WWE Raw 5 Takeaways: Seth Rollins Burns Down 2018 With An Edge

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4. New Opportunities Rising For Underutilized Talent

The name of the game in the WWE over the past few weeks has been a fresh start.  This change was desperately needed after Raw’s recent shortcomings creatively and in the TV ratings, but the WWE appears to be serious about making changes for the better.

The McMahon family has sold the WWE universe on fresh faces, new opportunities, and fresh matchups moving forward, and that rung true last night when Shane McMahon announced a fresh start battle royal to determine who would challenge Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship later in the night.

Several of the most underutilized superstars on Monday nights took part in this battle royal, which ultimately came down to Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin.  From that point on, you could see where things were headed and Apollo capped off a very impressive battle royal performance with several eliminations by eliminating the former acting Raw GM to win the battle royal.

Although Crews lost to Ambrose later in the night, he was very impressive in that match as well and it could lead to a much better 2019 for Crews.  The bigger picture is all about how this recent creative change could improve the position of some of the most underutilized talent in the WWE.  Crews is the latest example, but he won’t be the last example moving forward.

Everybody likes to see something different in the WWE, and seeing superstars like Crews get an Intercontinental Championship shot is a pleasant surprise.