Predicting Legends, Returns, and More Surprises for WWE Raw's Netflix Anniversary
WWE celebrates its first year on Netflix Monday night with a packed edition of Raw, headlined by CM Punk defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker.
The show is the perfect jumping-off point for the company's build to WrestleMania 42, which means there is potential for surprises, cameos and massive returns, all aimed at creating hype for the busiest period of the pro wrestling calendar.
Who could fans see Monday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in the special Stranger Things crossover event?
Let's take a look.
Chris Jericho
1 of 3
This is the most buzzed-about potential appearance of them all.
Chris Jericho's contract with All Elite Wrestling reportedly ended December 31, making him a free agent. If fan speculation wasn't enough, Raw general manager Adam Pearce fanned the flames by asking "who could break down the walls" while previewing Monday's show on social media.
An appearance from Jericho would be a major spark for WWE at a time when it usually likes to produce surprises and unexpected moments to generate buzz for WrestleMania in the spring.
While it remains to be seen what the veteran would do, he is a legendary figure in professional wrestling and a Hall of Fame induction in the same year as longtime on-screen rival Stephanie McMahon takes her place among the immortals would be suitable.
While anything can happen, this feels like the most logical major surprise WWE could deliver Monday night.
Seth Rollins
2 of 3
If there is a chance Seth Rollins will return in time for WrestleMania 42, bringing him back to prevent Bron Breakker from winning the World Heavyweight Championship and sticking it to The Vision would be a logical development.
More intriguing would be directly helping CM Punk to retain a title Rollins never officially lost. The story implications there would be magnificent, especially since The Architect would almost certainly be positioned as a babyface upon his comeback.
While this feels more like an outside shot than something that could realistically happen, especially if there are plans for Jericho to appear, it would be the one appearance with the greatest creative impact.
A New Champion
3 of 3
While there is no denying the impact a return from Seth Rollins or a homecoming for Jericho would provide, arguably the biggest surprise WWE could deliver Monday is a new world champion.
It was obvious from day one that Bron Breakker was the future of the company. From the moment he stepped onto the NXT stage, he possessed that all-important X-factor that all of the greatest to lace a pair of boots have.
There is a confidence, charisma, and energy about him that helped him leap off the TV and establish himself with fans before they even knew who he was. That set Breakker up for success and now, less than five years after he first popped up on NXT TV, he is challenging for the top prize on the Raw brand.
It is not a given that he will lose to Punk, either.
Breakker winning the gold would catapult him to the upper echelon of WWE Superstars and announce to the world that he is everything fans, analysts, insiders, officials, and management thought he was.
It would be a move toward the future, something that would not necessarily hurt the company, especially amid the youth movement that has taken over of late, with the arrivals of Oba Femi, Trick Williams, and Je'Von Evans.
While it still feels like we are a bit away from that coronation, it would be a monumental surprise with long-reaching effects on WWE programming.
