Cup of coffee in the big time: Trying to hold out hope for WWE Raw

I’m choosing to be hopeful this morning.

Maybe it’s that it’s December — officially holiday season and I just took my kids to see Santa. Maybe it’s just that I can’t stand the thought of repeating last week’s disaster of a Raw.

But I’m choosing to hope this week’s WWE TV will be better.

Maybe instead of getting a vaccination in his ass, we see Dean Ambrose deal with Seth Rollins in the sort of ruthless ways set up in his initial brilliant turn on the most painful of nights.

Maybe the writing team will avoid ever having Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey engage in the sort of cringe-worthy promo battle we saw last week, instead letting the two badass women focus on beating the hell out of each other.

Maybe they’ll never, ever do anything as bad as the Bayley and Sasha Banks Q&A session again.

Hell, maybe they’ll even figure out a way to make a top program featuring Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley entertaining, though that may be a longshot.

Raw badly needs a shot in the arm. Bray Wyatt’s return is inevitable, though not confirmed for this week.

Wyatt may be a man who is a shining example of WWE’s mishandling of stories and personalities, but time on the shelf always polishes a character and Wyatt means something to people. Even if only for one night, a return for Wyatt would add some punch to a show that has shown all the fight of CM Punk in the octagon.

And really, who better to strike back at Corbin for injuring Braun Strowman than a man who used to be family to the monster?

• We do have a full (less optimistic) preview of tonight’s edition of Raw.
• And don’t worry, Dean Ambrose will be at Raw tonight.
• We’re doing stunners in the NFL now?
• The idea of women’s tag titles in WWE isn’t going away, and why should it after what Evolution proved.
• Roderick Strong might be up for a short EVOLVE stint.
• Are you all in on Liv Morgan yet?
• Impact’s Homecoming PPV card is coming together.
• Finn Balor and Elias aren’t going to get anywhere against the top Raw heels without someone to even the odds. See above.
• PCO is ROH-bound.

Happy — and hope-filled — Monday. Here’s another weird hardcore clip.