WWE: Can John Laurinaitis Prosper as the Focal Point of Monday Night Raw?

Tonight's Raw from North Carolina is the beginning of something new. This is the night that John Laurinaitis becomes the most important man on WWE television and, as fans, we will see if "Big Johnny" is able to cope with that role.

John Laurinaitis was a figure of infamy for much of the late Noughties. As the man in charge of WWE talent relations, it was Laurinaitis' name that was brought up time and time again by released wrestlers who felt they were not given a fair shot at becoming a WWE superstar.

The summer of 2011 saw the former All-Japan Pro Wrestling standout emerge as as an authority figure on WWE television. Laurinaitis' character has grown in prominence from that point, which culminated in him being named the general manager of both Raw and Smackdown at WrestleMania XXVIII.

However, the rise of John Laurinaitis was never the pivotal feud throughout this time.   

CM Punk was crashing through glass ceilings at the beginning of the Laurinaitis era. This was followed by the dethroning of Triple H, which Laurinaitis was involved in, but was of secondary importance. Then The Rock returned and the WWE were into the WrestleMania season.

People expected Laurinaitis to become the focal point straight after WrestleMania, but a returning Brock Lesnar took that role.

So we get to this evening. There is a good chance that there will be no Brock Lesnar, Rock or other returning star. Both champions are at the beginning of a new feuds which will need time to develop, and undercard feuds are few and far between at the best of times.

This leaves the only hot and fully developed feud as the one between John Cena and John Laurinaitis, so this will dominate tonight's show. "Big Johnny" has to step up and become a lead character from this point on.

Evidence suggests that Laurinaitis will cope well with such a prominent role on television. His ability to manipulate the crowd has vastly improved since last summer, while physical confrontation should not be a problem considering his vast wrestling background.

The real question is whether Laurinaitis can step up and appear to be a dominant heel.

There have been many suggestions on Raw that Laurinaitis is pulling the strings backstage, but a combination of using other people to do his dirty work and some uncompleted storylines have never lead to anything specific.

Now Laurinaitis has shown his true colours. His attack on Cena with the assistance of Lord Tensai shows that Laurinaitis has created a solid power base with characters who will support his cause. The pawns are in place for Laurinaitis to rise up and become an overbearing and powerful heel who can control Raw for the foreseeable future.     

However stepping up to this position holds a number of risks as well as rewards for Laurinatis and the WWE. Any mistakes from now on will be noticed and will get a higher degree of exposure. There have been a number of occasions where Laurinaitis has fluffed his lines, which have been edited out afterwards due to them not being vital to a situation. This will no longer be the case.

The big advantage of having someone of John Cena's experience as Laurinaitis' opponent is that he will know a way out of a situation if a mishap does occur. However, that will not void such a mistake from being important, so the onus will be on Laurinaitis to show that he can deliver consistently.

Not every superstar gets such a big opportunity as John Laurinaitis is receiving tonight.

A good performance could lead to a highlight feud across the summer while a great performance could set up something really special. However, if he fades under the gaze of the entire WWE Universe, then it may be the beginning of the end for GM Laurinaitis.