WWE Raw: Burning Questions to Address After October 19 Show

WWE rolled into Dallas for Monday's episode of Raw and wasted little time in hyping next spring's WrestleMania 32. Unfortunately, the company did it at the expense of this Sunday's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

At that show, Brock Lesnar will clash with The Undertaker, while Roman Reigns will square off with Bray Wyatt. Both of those matches take place inside the hellish confines of the devil's playground. 

Unfortunately, the least amount of effort was put into hyping those shows as WWE focused on trotting out legendary stars such as Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair to drum up interest in a product that is nowhere near as popular as it was even a year ago.

On a night when fans wondered what surprises the company would have for the host city of next year's Showcase of the Immortals and then watched as a Shield reunion was teased and New Day continued their impressive winning ways, WWE left numerous burning questions unanswered.

These are just a few of them. 

Credit: WWE.com

1. Does WWE Creative Even Know There Is a Pay-Per-View This Weekend?

If you tuned into Monday's episode of Raw expecting to see the final push for Hell in a Cell, a broadcast devoted to convincing fans to sign up for the WWE Network or purchase the show on the more traditional pay-per-view outlets, you were probably surprised to find the programming you did.

Outside of the brief interaction between Undertaker and Lesnar that kicked off the show, and some emphasis put on the New Day-Dudley Boyz and Roman Reigns-Bray Wyatt rivalries, there was very little in the way of hype for Sunday's extravaganza.

There was no Kane, who challenges Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday. An injury angle was booked to remove Randy Orton from both Raw and this weekend's PPV Kickoff show. Then there was a 6-Man Tag Team match that took up a nice chunk of TV time but featured not a single star booked for this weekend's event.

Instead, the writing staff focused its attention on trotting out legends in an attempt to steal viewers away from Monday Night Football and a high-profile showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants.

If the plan did not work, and Raw continues its trend of sagging ratings, management will have to shoulder the blame for missing out on an opportunity to make the Hell in a Cell event more than the afterthought and B-level show it feels like at this point.

Credit: WWE.com

2. Why Can't Other Characters Be Booked as Strongly as The New Day?

Week three of The New Day's monumental push saw Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E score another impressive victory over The Dudley Boyz and United States champion John Cena to kick off the in-ring portion of the night's show.

After watching the trio score a relatively clean win, using a well-timed distraction by Woods, the question becomes why WWE Creative cannot book other characters on its show as strongly as it has New Day over the last month.

The trio got over thanks to its ability to entertain the crowd despite being heels and is now reaping the rewards for its efforts. Best of all, Kingston, Woods and Big E are allowed to score definitive wins over high-profile opposition. They are not beating Zack Ryder and Fandango every week. No, they are picking up wins over Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton and the aforementioned Cena, and as a result, they are gaining credibility with the audience with every passing week.

The New Day is proof positive that WWE can still make new stars when it focuses on it—when the company capitalizes on a hot act.

Now if only WWE could do that more efficiently and frequently going forward, there would be no need to lean on old stars of the past to reinvigorate fan interest in the product.

Credit: WWE.com

3. Did WWE Tip Its Hand In Regard to Its WrestleMania Plans?

There was understandably some intrigue surrounding Monday's Raw, especially since it took place in Dallas, home of WrestleMania 32. Would the company plant the seeds for major main event matches for that spectacular? Would the fantasy booker's dream of seeing Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar set up some sort of major main event play out?

The answer was a resounding no, but that does not mean WWE did not tip its hand when it comes to its WrestleMania plans.

Think it was an accident that both Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels put over Roman Reigns in separate promos throughout the night? Absolutely not. Reigns is still poised to become the face of the company, and it should be of no surprise to anyone when he finds himself on the road to WrestleMania, entering the show as the top contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the second consecutive year.

Speaking of Reigns, the Internet exploded over the idea of a Shield reunion in Monday's main event. Rather than witnessing Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins work as a cohesive unit, fans watched The Architect abandon his opponents, leaving them to fight on their own.

Do not be shocked if the WWE world heavyweight title is at the center of a three-way rivalry between the Shield teammates; it would be a suitable Triple Threat match main event for the biggest show of the year.

WWE may not have been so overt when it came to tipping fans off as to what to expect when the company returns to Big D for the biggest event of the year, but it certainly provided enough of a hint.