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The final episode of WWE Raw before SummerSlam 2018 will take place in Greensboro, North Carolina on Monday.
One of the biggest storylines heading into the show surrounds Roman Reigns’ upcoming Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar, while all eyes (and ears) will be on Renee Young as she makes her Raw commentary debut alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves.
As for this week’s in-ring action, The B-Team will put their Raw Tag Team Championships on the line in a Triple Threat tag match against The Revival and The Deleters of Worlds, and Alexa Bliss will prepare for her SummerSlam match against Ronda Rousey by facing Natalya.
Elsewhere on the show, the build-up to Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias is set to continue, while Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins will have a contract signing ahead of Sunday’s Intercontinental Championship encounter.
Further down the card, the returning Ruby Riott will feature after vowing to tear The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection apart last week, and Mojo Rawley is likely to seek revenge following his defeat against Bobby Roode.
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In this article, let’s take a look at five last-minute predictions ahead of the episode.
#5 Will Braun Strowman’s losing run continue?
Braun Strowman’s current tally of three televised losses in a row is hardly Curt Hawkins levels of bad, but it’s still significant when you consider that he hasn’t been on a winless streak like this since way back in January 2016.
Heading into SummerSlam, “The Monster Among Men” has to get back to winning ways as he prepares to put his Money In The Bank contract on the line against Kevin Owens on 19 August.
Jinder Mahal continues to be involved in the Strowman vs. Owens story as we get closer to the PPV, so let’s predict that Mr. MITB will pick up a victory over the former WWE champion to gain some much-needed momentum – and send a monstrous message to KO – ahead of next Sunday’s big match.
Prediction: Braun Strowman defeats Jinder Mahal
#4 How will Renee Young fare on her Raw commentary debut?
It has been announced by WWE that, in the absence of regular commentator Jonathan Coachman, backstage interviewer/presenter Renee Young will be part of the three-hour announce team for this week’s episode of Raw.
Renee, who commentated on NXT during the brand’s early days, has already been announced as a member of the announce team for the upcoming Mae Young Classic alongside Beth Phoenix and Michael Cole, but this will be the first time that she (or any woman) has called an entire Raw episode.
The feedback from fans and colleagues has been overwhelmingly positive on social media, so let’s predict that she’ll be one of the best things about this week’s episode.
Prediction: The first of many Raw commentary appearances!
#3 The B-Team vs. The Revival vs. The Deleters of Worlds (Raw Tag Team Championships)
Just six days before SummerSlam, it has been announced that The B-Team will put their Raw Tag Team Championships on the line against The Revival and The Deleters of Worlds on this week’s episode of Raw.
The rivalry between the three teams has been slowly building over the last few weeks, with the expectation being that the eventual title match will take place at SummerSlam rather than on Raw.
So, will this week's encounter descend into chaos and lead to a rematch on Sunday? Or will we really see a definitive winner on Monday? This is tough to predict but, based on Akira Tozawa’s Cruiserweight Championship win on the Raw before SummerSlam last year, let’s go for a title change.
Prediction: The Revival win the Raw Tag Team Championships
#2 Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya
Alexa Bliss will warm up for her Raw Women’s Championship match against Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam by facing her upcoming opponent’s training partner, Natalya, on Raw this week.
“Little Miss Bliss” has been known to lose non-title matches in the past before retaining her title in the important matches that matter the most, but it would make more sense for her to defeat Natalya this week so she can appear like a more credible threat to “The Baddest Woman On The Planet” on Sunday.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss defeats Natalya
#1 How will Roman Reigns prepare for Brock Lesnar?
As of the time of writing, Brock Lesnar is not advertised to make an appearance on this week’s Raw, so it looks like the onus will be on Roman Reigns (and possibly Paul Heyman) to maintain fans' interest in the upcoming Universal Championship match at SummerSlam.
After “The Big Dog” was removed from the tag match with Seth Rollins against Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre last week, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if this week’s Intercontinental Championship contract signing results in Reigns interfering to even up the numbers and help out his Shield buddy.
That way Reigns and Rollins could pick up a 2-on-2 win on Raw to build some momentum ahead of their respective title matches on Sunday.
Prediction: Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins win a tag match
