The WWE Universe edges one step closer towards Royal Rumble this Monday Night when WWE rolls out another episode of their weekly flagship show Monday Night Raw. Last week, the company made some huge decisions in order to boost up the Raw ratings.
This included the return of Shawn Michaels and Undertaker and also, the United States championship title change.
The fallout of these booking decisions would indeed be the major things to watch out for, this week on the show. Apart from this, there will be some solid mid-card buildup for Royal Rumble as well and in this list, we will be previewing the whole show.
#5 Another big announcement?
As mentioned earlier, WWE had a huge announcement last week on Raw where Undertaker said that he would be a participant in the Royal Rumble. Apart from Taker, the likes of Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will also be appearing in the match meaning that the star power will be at its epitome.
WWE could make Royal Rumble even better by making yet another big announcement this week.
There are some interesting names from the past that the company could make use of for the Rumble. But at the same time, the current roster has some unexplored talent as well.
Announcing a name from NXT like Shinsuke Nakamura could be possible considering that the Japanese fan base would be attracted.
#4 Sorting the Women’s division
The Women’s division of Monday Night Raw will be highlighted by two main storylines: The championship pursuit of Bayley and the feud between Sasha Banks and Nia Jax. While Bayley looks set to dethrone her four-horsewomen partner, Sasha seems more like a stepping stone for Nia Jax.
Nia needs to be built up unlike some of the other names in the division, and WWE creative is well aware of this fact.
This week, WWE could end up combining these two storylines for a segment on Raw so that all the four women involved get a good amount of attention. Something big should not be expected but WWE will push the storylines forward in one way or the other.
#3 Neville going after the title
Neville will get what he wanted at the Royal Rumble.
He will be battling for the WWE Cruiserweight championship against Rich Swann and Neville goes into the match as a big favourite. WWE has been building him up pretty well over the past few weeks and this week, it would be better if they gave some limelight to Swann as well.
Swann needs to look strong if he is to be projected as a credible challenge for Neville and fans probably wouldn’t be invested in the match if it’s a one-sided buildup. Considering how the booking has gone so far, Neville could get the upper hand this week too.
#2 The new champion
Chris Jericho became a grand slam champion last week when he won the United States championship from Roman Reigns. This was one of the bold moves that WWE made last week around and with a new champion on the roster; the landscape is bound to be interesting.
Jericho’s win last week takes away the possibility of seeing Roman Reigns as a double champion but at the same time, it reduces the chance of Kevin Owens retaining at Royal Rumble as well.
As far as this week is concerned, it will be time for Jericho and Owens to celebrate their new triumph and they are certainly going to make an entertaining segment out of this.
#1 The Beast returns
If Undertaker and Shawn Michaels were the major attractions of last week, this time around, it is Brock Lesnar. The Beast incarnate makes his return to Monday Night Raw this week and his advocate will have something to say about it as well.
With WWE making part-timers strong ahead of the Rumble, Brock Lesnar is expected to get the better of anyone that crosses his path this week.
Lesnar’s unfinished business with Goldberg will be played out by Paul Heyman and if WWE wants to take it a step further, The Undertaker card would also be played. Nevertheless, bringing in part-timers to hype the Rumble is the highlight of WWE’s road to the Rumble.
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