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The latest episode of WWE Raw takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday.
One of the biggest storylines heading into the show involves Ronda Rousey, who was attacked last week by The Bella Twins to set up a Raw Women’s Championship match against Nikki Bella at WWE Evolution.
Two Crown Jewel World Cup qualifying matches have been announced for this week’s episode, with Seth Rollins facing Drew McIntyre and Dean Ambrose taking on Dolph Ziggler.
With WWE Evolution just two weeks away, we can expect to see plenty of storyline development from the likes of The Riott Squad, Nia Jax, Ember Moon and Bayley in the women’s division, while the build to Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Alexa Bliss & Mickie James will continue.
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Elsewhere, Bobby Lashley is set to feature following his attack on Kevin Owens, Kurt Angle could make an appearance after winning last week’s Global Battle Royal, and WWE is teasing that The Brothers of Destruction could respond to D-Generation X.
In this article, let’s take a look at five last-minute predictions ahead of the show.
#5 Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre (World Cup qualifier)
The Crown Jewel World Cup currently consists of four well-known Superstars with storied WWE careers (John Cena, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton), while Rey Mysterio could be added to that list when he faces Shinsuke Nakamura in a qualifier on Tuesday's milestone SmackDown 1000 episode.
It seems that WWE is putting as many recognisable names in this eight-man tournament as possible, which means we're more likely to see WrestleMania 31 headliner Seth Rollins take part instead of Drew McIntyre, who is only just reaching his peak as a WWE Superstar.
There is a chance that McIntyre walks away with the victory – he has had Rollins' number on multiple occasions over the last few months – but we'd be foolish to bet against the Intercontinental champion.
The most intriguing World Cup qualifier on Monday is between these two guys' tag partners (more on that shortly).
Prediction: Seth Rollins def. Drew McIntyre
#4 Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler (World Cup qualifier)
The Shield hasn't clicked as well as WWE probably would have hoped since they reformed upon Dean Ambrose's return from injury in August.
Audiences are still very vocal towards Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns but their current rivalry with Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre doesn't feel anywhere near compelling enough to warrant including every male Raw title in the storyline.
Last week's episode ended with "The Lunatic Fringe" walking to the backstage area by himself after taking a pinfall loss in a six-man main event between the two teams, while footage on WWE.com later showed him questioning whether he fits into The Shield anymore.
With dissension in the Shield ranks and Ambrose less confident than ever about his role in the once-dominant faction, let's go with Ziggler to get the win in this World Cup qualifier.
Prediction: Dolph Ziggler def. Dean Ambrose
#3 How will Ronda Rousey address The Bella Twins?
Last week's episode of Raw saw Ronda Rousey, Nikki Bella & Brie Bella defeat The Riott Squad in a six-woman rematch from Super Show-Down.
Rousey picked up the victory for her team again, making Ruby Riott submit to her trademark armbar submission, but the big story came after the match when Nikki attacked "The Baddest Woman On The Planet" after she turned her back in the middle of the ring.
The first WWE women's pay-per-view to consist solely of women, WWE Evolution, is only two weeks away and the Raw Women's Championship match between Rousey and Nikki is expected to headline the event ahead of Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair.
WWE has a huge task on their hands to make fans care about Rousey vs. Nikki more than Lynch vs. Flair, so expect to see lots of storyline development in this rivalry on Monday.
Let's predict that Rousey will try to find The Bellas in multiple segments throughout the night. She will then finally get her hands on them later on in the show, making Brie submit to an armbar to send a message to Nikki.
Prediction: Ronda Rousey makes Brie Bella submit
#2 How will WWE continue the build to Evolution?
As things stand, the only Raw matches confirmed for WWE Evolution are Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella (Raw Women's Championship) and Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Alexa Bliss & Mickie James.
The rest of the roster, meanwhile, currently finds themselves without meaningful storylines heading into one of the biggest events in the history of women's wrestling.
Ember Moon defeated Nia Jax via count-out last week, so that will presumably set something up for Evolution, but the likes of Bayley, Sasha Banks, The Riott Squad and Alicia Fox are lacking obvious opponents for the show.
It looks likely that WWE will announce some kind of Battle Royal to get as many women on the Evolution card as possible, but it would be a surprise to see Bayley and Banks compete in a chaotic multi-person match considering that they have been two of the biggest stars of the Women's Evolution.
For that reason, let's predict that Banks will return from injury and help Bayley fend off an attack from another tag team (say, The Riott Squad?) to plant the seeds for a match at Evolution.
Prediction: Sasha Banks returns to help Bayley
#1 What’s next for Bobby Lashley?
Even the most loyal supporters of Bobby Lashley will have to admit that his long-awaited return to WWE hasn't exactly worked out over the last six months.
That should all change now, however, as he showed a mean streak to his character last week by attacking Kevin Owens post-match before setting up a possible rivalry with Finn Balor in a backstage interview later in the show.
Balor hasn't yet been announced for a match on Monday's episode, but it's safe to assume that his relatively meaningless rivalry with Jinder Mahal could continue with another match this week.
Presuming the Irishman picks up the victory, that could then lead to an appearance (and inevitable post-match beatdown) from Lashley, with hype man Lio Rush cheering him on.
Prediction: Bobby Lashley attacks Finn Balor out of nowhere
