Shane McMahon, Sami Zayn and More from the Fresh Start Mailbag

The rent-to-own era of Shane McMahon has been hit-or-miss. A lot of new debuts, a lot of fresh faces on Raw and a lot of awkward moments on the mic for Shane. Still, with so many new faces, not all of them are going to prosper. And considering how successful he was in NXT, Sami Zayn seems to be a surprising name as somebody who is currently falling behind.

Lovably Losing?

Zayn has yet to find his footing in WWE after getting injured upon his debut and returning in the thick of an already busy WrestleMania season.

Zayn has spent the last two weeks losing to AJ Styles and Chris Jericho. But this is what happens when WWE loads up on Internet darlings who largely all have the same story. ("he traveled all over the world!") Somebody has to take the losses.

The saving grace for the former NXT champion is his ongoing feud with Kevin Owens, which has received a lot of attention since his return. The familiar storyline of two independent wrestlers traveling the world will once again take center stage as they do battle at Payback. The match will be fine, but these two will need to dig deep to produce a feud that will make both of them matter.

With such a homogeneous blend of former indy talents clogging up the midcard, WWE will need to diversify its assets if it wants to keep competitive with hipper programming. Per Alex Welch of tvbythenumbers.com, the NBA Playoffs, Love and Hip Hop and Black Ink Crew dominated a poorly rated Raw that featured Owens and Dean Ambrose in the main event.

Question of the Week: Good Styles-Bad Styles?

WWE is content with Roman Reigns being booed. The promotion fully realizes that Styles will enter Chicago as the more popular wrestler in what will be a hostile environment for Reigns.

WWE is simply adding another layer to the ongoing feud between Styles and Reigns. One that will develop some level of sympathy for Reigns while keeping Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson interesting for now. I don't think the alliance between Styles, Gallows and Anderson will be a long-term thing. It shouldn't. The Bullet Club will always have Japan, but this is a whole different gun rack.

The history of factions being reunited is not pretty in professional wrestling, especially WWE. The New World Order, Degeneration-X and even the short-lived Evolution reboot are all examples of ill-fated reunions. Gallows and Anderson already look similar. With a similar wardrobe and haircut, the tandem looks as if it was born in the same motorcycle store.

If Anderson and Gallows remain aligned with Styles, they will quickly become his forgettable goons, not his equals.

The Shane Game?

WWE has opted to book Shane McMahon's return as a week-to-week endeavor, which keeps the storyline interesting since it never feels permanent.

McMahon's temporary status as a Raw authority figure also honors the WrestleMania stipulation, since he does not have control of the company.

Shane McMahon's presence has been a refreshing change from the weekly Authority monologue, and it has come with a handful of new characters and debuts.

But McMahon, once a rock-solid performer, still seems nervous when trusted to deliver promos in front of live crowds. He was easily thrown during an awkward opening segment that featured a wild European crowd and the increasingly silly antics of Ambrose. Shane should be able to adjust in time, and it'll be interesting to see how The Authority figures into this storyline if and when it returns.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.