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RAW has been a fun episode this week with Money in the Bank qualifiers and Seth Rollins showcasing a much darker personality. But perhaps the biggest takeaway from this week's show has been the fact that Zelina Vega has put together a brand new faction.
It was bound to happen as she manages all 3 of the superstars but it is big news indeed that Andrade, Angel Garza, and Austin Theory have come together to form a stable. And I shall explain why through five reasons in the article that follows.
Be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think of this new stable. And do you think that there is potential for this stable to go places in due course of time?
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#5 To give Austin Theory the rub by association
I mean this with no disrespect but Austin Theory needs all the help that he can get to reach the top. I have no doubt that he can get there someday because he's already got a ton of potential at the age of 22 but thus far, his whole persona has been quite vanilla. By becoming a part of this faction with two men and one woman with more clearly defined gimmicks (questionable in Andrade's case, but at least he's the United States Champion right now), it will elevate him to the next level.
We saw this in Evolution where Randy Orton and Batista would benefit from teaming up with two men who were already at the top of their game in Triple H and Ric Flair. You could even say the same for someone like Murphy, who was someone lost in the mix until Seth Rollins' faction came along and made him a pretty big star at once.
#4 Because of the dissolution of Seth Rollins' stable
Until some time ago, Seth Rollins' faction was the hottest thing in the company. Seth Rollins, The AoP, and Murphy were allied in the same faction and they ruled the roost on RAW with Rollins and Murphy as the reigning tag team champions of RAW.
But now, owing to an injury to one-half of The AoP, the faction is no more. The time was ripe for a heel faction and Paul Heyman and his creative team must have come to the conclusion that the best-case scenario would be to form a brand new group with Zelina Vega in charge.
Whether or not this faction can be just as successful as the one that preceded it remains to be seen, but everyone who is part of the same is immensely talented and can really go the distance. Maybe Garza and Theory could be the heel team that feuds with The Street Profits in addition to the Viking Raiders, for the RAW Tag Team Championships in the months that follow and grow as a tag team unit.
,#3 Success of Sami Zayn's stable on SmackDown
As cool as this faction is, it is not the only one in WWE at the moment, as you are well aware. Every Friday night, we also see the trio that comprises of Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sami Zayn take SmackDown by storm with their fury.
The best part of a faction that comprises of mid-carders if the fact that if someone is not necessarily over as an individual, the faction can still be 'over' as a collective. The best example of the same is someone like Cesaro who's been a part of the company in various incarnations but this is probably the first time since the dissolution of The Bar that he's felt like a big deal.
And because the concept has worked so wonderfully on SmackDown, one has to believe that Vince McMahon believes that a group of mid-carders will do great on RAW too. It also elevates a superstar like Andrade who has not necessarily had the best of luck ever since he got suspended for a wellness policy violation.
#2 Enhancing Zelina Vega's credibility as a WWE manager
People tend to forget just how valuable Zelina Vega has been as a manager in the roster. Andrade is absolutely fantastic between the ropes but he was directionless in NXT until she came into his life and showed him the way. The truth is that Andrade is a fantastic performer but English was never his first language. So, being paired with Vega helped a great deal.
And the same can be said for Angel Garza. In an era where managers are not necessarily the performers with the most amount of spotlight on them unlike in the days of yore, maybe WWE is deciding to make amends under the leadership of Paul Heyman. Lana has been given a pretty prominent role in a storyline with Bobby Lashley as well and we have seen how well AEW has utilized managers like Arn Anderson, Jake Roberts, and Tully Blanchard, which may have aided in WWE giving a renewed push to managers as well.
Vega has a long way to go in WWE and the fact that she can get physical when the situation demands it just adds to her overall value.
#1 To convince us that Andrade had a chance
While I've focused on all of the long-term goals of this unit, the group was primarily brought together on this week's show for a specific reason. The match between Andrade and Drew McIntyre was set in the first segment of the show and for the audience to stay tuned for the duration of the three hours and watch the match, they needed a reason to believe that Andrade had a fighting chance against the current WWE Champion.
I mean how can someone who defeated Brock Lesnar clean lose to Andrade, your typical viewer would ask?! And rightfully so, because even though Andrade has been booked in a very strong manner, there has been no point where any of us have believed that he is ready to be the face of the company yet.
And so, this was a transitory segment to get from Andrade to Seth Rollins but positioned in such a manner with the formation of the stable that it seemed like the United States Champion had a fighting chance to win.
