WWE Raw: Burning Questions to Address After April 4 Show

The first WWE Raw after WrestleMania is traditionally one of the most important and unpredictable nights in wrestling, a show devoted to dynamic debuts and hot new storylines to carry the company into the spring and beyond.

Monday night's broadcast was no exception, featuring several NXT call-ups, a new side of Roman Reigns and a new No. 1 contender that will challenge the new WWE world heavyweight champion for the top prize in the sport sometime in the near future.

Whereas this year's edition of the Showcase of the Immortals was far from inspiring, Raw gave fans a look at what could be, an energetic and action-packed show that left part-timers on the sidelines in favor of fresh faces and young show-stealers.

And in the process, it left several burning questions in need of answering as WWE embarks on a new year.

1. What Does WWE Do With All of Its Talent?

The arrival of Apollo Crews, Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady and Baron Corbin, along with the announcement of The Vaudevillains' SmackDown debut this Thursday night, has fans excited about the plethora of NXT talents finally making it to the main roster.

Rightfully so.

The question now, though, is what WWE does with the wealth of talent at its disposal. If the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal taught us anything, it is that the company has a great deal of Superstars it already has no idea how to use. Piling on top of it is hardly the way to get the most out of the men and women already there.

Is the influx of Superstars the result of WWE preparing a brand extension?

It would certainly make sense. In that scenario, the company would introduce as much new talent as possible so that when they do split the roster, there is enough star power on each side that neither Raw nor SmackDown would be devoid of interesting characters and quality competitors.

Without any confirmation that such a thing is the works, one has to worry about the new faces becoming lost in the shuffle alongside guys like The Social Outcasts, Tyler Breeze, Damien Sandow and even former world champions like Kane, Big Show and Mark Henry.

2. Can A Babyface Turn Reinvigorate The Wyatt Family?

Sunday at WrestleMania, The Wyatt Family found themselves on the receiving end of The Rock's childlike jokes, their entire act torn apart and made a mockery of by wrestling's most electrifying personality. Even worse was the humiliating beatdown they incurred at the hands of that same Superstar and the returning John Cena.

Having exhausted high-profile feuds with the likes of John Cena, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker and even Brock Lesnar, there is nothing compelling for the once-intimidating faction left to do. As witnessed following their assault of The League of Nations Monday night, fans are eager to cheer the bearded barons of destruction, so why not make the switch?

It will freshen them up almost immediately, but the question remains whether or not it will fix the biggest problem surrounding the group: credibility.

For three years, fans have listened to the almost poetic ramblings of Bray Wyatt, but they have received nothing in return. They have watched him and his family fail so many times that there is no way they can conceivably buy into them as a threat to Zack Ryder, let alone an iconic Superstar like The Rock.

They need to re-establish themselves as a fearsome faction. Wyatt and company need strong victories over legitimate competition. Then, and only then, can they be expected to rebound from a disastrous 2015 and early '16 and become the stars they have the potential to be.

3. Is AJ Styles A Legitimate WWE Main Eventer or The First Victim of The Roman Empire?

Monday's victory over Cesaro, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho earned AJ Styles a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship held by Roman Reigns. But is it really the start of a sustained main event push for the internationally recognized star, or is he the flavor of the month, a Superstar built up to be knocked down courtesy of a Superman Punch and spear?

The fact that he won such a high-profile match, on the historic post-WrestleMania Raw, would seem to suggest WWE considers him a major star. At the same time, he was coming off of a highly criticized loss to Jericho at WrestleMania, which smarts of the same 50-50 booking that WWE uses for everyone outside the main event picture.

For one night, he was treated like a legitimate main event player, a guy commentators Michael Cole, JBL and Byron Saxton put over strongly as someone not only deserving of the opportunity that awaits him, but also a competitor Reigns should be concerned about.

Choosing him to program against Reigns is interesting in that it almost ensures The Big Dog will be booed heavily whenever the title match takes place. Is that the intention? Is Styles the emphasis for Reigns' heel turn?

Only time will tell.

The plethora of questions that exist in reference to Styles and his victory Monday night is proof positive that WWE Creative, for what feels like the first time in months, made the most interesting choice possible.