The final WWE Raw of 2019 is set to take place tonight on December 30 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT live on the USA Network.
In response to WWE Raw’s fiasco at Survivor Series and the fan’s backlash against Seth Rollins’ babyface run, the brand new pairing of Seth Rollins and Authors of Pain has completely turned the page and dominated the landscape of the red brand this past month.
The following will identify and pontificate three creative factions that could stop the ‘New Shield’.
Who will stop Seth Rollins and Authors of Pain? Who will stop the new Shield? Some common factions that may come to mind are The O.C. and The New Day. Considering that they are current factions in the WWE, it’s fair to think of these but there are two caveats to keep in mind.
While Rollins and AOP are on the Raw brand, The New Day is on the SmackDown brand. Thanks to the brand split, it is very unlikely that these factions will clash inside the squared circle.
Unlike The New Day, The O.C. is on the Raw brand and has a more probable chance of clashing with Seth Rollins and Authors of Pain. However, like Rollins and AOP, the O.C. is a heel faction and heel vs. heel feuds are very rare in the WWE as of late.
Besides, ever since Rollins and AOP formed their faction, they have not interacted with any of the members from The New Day or The O.C. Instead, they have interacted with and had problems with three top babyfaces on the red brand: Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens.
Unfortunately, these three superstars have been outnumbered and beaten down by Rollins and AOP throughout the month of December. If Rollins found himself a dominant tag team to back him up, these three superstars can find themselves formidable tag teams to even the numbers game.
With that being said, the following will identify and pontificate three creative factions that could stop the new Shield, starting with Rey Mysterio and the returning Usos.
3.) Rey Mysterio and The Usos
On the Dec. 28 episode of Tribute to the Troops in 2013, Rey Mysterio and The Usos defeated a top faction: The Shield. More importantly, Rey Mysterio pinned Seth Rollins in that six-man tag match to obtain the victory for his team. If they can defeat the original Shield, why wouldn’t they have a chance to defeat the new Shield?
From a storyline standpoint, Rey Mysterio got pummeled last week by Rollins and AOP after retaining the United States Championship by disqualification since he handed a pipe to Kevin Owens backstage that would help him fend off Rollins and AOP.
Now that he lost the United States Champion to Andrade on a house show in Madison Square Garden a few days after that Raw, he can now focus on getting some much-needed help from a returning Usos, whom he has successfully teamed with in the past, to even the numbers game against Rollins and AOP.
Most WWE fans have been wondering what the Usos will do once they return and a program like this for such a top-notch Raw tag team could really do wonders for their road to WrestleMania.
From a pro wrestling-based standpoint, this match would blow the roof off the place. The Usos are well-known for implementing the very best tag team matches on the main roster, and their aerial-based offense would mesh will AOP’s ground-based offense. As for Mysterio and Rollins, their in-ring IQ’s speak for themselves.
All in all, a faction war between Rey Mysterio and The Usos and Seth Rollins and AOP is main event worthy and could really advance the rivalry between Mysterio and Rollins to the next level. Another faction that could stop Seth Rollins and Authors of Pain is: Samoa Joe and current Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders.
2.) Samoa Joe and The Viking Raiders
On the Jul. 1 episode of Monday Night Raw this year, Samoa Joe and The Viking Raiders defeated a top faction in the WWE: The New Day. While the fatuous wild card rule was still in effect, Raw superstar Samoa Joe was in a WWE Championship rivalry with SmackDown superstar Kofi Kingston. This six-man tag match randomly ensued due to common enemies.
From a storyline standpoint, Samoa Joe got powerbombed into the commentary table last week by Seth Rollins and AOP since Rollins and AOP wanted to powerbomb Mysterio through the commentary table but Joe was reluctant to leave said table.
Now that he will no longer be on commentary, he can now focus on returning from his broken thumb injury and get some much-needed help from the Viking Raiders, whom he has successfully teamed with in the past, to even the numbers game against Rollins and AOP.
Most WWE fans have been wondering what Samoa Joe will do once he returns and a program like this for such a top-notch Raw Superstar could really do wonders for his road to WrestleMania.
From a pro wrestling-based standpoint, this match would put the fans at the edge of their seats. The Viking Raiders have dominated most of the tag teams on Monday Night Raw but have never battled AOP, who could be their match. As for Joe and Rollins, their history speaks for itself.
With Randy Orton reportedly suffering a knee injury at a house show with AJ Styles, the Viking Raiders could be done feuding with the O.C. very soon. That should free them up to feud with Rollins and AOP and hopefully set up a monstrous Raw Tag Team Championship match with AOP in the near future.
All in all, a faction war between Samoa Joe and The Viking Raiders and Seth Rollins and AOP is main event worthy and could really advance the rivalry between Joe and Rollins to the next level. One last faction that could stop Seth Rollins and Authors of Pain is: Kevin Owens and The Street Profits.
1.) Kevin Owens and The Street Profits
On the Oct. 21 episode of Monday Night Raw, Kevin Owens helped The Street Profits defeat a top faction: The O.C. Since this occurred during AJ Styles‘ United States Championship reign, many WWE fans thought this would trigger a United States Championship match between Styles and Owens.
Although such a bout would have been a neat throwback to their United States Championship feud on SmackDown in 2017, the WWE seemed to have dropped the idea all together and put Owens in a program with Seth Rollins instead.
From a storyline standpoint, Kevin Owens had beef with Rollins ever since the Town Hall meeting post-Survivor Series. While Rollins shamed the likes of Rey Mysterio, Charlotte Flair, Randy Orton, and even his own compadres, Authors of Pain, Owens was the only superstar on the roster who stepped up to Rollins.
Ever since then, he has been pummeled by Rollins and AOP and has not had any sort of help for his efforts other than an ineffective steel pipe. Considering that he has formulated a partnership with Street Profits in the past, they could be the help he needs. From a pro wrestling-based standpoint, this match could really steal the show.
The Street Profits have had a rough start to their main roster careers on Monday Night Raw and can easily be underestimated but they had an incredible NXT career that would shed some light on their contributions to a faction war against Rollins and AOP. As for Owens and Rollins, their current WrestleMania-worthy feud speaks for itself.
All in all, a faction war between Kevin Owens and The Street Profits and Seth Rollins and AOP is main event worthy and could really advance the rivalry between Owens and Rollins to the next level.
May the faction wars on Monday Night Raw commence. It should be a treat and a great way to kickstart the road to WrestleMania.