5 biggest Raw storylines on the road to WrestleMania 34

The final WWE Raw-exclusive pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34, Elimination Chamber, gave us some confirmation (and plenty of clues) about who could be facing who in New Orleans this April.

The red brand’s roster is as stacked as ever on the road to this year’s “Show of Shows”, with major stars like Triple H, Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Ronda Rousey set to dominate WWE’s flagship show over the next five weeks.

In this article, we guide you through the five biggest storylines that look set to take up much of Raw’s programming as we get closer to WrestleMania.

---

#5 Who will Braun Strowman face?

Braun Strowman was pinned by Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber

Braun Strowman is one of the most popular Superstars in WWE right now but, for the second year in a row, it doesn’t look like he will have a featured match on the WrestleMania card.

In 2017, he had to settle for a few minutes of in-ring action in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal kickoff show match, while he is currently involved in a largely meaningless, yet entertaining, rivalry with Elias.

Many fans are calling for him to be added to the Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns match, which seems a little far-fetched at this point, while there’s talk that he could be added to the Intercontinental title picture before ‘Mania.

Whatever happens, expect plenty of Superstars to “get these hands” on Raw between now and April.

#4 The Intercontinental Championship situation

The Miz has plenty of possible WrestleMania opponents

The Intercontinental Championship was relegated to the kickoff show at WrestleMania 33. However, with The Miz as its holder and big-name Superstars like Seth Rollins and Finn Balor in the title picture, it will surely feature on the main card at this year’s event.

Several reports earlier in 2018 suggested that Braun Strowman would take on The Miz for the title on the grand ‘Mania stage, but that talk has quietened of late and it looks much more likely that “The A-Lister” will defend his title in a multi-man match.

The IC title was up for grabs in multi-man ladder matches at WrestleMania 31 and WrestleMania 32, and a repeat of that at WrestleMania 34 would be a good way to include the likes of Rollins, Balor and Miz in an entertaining match at WWE’s biggest show of the year.

Will it happen? It remains to be seen, but we can certainly expect the trio (Strowman and Elias, too, perhaps?) to continue feuding as the weeks go on and the build to WrestleMania continues.

#3 The entire women’s division

Alexa Bliss retained her Raw Women's title at Elimination Chamber

There hasn’t been a one-on-one match between two women at WrestleMania since Melina fought Ashley Massaro in 2007, yet now WWE finds themselves in a position where they have more female Superstars at their disposal than they know what to do with.

Barring a miracle, Alexa Bliss is going to remain Raw Women’s champion until WrestleMania 34, with her rumoured opponent either being best friend Nia Jax or Royal Rumble winner Asuka (provided she doesn’t switch to SmackDown Live).

There was also recent talk of Sasha Banks winning the title at Elimination Chamber, which obviously didn't happen, to set up a ‘Mania match with Bayley. A title match now seems impossible but, especially after this week’s Raw, a non-title match in New Orleans looks increasingly likely.

Either way, the stories being told in the women’s division on Raw are some of the best in WWE right now, so let’s hope for more of the same over the next month!

#2 Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Roman Reigns had some harsh words for Brock Lesnar on Raw

The long-rumoured WrestleMania main event between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar was confirmed at Elimination Chamber when “The Big Dog” outlasted six other men to become #1 contender for the Universal title.

With the pressure on to make fans care about the match, Reigns delivered his greatest promo to date on the 26 February episode of Raw, claiming that Lesnar no-showed the event before dismissing him as “an entitled piece of c**p who hides behind his contract”.

This was the most intense and aggressive Reigns has ever been during a promo and it’ll make for must-watch TV when Lesnar returns to Raw in the build to WrestleMania.

#1 Triple H & Stephanie McMahon vs. Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey slammed Triple H through a table at Elimination Chamber

WWE fans had a lot of reservations about Ronda Rousey swapping the octagon for the squared circle. However, the early signs are promising and it looks like her debut match will be treated as the major storyline on Raw in the coming weeks.

At Elimination Chamber, with a raucous crowd ready to boo her, she quickly won them over and received one of the loudest reactions of 2018 so far when she put Triple H through a table.

It’s pretty clear that WWE is building towards a tag match between HHH & Stephanie McMahon and Kurt Angle & Ronda at WrestleMania, with reports suggesting the company is trying to emulate the Vince McMahon-Steve Austin story with Stephanie and Ronda.

Whether you like Ronda or not, credit to WWE – this is shaping up to be one of the most interesting roads to WrestleMania that we’ve seen on Raw for a long time.