Projecting Impact of Vince McMahon's Decision on Control of Raw at WWE Payback

Vince McMahon's handing over control of Raw to his son Shane at WWE Payback 2016 will create sparks that morph into a fire that burns on into SummerSlam.

Don't expect a resolution at Sunday's pay-per-view but instead a shifting of power that further complicates a convoluted story. All signs point to Shane McMahon remaining at the helm but with his sister Stephanie McMahon ready to claw her way back to being in charge of Raw once more.

On Monday's Raw, WWE made an addition to the Payback card, announcing that Vince will decide which of his children will run the company's marquee show at Sunday's pay-per-view.

The issue of who runs Raw was supposed to be settled at WrestleMania, only to drag on without a clear explanation, so the audience has good reason to be doubtful that things will wrap up nicely. Shane lost the bout that would have earned him sovereignty over the show. Yet he continues to be in power.

So the folks at Top Rope Tuesday are far from the only ones hesitant to believe that things will truly be settled at Payback:

WWE is not going to just let The Authority return to power that easily. There has been too little drama leading up to this point. Stephanie only just showed up to push back against Shane this Monday.

Expect WWE to milk this narrative far more than that.

Besides, how anticlimactic would it be for Shane to be shoved aside by a decision? There has to instead be a big match down the road to finally settle this. You don't have Undertaker vs. Shane inside the Hell in a Cell as the precursor and use Vince's announcement as the climax.

And since Shane has run Raw, there has been an air of freshness to the show.

WWE is giving him kayfabe credit for bringing in new talent such as Enzo Amore and Apollo Crews. It has presented his reign as one that is creating buzz. Would WWE just take that away without a real fight?

Like Vaughn Johnson of Philly.com, many don't buy this as being Shane's last hurrah:

Instead, count on Vince angering Stephanie by appointing Shane the head of Raw for the foreseeable future. That will be the catalyst for what's ahead—an extended showdown between The Authority and Shane-O-Mac.

Shane being in control will set off The Authority, especially Stephanie.

In the coming weeks, she will take every possible measure to regain power. She will gripe, whine and, as history tells us, slap the spit out of someone in the process. The strife that follows will be the foundation of a major battle ahead.

Stephanie will choose a proxy to face either Shane himself or a Superstar of his choosing at SummerSlam with Raw dominion hanging in the balance. Shane can choose one of the NXT stars he introduced; Stephanie can go with a friend of The Authority such as Sheamus.

That will be a far more fitting, emphatic end to this tale. WWE can then drag this on for the next few months and get a bout with high stakes out of it at the year's second-biggest event. Vince's announcement will simply set all that in motion. 

The Payback decision isn't where the entertainment lies; what happens afterward will be the real show.