The last Monday Night Raw of 2015 is shaping up to be a big one, but there is some concern from WWE about ratings already. There is some stiff competition and also a number of big names who may be missing from the show, but back-up plans are already in place. WWE is rumored to be bringing in a former champion back again and also a wrestling legend to help fill in the gaps.
According to PW Insider , both Santino Marella and Ric Flair will be showing up on tonight’s Raw.
Both of these big names showed up on last week’s Monday Night Raw for the Slammy Awards, but it wasn’t expected to be a continuing thing. Flair has shown up a few times here and there over the past couple of months as he’s been semi-involved in the storyline with his daughter, Charlotte.
Flair has been somewhat teaching Charlotte the ways of the “dirtiest player in the game,” and it looks as if it has been leading toward her eventual heel turn.
As for Marella, the former United States, Intercontinental, and WWE Tag Team Champion is coming back and his appearance for the Slammys last week doesn’t appear to be a one-time thing. He’s been a great comic relief act for WWE, and some believed that his appearance last week wasn’t going to be a one-off.
Wrestling Inc. is reporting that the feeling by many is that Santino may actually be seen a lot more than anyone originally thought. Going into 2016, he may end up being used by WWE a lot more and in different storylines.
Tonight’s Raw could end up being better than most think even though a lot of big-time stars won’t be there. WWE is holding another event in Pennsylvania at the same time that Raw is going on, and stars such as Dolph Ziggler, Kane, The Wyatt Family , and the Dudley Boyz are booked for that one.
Still, aside from the returns of Santino Marella and Ric Flair , Raw is also boasting the return of Vince McMahon and John Cena as well. McMahon is coming back to confront WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns after Reigns Superman Punched him last week.
It is expected that The Authority is going to make life rather difficult for Reigns after the new champ has attacked both McMahon and Triple H in recent weeks. Knowing that Vince is coming back, Reigns decided to comment on Twitter about the past.
Hope he remembers what happened last time he was in the ring with me… #SupermanTheCEO https://t.co/CdDBAUgudB
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) December 28, 2015
Considering that McMahon is already rather angry about what took place last week with Reigns, this was probably not the smartest move by the champ.
Right now, The Authority doesn’t have a lot of power considering who is a part of it. Still, they often have the power to wield a big stick and get others to do what they command. Look for Vince, Stephanie, and Triple H to probably enlist the help of either the League of Nations, The New Day, or both to take out Reigns.
John Cena is also making his return to WWE television after being gone right around two months. He will be going after Alberto Del Rio and likely trying to get his United States Title back.
Monday Night Raw is going to be a big one, even with some names missing, and it will be a fitting end to 2015. There is going to be strong competition from Monday Night Football so the returns of Santino Marella and Ric Flair may be WWE’s ways of trying to boost ratings as much as humanly possible.
[Image via WWE]
