be secluded

Other than perhaps Neville, the Cruiserweight division is widely considered to be a failure, as evidenced by poor fan reaction to 205 Live and the recent departure of Austin Aries.

Maybe the biggest reason why the Cruiserweights have failed to catch on with the masses is that they've been completely isolated from the rest of the roster. They rarely interact with RAW's other superstars and are stuck on an island called 205 Live, which has the unfortunate effect of making them all appear inferior in comparison to the other stars on RAW.

One way to fix RAW's paper thin tag team division, its mid-card and its Cruiserweight division all at once is to break the barriers between the Cruiserweights and RAW's other superstars.

By allowing the CWs to interact with guys like Seth Rollins, Enzo Amore and any other star on the red brand, WWE would create a variety of possibilities that would stop limiting the division's super talented stars to a show that is a sinking ship.

#8 Let Kurt Angle wrestle

Kurt Angle can offer far more than just being the Raw GM.

According to Sportskeeda's own Billi Bhatti, "WWE has no plans for Angle to wrestle in 2017," which is sure to disappoint the legion of Angle fans out there.

But WWE should seriously reconsider that. The company has lost a number of part-timers this year, including Goldberg and The Undertaker, and those part-timers are known for increasing interest in the happenings on RAW whenever they're around, which is something that an in-ring return for Angle would also do.

Angle has been a key performer on RAW as the show's General Manager; but as one of the biggest stars in recent WWE history and someone who's still capable of competing in the ring, it feels like such a waste to limit him to a non-wrestling capacity.

As we've seen with marquee feuds like Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker or Triple H vs. Seth Rollins, feuds featuring part-time wrestlers sell, and there's no doubt that Angle vs. someone like Reigns or Rollins would do wonders for RAW.

#7 Stop giving away matches with no build

WWE has a bad habit of giving away major matches

Just think about how many potential pay-per-view main events RAW has wasted by giving them to us on TV instead.

Bouts like Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor, Reigns vs. Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt all took place on RAW without little or no build leading up to them. While RAW should have marquee matches like this every once in a while, it also must ensure that these matches don't take place simply to pop a high TV rating.

Wrestling fans want matches that have a good story, and giving us quality main event bouts on TV that would be better off being saved for PPVs virtually guarantees that there is no story behind those matches.

Sure, the matches themselves are usually good, but the lack of a story results in those bouts being a complete and utter waste of time.

Then, guess what? When the match finally does happen with some build-up to it, no one cares because they already saw it.

#6 Turn Bray Wyatt babyface

Wyatt has run his course as a heel

Bray Wyatt had the potential to be WWE's No. 1 heel for the next decade, but too many losses to the likes of The Undertaker, John Cena, Roman Reigns and others ruined him in that role.

Now, Wyatt is just a man who cuts great promos but doesn't back up his words through his actions. Yet, by some miracle, "The Eater of Worlds" is still one of the most popular stars in WWE, perhaps because fans know that he's a great performer and he's gotten the shaft from the creative team.

That makes you wonder: Why on earth is he still a heel?

Fans want to cheer Wyatt, who is so incredibly entertaining, unique and likeable that there's simply no reason why he should be a heel anymore. If RAW wants to find its next big babyface, Wyatt is that guy, and he could ensure that the often boring RAW gets a jolt of excitement with him working as a fan favourite for the first time.

#5 More mystery angles

WWE's recent "mystery" storylines have done well

The bottom line, as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin might say, is that WWE's recent "mystery" storylines have added plenty of intrigue to the happenings on Raw.

The red brand has used several soap-opera like angles as of late, including the controversy surrounding Kurt Angle's secret and the search to discover who attacked Enzo Amore, to keep fans guessing. These angles felt like they were straight out of the 1990s when WWE used to give us storylines like this all the time.

Sure, they were a tad bit ridiculous and over-the-top, but ultimately, these types of angles typically accomplish their goal of giving fans a reason to tune in.

Especially in today's age of social media, these "mystery" storylines keep fans guessing and speculating, and most importantly, they make those fans turn on the TV every Monday night to see what will happen next.

More, please.

#4 Reunite The Shield, then turn Dean Ambrose heel

The Shield reunion is clearly coming

WWE has dropped several hints that The Shield will reunite, and in fact, it looks like Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have already unofficially come together to battle The Miztourage.

This should lead to a full-fledged Shield reunion that would join three of RAW's most popular stars back together more than three years after they split.

The Shield is one of the best things WWE has done over the last five or six years, and with all three superstars currently somewhat stale, the time is right to reunite them and see if that can bring back some lapsed fans.

It doesn't have to last long, and ultimately, the goal should be for Ambrose, who has been stuck in a rut, to pull a Rollins and turn on his Shield brothers this time around. This would give RAW the benefit of having The Shield back together for a brief time while also leading to the much needed Ambrose heel turn.

Sounds like a win-win, right?

#3 Ensure that the Hardy Boyz become "Broken"

The Hardys will do more for WWE as their "Broken" characters

The Hardy Boyz have reportedly been battling to win the legal rights to their "Broken" characters, and though it remains to be seen if that will actually happen, WWE must ensure that it does.

"Broken Matt" and "Brother Nero" revolutionised pro wrestling in 2016 with the "Broken" gimmick, and these characters have huge potential to provide RAW with unique superstars that the show desperately needs, especially given how thin RAW's tag team division has become.

Of course, the "Broken Hardys" would also provide RAW with a red hot duo that would seemingly be merchandise-moving machines, all while standing out from the rest of the pack with a gimmick that's unlike anything else we currently see in WWE.

One could argue that WWE has too many "cookie-cutter" type of characters who all fit the same mould and can make Raw seem redundant and monotonous, but one thing is for sure: that wouldn't be the case if the "Broken Hardys" were around.

#2 Utilize John Cena

Cena is WWE's biggest star, like it or not

John Cena is at the stage of his career where, although he still his fair share of detractors, he's beginning to be more respected for his contributions to WWE.

That would seemingly make fans more accepting to his new "free agent" status and his ability to appear on RAW, which is exactly what he should as his career begins to wind down.

Cena has spent the last year working exclusively on SmackDown, where he's given us incredible feuds with AJ Styles and The Miz. Yes, the same Miz who he had an awful feud with at WrestleMania 27.

Cena has shown during that span that virtually every feud he touches turns to gold, and perhaps now is the time to bring his greatness to RAW, where potentially amazing feuds with guys like Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe await him.

#1 Put the Universal Title on a full-timer, preferably Samoa Joe or Braun Strowman

The Universal title shouldn't be held by a part-timer

The nostalgic act of putting the Universal Championship on a part-timer like Brock Lesnar is wearing thin and is proving to be more detrimental than helpful to RAW.

Sure, Lesnar is a draw who puts more eyeballs on the WWE product, but what happens when he's not around for what seems like 90% of the time?

An absentee Universal Champion turns RAW's main event picture into an endless cycle of pointless feuds that ultimately mean nothing if there isn't a title to fight for.

That's why WWE must have Lesnar drop the title at SummerSlam, preferably to Braun Strowman or Samoa Joe, who have been red hot as characters and would give RAW fans the full-time champion that they deserve.