WWE News: 10 Things to Watch for When RAW Gets Rocked

Tomorrow night already marks the go-home show for Survivor Series, but the WWE has put a lot of effort into promoting the three-hour RAW that will feature the Rock's return to the WWE TV. 

A handful of surprises could be on tap for the big show, including additional possible returns to help garner interest in RAW and, in turn, Survivor Series. 

The Rock's presence will be sure to lead a WWE rebound in the ratings, but what else could the WWE have up its sleeve heading into next Sunday at Madison Square Garden?

1. The Rock Returns, and so Do the RAW Ratings

The WWE may hold off until the second hour for the Rock's return, as fans typically forget about the mysterious first hour of three-hour RAW broadcasts, but it will easily be the highest-rated segment of the show. 

RAW's ratings have demonstrated an alarming pattern of tailing off as the show progresses, but if the Rock is used at pivotal moments of the show, this trend will figure to end. 

2. The WWE Does What It Can to Make You Care About Their Top Prize

The Rock's presence on RAW will immediately take emphasis over the WWE championship feud between Del Rio and CM Punk, but if the WWE does enough to get heat on Del Rio as Punk begins his chase, they could salvage some residual interest in the WWE title with a larger audience than usual set to tune in. 

3. A Rock-Cena Confrontation

The war of words between Cena and Rock has already resumed.  The Rock had some not-so-friendly words for John Cena when he made his return official a few weeks ago, and Cena has been blasting Rock at live events. 

The slow-burning tension between the soon-to-be tag-team partners will likely culminate in a verbal altercation, if anything, before the two turn their attention to Awesome Truth. 

4. A Possible Mick Foley Sighting?

Mick Foley has already returned to the WWE, as he was recently a special guest referee at a live event overseas. 

Foley was previously advertised to appear at tomorrow's three-hour RAW, but the WWE has since scaled back in their trumpeting of a Mick Foley return.  Perhaps the WWE is going for the element of surprise here, as they feel that advertising the Rock is already enough to pop a strong rating, rendering Foley as the icing on the cake.  

5. John Laurinaitis T-Shirts

The new "Future Endeavored" t-shirts have hit WWEshop.com, and they very well may be the greatest pieces of merchandise ever created. 

Lauranaitis, whose likeness the t-shirts were made in, doesn't do t-shirts, so maybe the WWE will bring back a recently released, or soon-to-be-released (John Morrison?) wrestler to don the merchandise for a quick segment. 

6. The Possible Phasing out of John Morrison

The next chapter in the Morrison exit diaries appears as if it will revolve around further de-emphasis of Morrison. 

While Morrison earned his first win in three months last week, which looked to be a possible sign that Morrison had re-signed with the company, it has since been reported by PWInsider that Morrison is not advertised to appear at WWE live events past the end of November. 

The WWE likes to keep contract talks close to the vest, so whether or not Morrison will indeed leave the company by the end of the year remains to be seen.

7. Heel Heat for John Cena in His Hometown

The city of Boston, which will be the site of tomorrow's three-hour RAW, has more nostalgia for pro wrestling than they do reverence for a hometown hero—especially if that hometown hero is John Cena. 

Despite being billed from West Newbury, Massachusetts, Boston crowds tend to be especially harsh on Cena, as their traditional wrestling values clash with his squeaky-clean, and at times campy babyface antics.

It'll be even tougher for Cena having to share the babyface spotlight with the Rock, who will easily be the most popular good guy in the building come Monday night.   

8. "Let's Go Ryder!"

Zack Ryder's momentum is picking up headed into Survivor Series, while Dolph Ziggler continues to struggle.  While the Rock will be the most popular man in Boston tomorrow night, one shouldn't be too quick to assume that Cena will be the de facto runner-up, as Ryder, who famously hails from just across the pond in Long Island, seems to get more over by the week. 

The WWE continues to peddle Ryder's wildly successful Twitition with Ryder lobbying for a United States title shot.  As no U.S. Title match has been officially announced, look for Ryder to justify his campaign with a win of sorts on RAW. 

The WWE looks to be setting up for a Dolph Ziggler win at Survivor Series, but not before teasing fans into believing that Ryder's phenomenal social media journey will finally commence a single's championship for the head Broski. 

9. One More Survivor Series Tag-Team Match Added

SmackDown already has their Survivor Series match announced as Team Barrett will take on Team Orton, and with only four matches announced thus far, and several mid-card stars currently off the card, look for the WWE to bolster the card with one more Survivor Series-style match on the RAW side—possibly involving the Divas.  

10. Finally...the Michael Cole Challenge?

Due to scheduling conflicts, the WWE has had to preempt its Michael Cole challenge on two separate occasions, but in effect, they have unintentionally created a nice little build for what may be yet another one of Jim Ross' most embarrassing moments. 

Should Michael Cole lose his self-titled challenge, he claims he will leave the WWE forever, but with Cole likely to make the rules up as he goes along, don't hold your breath for either of those things to happen. 

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