A Few Things to Expect From the 1000th RAW Episode

Before anything, I just want to say *POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW*. These are simply my predictions based on my own intuition and some facts I’ve read about online.

The WWE is treating this event like a major PPV. If you’ve been watching RAW and SmackDown, you’d notice that the announcers have even been counting down to the 1000th RAW episode every passing week for several weeks (just like they do for WrestleMania). They’ve been giving it hype since the beginning of the summer, adding superstars and legends to the “card” of the episode, and doing dozens of flashbacks. And do you remember Money In The Bank of last year? Arguably one of the greatest (not to mention best-selling) PPV’s of 2011? Remember all the hype? All the promos? Well, this year’s isn’t being given any attention whatsoever as compared to this event. The 1000th RAW is going to be HUGE. It’s two weeks away, and these are a few things I think we can expect:

First of all, expect to see the hideous WWE Championship be replaced. How long has it been ugly? 7 years? CM Punk already stated that they were working on it, and you can expect them to reveal a new design on a huge day such as this. A picture’s been leaked online, too.

The “BIG angle.” Over the years, WWE has noticed that viewership and ratings drop during the summer, so they create a massive angle to keep all fans watching and wanting more and more. Some examples that come to mind are CM Punk’s “shoot” (2011), the Nexus invasion (2010), Donald Trump buys the WWE (2009), etc. I’ll bet anyone that something’s gonna go down on the 1000th episode and you’re gonna be saying “holy sh*t” repeatedly by the end of it.

Heel and face turns. I’d love to see Orton turn heel again.

Numerous returns. Expect to see The Rock, Bret Hart, Brock Lesnar (we already know this), Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton (if he’s not back by then), a DX reunion, and possibly the Undertaker and Ric Flair (I don’t know Flair’s current legal situation with TNA and WWE). Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stone Cold bust open a few beers in the ring.

The Heath Slater and WWE legends angle is supposed to have some big “pay-off” on this episode. Whatever it is, all this air time should be leading up to something at least half-decent.

And finally, the main event’s over and the champ is celebrating in the ring. He’s still in pain though. You think it’s all over and Michael is about to wish you a good night, when the music hits and out comes Mr. Money in the Bank. One, two, three and we have a new world champion! Thank you for watching, history has been made, blah blah blah, and we go to bed with wacky smiles on our faces.

And whether that last part happens or not, expect to see title changes in other areas. So what do you think?

~DLV