With the McMahon family and Triple H having recently declared that change would be coming, WWE is clearly hoping to start 2019 off with a bang — shaking off the negative ratings from 2018 in the process.
At the end of Friday night’s New Year’s Eve Raw tapings, it was announced that John Cena, Braun Strowman, and Brock Lesnar would be returning to the red brand sooner than people might have thought. The three will appear on the very first Raw of 2019 on January 7th.
Despite this attempt to utilize some of their pre-established star power, WWE has not divulged what kind of role Cena will have on the show. Considering he is set to begin shooting a new movie soon, his contribution may most likely be minimal. This shoot is also the reason John Cena is not scheduled to appear at the 2019 Royal Rumble.
Plans for Strowman and Lesnar, however, are a bit clearer. The two will feature in order to promote their upcoming clash for the WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble event.
If things go to plan as the McMahon/Triple H collective hope, then this first episode of Raw should herald in a new age as they actively attempt to deliver on their promise of improving their shows.
Only time and inevitable ratings will tell if it pays off.