Monday Night Raw preview for December 23, 2013

Time to check on your back?

Its the holiday season again and the WWE universe is all set to celebrate Christmas with the superstars at Monday night Raw. This week the fans will get to see another themed show which will try to fill the air with some exciting gifts.

There are a lot of storylines that are to be sorted out by the creative before the Royal Rumble and the currently improving midcard requires some bolts or nuts to live up to its history. Certain superstars also need some direction if they are to remain in the business while others would love a change in the booking that they’ve been receiving.

As the year comes to a close next week, there is a lot of pressure on the company to put some solid foundation for next year since the current one lacks the shine when compared to others. So here is a look at what all can be expected from an under-pressure creative team at this week’s Monday night Raw.

Sin Cara’s momentum

Fresh push

Ever since the original Sin Cara left, Hunico has been doing double time at Raw and NXT. Surprisingly, the superstar also seems to gain much more response from the crowd than the original one.

Apart from wrestling in the weird light, everything has been going good for Hunico and he is slowly cranking up the momentum to maybe challenge for a mid-card title.

But the lights are definitely something that the company should look into if they are planning to give him a good push for the future. You don’t see Hulk Hogan wrestling under orange lights to live close to the gimmick and no one wants to get their eyes in trouble for the pain of watching Sin Cara.

Scapegoats of a changing business

Scapegoats

During the days of the original ECW there used to be an angle featuring Tommy Dreamer and Sandman. In that Sandman was shown blinded by a kendo stick shot from Dreamer and was taken out of action for several weeks. During this time Sandman would stay in his house to live up to the kayfabe and make the fans believe that he was really blind rather than it being an act.

And fast forward to this year, we have hard looking, scary wrestlers selling action figures by having a complete makeover for just one week and thus stamping that the business is well executed with scripts.

As another themed Raw approaches, expect many of the monsters and heels to take up the role of either Santa Claus or elves just to sell some merchandise.

Authority and their face

“Face of the Company”

The McMahons seemed to be enjoying the moment when Randy Orton was crowned the unified champion at TLC. The champ seemed to live up to the expectations of the Authority and backed his tag as “face of the company” with his performance.

The following Raw showcased his weakness when pitted up against Daniel Bryan. Bryan clearly stands out as a fan favorite opponent for the champ and is worthy of holding the title.

The shows before Royal Rumble would be crucial for Orton as he will be put into the testing ground by the same authority that backs him now. A variety of opponents or a clean one man feud can be expected. However, the option wouldn’t be clear until we edge closer towards the Royal Rumble.

Daniel Bryan and John Cena lost in the darkness

Lost in the darkness

It’s been a cracking week after TLC in terms of in ring action but the plans of the company for the Royal Rumble are yet to unfold even by a bit.

Daniel Bryan, John Cena and CM Punk are considered as the top dogs in the company at the moment. CM Punk looks certain to feud with the authority through Royal Rumble but the future of Bryan and Cena remains unknown.

Bryan was seen toggling between the fights with Orton and the Wyatt family while Cena didn’t have any substantial movement towards a rematch or a new feud. The company’s top star being not involved in any storyline for one week clearly shows the inefficiency of writers in moulding a good product.

Some direction for both men should be the main priority of this week’s Raw and hopefully it will be a Christmas gift for the fans.

The demise of Shield and the dream match

Potential ticket seller

It’s been teased for long time now that there will be a match between the Wyatt family and The Shield but the pace at which the Shield approaches their demise dims the hopes of such an exciting encounter.

Roman Reigns is standing out from the rest looking ready for the big push that he is going to get. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose meanwhile look poised to continue as a tag team. But no one would like to see those two go against the Wyatt family without the physical presence of Reigns in the ring.

The company is yet to confirm the continuation of Wyatt- Daniel Bryan or Shield- Punk feuds which opens the door for the Wyatt-Shield feud to make a potential showdown at the Royal Rumble.