Quick Takes on Andrade's WWE Suspension, AJ Styles at WrestleMania, More

The Road to WrestleMania couldn't have kicked off in more electrifying fashion at the Royal Rumble, and coming off newsworthy episodes of Raw and SmackDown, it's full steam ahead for both brands to the Show of Shows on April 5.

That said, the buildup to WWE's biggest event of the year won't be without its hurdles. As exciting as Edge's return and Drew McIntyre's Rumble win were, Andrade's WWE Wellness Policy violation and consequent suspension, as well as AJ Styles' untimely injury, reminded fans that not everything will be perfect over the next few months.

Assuming WWE can overcome these obstacles and make the most of two less-than-stellar situations, Raw should remain in fairly strong shape. Here are some quick takes on the latest WWE happenings and how they can be handled and addressed.

How Andrade's Upcoming Absence from Raw Should Be Handled

Credit: WWE.com

Humberto Carrillo's vicious attack on Andrade on Monday's Raw took many viewers by surprise. The reasons for it became clear the following day when WWE officially announced that the United States champion had been suspended for 30 days as a result of violating the company's Wellness Policy.

The timing couldn't have been worse, with WrestleMania season getting underway, especially with Andrade still being in possession of the star-spangled prize. He successfully defended the title against Carrillo on the Royal Rumble Kickoff show but lost their rematch by disqualification the next night on Raw.

Carrillo wasn't seen on WWE programming for more than a month when Andrade laid him out on the concrete floor in similar fashion in December, so Andrade suffering a similar fate makes sense storyline-wise. Whether he should have dropped the strap before taking his leave of absence is a different question entirely.

Fans may be under the impression that Andrade should be punished for being suspended, which is understandable. However, the circumstances of the suspension were never revealed, not to mention how there have been Superstars in the past who were not stripped of their titles (e.g., Evan Bourne in 2011) upon getting suspended.

If Andrade were gone longer than a month, then it would be ridiculous for him to not lose it before he left. Since it's only 30 days, there's no reason to interrupt his reign as United States champion. He can pick up where he left off as soon as he returns.

Furthermore, Carrillo wasn't ready to take the title, and in Andrade's absence, he can continue to build credibility and work his way toward championship contention again. Ultimately, though, Aleister Black is the best possible opponent for Andrade at WrestleMania given their extensive history from NXT.

Will AJ Styles Be Cleared to Compete by WrestleMania?

Credit: WWE.com

No one wants to be sidelined with an injury so close to WrestleMania, especially a star the caliber of AJ Styles. The two-time WWE champion confirmed via his Mixer channel recently that he suffered a separated shoulder in the Royal Rumble match courtesy of Edge's devastating Spear.

Styles said he hopes to be back sooner rather than later and that missing WrestleMania would likely be out of the question. With more than two months to go until the event, he might be right. But then it's a matter of WWE finding the right rival for him to work with.

If The Phenomenal One is out of action for the foreseeable future, it will become harder for WWE to place him in an important angle in time for WrestleMania. Last year, he competed in an undercard match against Randy Orton, but his spot on the Show of Shows this year doesn't seem as obvious.

WrestleMania wouldn't be complete without Styles on the card in some form and fashion. Thankfully, the Raw roster has enough depth that there are a handful of Superstars he could collide with.

Aleister Black would benefit hugely from battling Styles on such a grand stage, provided he isn't competing for the United States Championship instead. There's also Rey Mysterio, with whom Styles has unfinished business from when they feuded over the U.S. title late last year.

While Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe can both also be considered strong candidates, they have waged war with Styles before and have nothing to gain from facing him again. Either way, he deserves to be positioned prominently at WrestleMania and shouldn't be overlooked in light in his recent injury.

Raw Commentary Team Shake-Ups

WWE touted major changes to the commentary teams on Raw and SmackDown as part of the company's Premiere Week in early October. The trio of Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Renee Young was switched over to SmackDown, while newcomers Vic Joseph and Dio Maddin as well as WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler took over on Raw.

Their time together lasted all of a month before Brock Lesnar F5'd Maddin back to developmental. It was originally believed to be an angle designed to write Maddin off WWE TV for a few weeks, but he never returned and was instead briefly replaced by an injured Samoa Joe.

Maddin was fine in the role but never had a chance to grow into it because he was pulled so quickly. The same can be said for Joseph, who has since been replaced by Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton as of the Royal Rumble.

If nothing else, Joseph and Maddin were fresh voices and gained tremendous exposure from appearing on Raw. Joseph had already been doing excellent work on 205 Live and NXT UK, but considering Phillips isn't much of an improvement over him, it is concerning WWE was willing to pull the plug on its experiment with Joseph so quickly.

Phillips and Saxton are solid commentators but have been announcing Raw on and off for years. In fact, Jerry Lawler has been more of a hindrance than a help since being brought back into the fold and should have been replaced long before Joseph, but WWE seemingly prefers to stick with its tried-and-true rather than risk going all-in on the talent of tomorrow.

Time will tell as far as whether Phillips and Saxton make much a difference behind the booth.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.