By now you’ve probably heard the news about the forthcoming brand split in WWE. A new live broadcast every Tuesday is bringing with it a bigger differentiation between the Raw and SmackDown shows, as well as a divvied up roster. A divvied up roster means another Raw and SmackDown draft. But how can you draft a team if there’s nobody around to lead it?
We’ve got some ideas.
Shane McMahon
If there’s a thing the McMahon family loves more than each other, it’s turning on one another. Shane came back with the intention of taking over WWE Raw on Monday nights, a goal that makes much more sense now that there’s a brand split on the horizon. Everyone is playing nice right now, but you know that can’t last long. Vince can put anyone in charge he wants, so why not give the kid he tried to murder via Undertaker the show he doesn’t want?
Stephanie McMahon
Do you want Steph going full-Galadriel and kicking the show off with “In place of a general manager, you would have a queen! Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn!” Because I know I do. On the off chance Vince decides to skip his usual tough love approach and bury the hatchet for real, Shane could retain control of Raw and Steph could lurk in the shadows of SmackDown, trying to find ways to mess with his plans. This would also be a good way to set up a future power play with Triple H, and we all know Steph is great with the assist:
The Legends Strike Back
WWE is great at both ignoring and re-writing its canon at will to skirt around the most problematic of plot holes. So why not use the ghosts of WWE Past to toy with his own children? You don’t think Vince McMahon could play nice with Sting for a few minutes just to hand him revenge for Shane buying WCW? The logical part of your brain says no, but the part that watch the Monday Night Wars DVD says ‘oh yeah, they can pretty much do whatever they want.’ There are enough legends floating around who Stephanie and Shane have f*cked with that you could create some dynamic onscreen tension. Sting? Why not. Stone Cold? What’s he up to? Mick Foley? He’s got a new network show to promote. The Rock? I’m sure he has a Tuesday free at some point. That nostalgia pop is always an ace up their sleeves.
Randy Orton
Haha, okay. So this is the long shot. Vince McMahon has already confirmed that four stars are on their way back to television. Seth Rollins is already here, John Cena’s getting hype videos, and Bray Wyatt can’t even be in charge of picking a cool looking hat, so enter THE VIPER. He’s already got issues with the Authority stemming from what was happening before his household chore-related shoulder injury. It lets him come back with a purpose, and doesn’t interrupt all of the existing feuds they’ve been working through at the top of the card. Sure, it’s a non-wrestling position, but uhhh, being in an administrative position hasn’t exactly stopped everyone else from stepping in the ring:
Daniel Bryan
This seems like the longest shot of them all, but our sources say otherwise. Bryan is still under a contract that would allow him to perform on television in a non-physical capacity, the fans love for him is completely undying, he has a history of tension with Stephanie, and, again, WWE can say anything on TV and we have to take it as the truth. What if Shane and Steph’s in-fighting over control of the two brands comes to a head by daddy saying you know what? Nope. I’m turning this car around and giving SmackDown to DANIEL MOTHEREFFING BRYAN. Isn’t that a moment you want? I want it. Apparently WWE wants it as well. And if WWE wants to emphasize wrestling again without doing away with the Sports Entertainment security blanket, doesn’t it make sense to have that charge led by the very best wrestler they’ve ever had? It seems like the safest bet to me, and the behind-the-scenes scuttlebutt backs it up.
So can it hurry up and be June already?
