WWE Monday Night Raw - 20 January, 2013: 5 things to watch out for

Waiting to be unleashed

The image of Daniel Bryan making the fans go wild on top of the steel cage is still resonating in the minds of WWE Universe as the company prepares for the latest edition of Raw. With the Royal Rumble just days away, the creative team will be entitled the task of sorting out many things before the grand battle royal.

WWE will be looking to continue their hot streak in 2014 with another super show since they have all the fireworks to do the same.

The three major storylines running in the company involving the lights of CM Punk, Wyatts, Daniel Bryan, Shield, John Cena and Randy Orton all are set to see big progress along with the movement of Brock Lesnar’s feud with Big Show. So here is a look at what all things that we could expect from this week’s Raw.

Departure of Kaitlyn a blessing?

Paige and Emma

The whole WWE universe and the creative team is well aware of the fact that Kaitlyn left a big void in the already stale Diva’s division. But this could turn out as a blessing for the athletes fighting out in the developmental territory, especially Emma and Paige.

Emma made her appearance in the SmackDown crowd and was attracting some great crowd reaction. Her gimmick of a weird dancer is actually a success in NXT where the crowd gets into her act and dances with her. She also has great in ring skills to go with, all these makes Emma one of the prime choice to be called up to the main roster.

Meanwhile, Paige possesses great mic skills and unmatched technical skills while being the reigning NXT women’s champion.

Either of them or both, there are sources reporting that the two would be called up sooner or later to rejuvenate the Divas division.

What now for the Shield

New direction?

Roman Reigns has got everything he could get from CM Punk and the straight edge superstar seems to be diverging into a feud with the authority leaving the Shield unattended.

There trio will have a major twist in their run at the Royal Rumble but a week’s slot still remains to be filled. The Shield is too hot not to be involved in a storyline and the most likely outcome would be another go at Punk for one more night.

A handicap match would be stale and Punk teaming up with the tag teams are also a been there done it scenario. Thus with so much expectations riding on the show, hopefully the creative would produce something fresh and give the Shield a new direction.

Monster unleashed

Unleashed

We just knew that Kane was going to rip off his suit and unleash the monster at one point or the other. And though he didn’t rip off the suit, he clearly delivered a heart stopping choke slam to CM Punk which had no signs of rustiness.

Being the most unused established superstar in the roster, it would be great to see Kane in the ring after so much delay. A feud with Punk seems imminent at the point that could serves as a warm up for Punk clash with the Authority.

This could also open the door for Kane to make an in ring appearance at WrestleMania rather being wasted in the suit. So keep an eye on the big red monster this week as we could see more progression on his character.

Replacement for Daniel Bryan

Concussion? No No No

The Daniel Bryan-Wyatt Family storyline is currently the hottest product of the creative. But they were faced with a paramount roadblock when Bryan suffered a serious concussion after the steel cage bout.

Bryan clearly seems to be in line to sit out a few weeks, which is bound to make the whole thing go cold in addition to leaving the Wyatts with no opponent. The WWE was faced with the same problem in a recent house show. They filled the crack by making Bray Wyatt issue an open challenge which was answered by the Big Show.

A match with Big Show ain’t going to fool anyone on Raw though as they would want a credible replacement or twist in the storyline.

Animal hunting again

Animal hunting again

Arguably the biggest WWE return in recent history, Batista is all set to make his return to the square circle after a four year hiatus. Do we need any other reason to tune into Raw this week?

Will he return as a heel? Will he be the face? Who’s his next victim? Is he going after the title?

There are a lot of answers that might be answered this week including the ones above. The only thing that we know at the moment is that Alberto Del Rio is attracting a lot of heat from Batista. This could mean that he is returning as a face and might vent out his frustrations on the Mexican.

Del Rio’s feud with Batista could travel till Royal Rumble with the most likely outcome being Batista eliminating Del Rio. But what happens after that will be the interesting part of the story, as for now let’s just wait and see.