Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens are the Keys to WWE Raw's Success Heading Into 2023

The December 19 episode of Raw was one of the best WWE put on for the entirety of 2022, and that's largely due to just two names.

Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens.

It's also no stretch to say those two will largely decide whether Raw is worth watching for a massive chunk of 2023.

The show has mostly been in a rut for what feels like a long time. The three-hour runtime doesn't do it many favors, but the lack of a top men's title hasn't helped.

But last Monday's episode was a good example of what main event stars like Rollins and Owens can do, titles or not. In response to The Usos attacking Rollins after his confrontation with Austin Theory, Owens came out to make the save.

Fun promos ensued, as did a superb show-ending main event in which the two top guys teamed against Jimmy and Jey. In that match, there was a ton of interference, highlighted by Theory assaulting Rollins with the United States title, only for Owens to hit a pop-up powerbomb to steal the win anyway.

It was the latest reminder that either guy can turn into the main event star capable of looking believable in the ring with Brock Lesnar and legitimately challenging Roman Reigns for the unified titles.

This isn't to say the rest of the episode was bad, either. Becky Lynch and Bayley put on a classic, though it was a little head-scratching it wasn't saved for a bigger event. The Bloodline ran wild backstage and otherwise wreaked havoc, which was fun. But that would get stale in a hurry.

Rollins and Owens are in no way stale, nor at risk of becoming so. The former owns some of the most unforgettable moments in pro wrestling history, and the latter can work with anything—remember The List and various other angles?

That's what makes the upcoming sprint to WrestleMania so interesting. A year ago, Owens eventually having a showdown with Stone Cold Steve Austin was impossible to predict.

This year, it would be easy to see either guy putting up a serious fight in the Royal Rumble and getting a shot at Reigns, pending developments with The Rock and Cody Rhodes. But either could encounter one of those guys, too. Maybe Rhodes and Rollins link back up while Owens and Sami Zayn dance.

But those are the very top options. Maybe one of them has a star-making feud with someone like Montez Ford. Logan Paul, Johnny Gargano, AJ Styles and maybe even Lesnar are all names that come to mind, too.

WWE has done an excellent job rehabbing the image of mid-card titles, which is beneficial for the long term in many respects. But Owens and Rollins have consistently been pointed to as underused elite talents who could drastically improve the quality of shows.

Monday was a prime example. It doesn't have to involve titles, either, just two stars whose passion for the business and storytelling shines through at all times.

Leaning into this momentum for the next year could make Raw must-see television. Keep in mind, too, that the unified titles figure to get split at some point. And when they do, Rollins and Owens will be right there as deserving top guys on the red brand.

Until then, they stand as the main drivers of success for Raw's men's division, which is a great position for all involved—including fans—to reside in as 2023 approaches.