Omos Turns on AJ Styles; Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens Team Up; More WWE Raw Fallout

On the December 20 edition of Monday Night Raw, WWE continued to sell the "can they co-exist" storyline. Big E and Bobby Lashley were forced to tag together against Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins in the main event.

However, while E and The All Mighty could not get along, KO and The Monday Night Messiah formed a dangerous alliance for WWE Day 1, laying out both their Fatal 4-Way opponents.

One team that certainly could not exist anymore was AJ Styles and Omos. The Miz got the giant man thinking, and it turned into Omos walking out on The Phenomenal One.

Austin Theory finally tried to prove himself in the ring to Vince McMahon. While the win over Finn Balor eluded him, he did manage to further frustrate his opponent and show he can hang with one of the best.

Damian Priest has struggled for relevancy despite no one pinning him or making him submit in his 10 months on Raw. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode have stepped up as dubious opponents after an awkward ending to the latest match between The Archer of Infamy and The Show Off.

This show did not pull off too many surprises, setting up contests for next week's post-Christmas show. However, there were a few key moments that matter for WrestleMania season.

AJ Styles' mentorship of Omos slowly corroded over weeks until the only thing left to expect was a break-up. It seems that The Phenomenal One will return to playing the face while the giant man will forge his path as a heel destroyer.

For a while, Styles was protecting Omos as he grew. It was obvious he was learning quickly and adapting his style, but it's a big change to go from tag team wrestling to serious singles competition.

While WWE can continue to protect him in the ring for a time, he will not be able to squash everyone in his path. Someone will test him, and it should be Styles.

This is a great opportunity for the giant man to face one of the best wrestlers in the world. While Styles may not still be in his true prime, he is great with any kind of opponent. He can make Omos look good and push him to compete.

The future is bright for the largest man in WWE. He just needs to prove that he can do more than just look menacing when it matters most.

Austin Theory never needed to defeat Finn Balor to prove himself. He needed to compete. While he entertained throughout his second run in NXT, his matches did not dramatically improve.

The Prince brought the absolute best out of him. This was a really good match built around the athleticism of both men. Theory remains charismatic in and out of the ring, and his attitude pushed Balor to tell a story closer to his best in NXT.

There is still more these two can do together. Vince McMahon has continued to push Theory down a path that could make him a star or a joke. Performances like this should set up the former.

It is all down to execution. WWE cannot fall into the same traps of feuds like Bianca Belair vs. Doudrop, where Raw highlighted a rematch three weeks in a row without ever doing anything different.

Theory may lose again to Balor, or he may beat him. Regardless, he needs to make each match mean something different to tell a greater story.

There are few titles WWE disrespects more than the United States Championship. After giving Damian Priest a big win over Sheamus to keep building hype as U.S. champion, Raw has consistently undersold him.

His odd matches with T-Bar recently seemed to indicate he was turning heel, but he is now continuing his anger streak against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. It is losing him matches, even if WWE continues to protect him with awkward, inconclusive finishes.

This time around, he gave The Show Off a win that pushed him into the title picture. However, he only did so by countout. Ziggler does not look like a threat, so a title match isn't exciting.

As good as The Show Off can be, he has been long passed over as a relevant Superstar. He and Roode needed a streak of wins before going after the U.S. champion and a real story.

Instead, Priest continues to wait. He has to be hoping there are big plans for him at WrestleMania 38, but the U.S. champion can often be relegated to the kickoff show at the biggest events.

WWE does love a simple story. Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins were not supposed to be able to work together. Instead, they have found a common calling together.

The one thing that has eluded KO in his WWE run is a tag team championship. He was building a story with Sami Zayn for a time, but they could not stay together forever.

The Monday Night Messiah could be the guy to push Owens past the hump to become a Grand Slam champion. The two are great heels who can sell this dynamic for years to come.

Owens has certainly needed it, especially since he does not seem likely to defeat Big E at WWE Day 1. After confirming that he re-signed with WWE in an interview with TVA Sports' Pat Laprade and Kevin Raphael on the Les Anti-Pods De La Lutte podcast (h/t Fightful's Jeremy Lambert), he clearly changed WWE's plans.

This is not a short-term deal. This is his future, and he's got so much riding on proving his worth with the biggest contract of his career. Every angle matters, and KO and Rollins are the right men to build each other up.