What You Should Expect From Monday Night Raw

 

It’s the last week before the last pay-per-view of 2016, with Roadblock providing the last stop for Raw before the Royal Rumble and the road to WrestleMania. Tonight sees a potentially historic title match and the repackaged return of a misused superstar. What all should we expect?

The headline event will be the New Day’s Tag Team Championship defense in a Triple Threat against Gallows & Anderson and Sheamus & Cesaro. Midnight will see New Day tie Demolition’s record 478-day reign as tag champs, so there’s a lot on the line for Xavier, Kofi, and Big E. Of course, a year ago New Day was a weekly highlight on Raw, but there’s no denying the act’s gotten stale. It would seem ridiculous if this massive reign were stopped tonight, but I’d be surprised to see the champs last past Roadblock.

If the months of Emmalina promos have taught us anything, it’s that the artist formerly known as Emma looks good in a bikini–but then most athletes do. It hasn’t been clear how the modeling-focused promos will be reflected by the in-ring character, but we’ll find out tonight. Emma’s a terrific wrestler who never got her due on the main roster, and Raw desperately needs some fresh matches in the women’s division.

What else is WWE advertising for the show? We’ll see the continued rivalry between Charlotte and Sasha Banks, who are set to compete in a 30-Minute Iron Man Match at Roadblock–which is pretty much the one stipulation that could keep me interested in the feud.

The final implosion of JeriKO is also being teased, and while I’ll be as disappointed as anyone to see the Canadian bros break up, the time is right. We’ll also see Sami Zayn continue trying to pick a fight with Braun Strowman, likely to be booked at Roadblock. (Please don’t die, Sami.)

Finally, we’re expected to see the continuing antics of Enzo Amore after his hotel room encounter with Lana–and her Bulgarian Brute of a husband. That segment generated a lot of buzz last week, so expect more like it in the future. With Enzo being dead, we expect Cass to take up the feud with Rusev.

Raw’s in Philly tonight, so expect a rowdy crowd who will let you know if the show’s not up to par. The show broadcasts live on the USA Network at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central, and we’ll have live coverage throughout the night and news as it happens. Stay tuned!