WWE Raw: Burning Questions to Address After January 11 Show

The January 11 episode of Raw featured the return of Brock Lesnar to WWE and the announcement that he would participate in the Royal Rumble match. His sights are set on regaining the world heavyweight title he never rightfully lost in the first place.

The Beast Incarnate was not the only star who made headlines, though.

Chris Jericho also stepped foot back in a WWE ring for the first time since his shocking return last week, interviewing The New Day in another installment of "The Highlight Reel."

Roman Reigns was faced with the wrath of a McMahon family hellbent on ending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship run, while Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens continued their heated rivalry over the intercontinental title.

Yet, other Superstars captured the headlines and left burning questions in the minds of fans following Monday's show, including new United States champion Kalisto, the enigmatic Wyatt Family and the Slammy award-winning Usos.

Credit: WWE.com

1. What Kind of Champion Will Kalisto Be?

There are two different paths Vince McMahon and WWE Creative can take in regard to Kalisto as United States champion.

He can become a legitimate upper-midcard star in the vein of Rey Mysterio, who was booked to win convincingly and even sniffed the main event at times, or he can be the tired old underdog character who wins in a fluke every week and eventually turns the audience against him.

At a time when the roster is depleted, with stars suffering tremendous injuries on a seemingly weekly basis, it would behoove the CEO and his writing staff to book Kalisto in a way similar to Mysterio, a luchador whose size was a non-factor because his talent between the ropes fueled him to victory.

Kalisto can be a star in the same way Mysterio was. He can inspire the young members of the audience and be a marketing and merchandising machine for a company that has been searching for a way to replace the income that Mysterio's mask sales once brought it. 

A strong championship run would make a star out of Kalisto. At a time when star power is at a premium, WWE should jump on this opportunity.

Credit: WWE.com

2. What Is Up with The Wyatt Family?

Does anyone else remember The Wyatt Family interrupting Vince and Stephanie McMahon's show-opening promo Monday night? What about the fact they opposed four other heels in The Social Outcasts for a few brief moments? And then there was the odd sight of the faction standing idly by, refusing to join their fellow heels in a beatdown of Reigns late in the show.

Those three instances seem to subtly point at a potential face turn for Bray Wyatt and his merry bunch of followers as Royal Rumble and WrestleMania approach. It would certainly be a departure from everything the group has been about to this point, but one that would almost assuredly provide them with a spark that has been absent for the last six months.

As babyfaces, the group can play up the "down with machine" rallying cry that was such an integral part of The Wyatt Family's act early in its existence. What better way to create a legitimate main event star out of Bray than by positioning him against The Authority—not necessarily as an ally of Reigns but rather someone whose interests in removing the authority figures from power just happen to be the same?

It remains to be seen if there really are plans for The Wyatt Family to become babyfaces, but in the meantime, WWE has done a solid job of planting the seeds for such a turn if that is the direction it opts to take.

Credit: WWE.com

3. How Can WWE Fix The Usos?

No team in WWE is in more need of an injection of energy and creativity than The Usos.

Jimmy and Jey were one of the most consistently great aspects of WWE television in 2014, but an injury suffered by the latter and an inability by WWE Creative to develop the twin brothers' characters left them riding a wave of mediocrity when they finally did return to action in 2015. With the new year underway, it is becoming more and more painfully obvious that The Usos are a one-dimensional and, sadly, uninteresting team at this point.

Their in-ring work is still strong, but the lack of stories surrounds them, and the nonexistent character evolution has hurt them tremendously.

At this point, their main rivals The New Day are infinitely more interesting, which is not the dynamic one wants to work with when trying to get the brothers over as babyfaces.

It appears as though WWE Creative wants the duo to remain a major part of the tag division, not to mention associates of Reigns. If that is the case, the writing staff will have to put in the work necessary to make the team worthy of the push in the eyes of the fans.

To do that, the writers will have to change things up, give them clear motivations that exist beyond "we want the titles" and create a story that fans can invest themselves in. Otherwise, the apathy that greets them at this point will only intensify.