Monday, October 27 – 3:45 P.M. (CT)

-With the WWE Cyber Sunday pay-per-view in the books, I have three key questions regarding tonight’s episode of WWE Raw. First of all, most people were surprised to see Batista win the World Heavyweight Championship from Chris Jericho. My question is: will this be a short lived title reign for Batista?

With the sagging ratings of Raw and coming out of a pay-per-view, will Chris Jericho complain enough to Raw general manager Mike Adamle to gain a rematch tonight? If so, will Jericho regain the championship? I am not necessarily expecting Jericho to regain the title tonight on Raw, but I also do not see Batista holding the title for long. Of course, I could be way off and Batista could hold the title for months. I doubt that will happen but I am hoping for a pleasant surprise.

-Secondly, what will become of the main event talents on Raw? A feud between JBL and Shawn Michaels seems logical and likely. While not many people will be thrilled to see it, I would be surprised if this was not the direction they are going in with these two.

That leaves Chris Jericho and Randy Orton. Everyone assumes Orton will pick back up his feud with C.M. Punk, although with the way Punk has been booked, that would be a step down for Orton. Either WWE needs to elevate Punk (again) to face Orton, or Orton needs to elevate Punk. Unfortunately, I see Orton going over in this feud (if they do it) and Punk will look even weaker than he already does.

Jericho is sort of on an island here, which gives me hope he will stay in his feud with Batista and win the title back. However, if they put the title back on Jericho, they need to let him be the Chris Jericho of three months ago, not three weeks ago. His very recent behavior, complete with constant whining and bitching, is reminiscent of the attitude he had the first time he was world champion. I want to see a strong Jericho as champion; the Jericho that took out Shawn Michaels.

-Finally, there is no indication that Steve Austin will appear on the show tonight. However, if he does, he will probably be given a segment more focused on him, as opposed to his minimal role at the pay-per-view. Of course, with Wrestlemania XXV on the horizon, many are wondering if Austin will step into the ring one last time.

If the recent comments of Jim Ross are any indication, I would lean towards yes for Austin having one more match. Of course, it would have to be a big money match (and where better than Wrestlemania XXV in Texas?). On top of that, Austin is not going to wrestle against just anybody. He is very high on Mr. Kennedy, but I am guessing it would take Dwayne Johnson stepping back into the ring to get Austin to do the same.

Knowing that Austin is filming another movie for WWE, he is going to appear on television to promote said movie. As many have noted, including myself, Austin’s appearances are becoming less and less special, similar to those of Mick Foley, when he made his many returns. I say unless Austin is going to wrestle again, his appearances should be few and far between.

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