7 things WWE subtly told us on RAW: Possible bad news about Edge's return, Unexpected WrestleMania match confirmed? (January 3rd, 2020)

Welcome to this week's edition of "things WWE subtly told us on RAW". It was a decent episode, but not the best one on the road to WrestleMania. Either way, a few storylines concluded and it was a happening show as WWE began to build towards Super ShowDown.

While not the most exciting PPV, there seem to be a few interesting match-ups on the way, with Goldberg returning to SmackDown this week to announce a match for Super ShowDown. That means he's going to compete against a SmackDown star, but there might just be something to look forward to.

We're still confused as to how WWE will hold two PPVs (Super ShowDown and Elimination Chamber) within weeks of each other. Either way, here's what WWE subtly told us on RAW!

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#7. No Edge for a while

The sign says it all

Randy Orton opened the show and in a classic heel move, hardly spoke a word. He did eventually open up for a few seconds, but he preferred to soak in all the jeers that he was receiving.

He was, to no surprise, the most hated man on the show. We liked the segment but it also means that we won't be seeing Edge return for a while. It makes sense that he'll only return around March, especially since there's no way to drag out the feud until WrestleMania without it getting boring quickly.

Fans aren't going to be happy about this, but it's probably going to mean a lot more when he returns a month later - presumably after Elimination Chamber. Until then, what does Randy Orton do? He's not in any title feud and AJ Styles seems to be out for a bit with a shoulder injury.

Is he just going to come out every week and say a few words? That can only get him so far.

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You can also check out our exclusive interview with the NXT UK Women's Champion where she laid out a challenge to The Man!

#6. An unexpected WrestleMania match

This is a great match-up

While there were a few rumors about Charlotte Flair challenging Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 36, not many expected it to be true. Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair was the safe direction to go.

A match against Bayley is neither exciting nor practical - since Bayley already feuded with her last year and has a match just waiting to happen against Sasha Banks at the show of shows. While the same could be said about Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and The Man have a history of great matches (particularly the Last Woman Standing match at Evolution 2018).

However, we have to give WWE props for not choosing to go the obvious route and trying something different. Moreover, it's a big push to the NXT brand a big push to make Rhea Ripley the next big star in WWE. A lot can happen with this match and it could be the one to watch out for at WrestleMania.

#5. No allies for Kevin Owens?

Kevin Owens had to do it on his own

The story of the past couple of weeks has been about Kevin Owens having to fight his battle on his own. Last week, he teamed up with Samoa Joe in a RAW Tag Team Championship match.

Unfortunately for him, Samoa Joe suffered a concussion and was forced to be removed from the match. Owens ended up having to finish the match on his own, with the numbers game unsusprisingly catching up to him.

This week, it was a similar story. He teamed with The Viking Raiders against Buddy Murphy and AoP in a six-man elimination tag team match. Erik was eliminated first after an assist from Seth Rollins and Ivar had to pull out of the match due to an injury.

Despite this, Owens somehow racked up two eliminations before the numbers game caught up to him again. And from the look of things, Rey Mysterio nor Aleister Black will be joining his fight.

The story seems to be that Owens has to do it on his own. That could be a big push for him as a babyface.

#4. The Lana-Liv Morgan story might be coming to a conclusion

A big return

Liv Morgan and Lana had a rematch from last week. We thought that Lana would pick up a sneaky win in the usual 50-50 booking. However, it was yet another squash match and Liv Morgan walked out victorious.

She was met by her old faction member Ruby Riott - who returned from injury after a long time. She turned and attacked her, instantly setting up another rivalry. Even though Lana got to attack Morgan afterward, continuing the feud makes no sense now.

It could even be argued that the feud made no sense from the start but WWE ran with it and had some success, so we can't fully blame them. However, Rusev was absent since the RAW before Royal Rumble and it was Liv Morgan who carried the feud with Lana and beat her at the end.

We hope that this is the end of the feud and since Ruby Riott is back, that's the feud to go with. It makes more storyline sense.

#3. Zelina Vega to start pulling double-duty soon?

Zelina Vega with the debuting Angel Garza

With United States Champion Andrade suspended for a month due to a violation of the Wellness Policy, Zelina Vega had nothing to do. That was until the latest RAW, where she introduced Humberto Carrillo to a man he's all too familiar with - his cousin Angel Garza.

The former Cruiserweight Champion was introduced by Vega in what appears to be an all-Latino feud. Rey Mysterio would come out as well, having a match with Angel Garza himself. It ended with Garza hitting Mysterio with a DDT onto the concrete - as payback against Humberto Carrillo.

It appears as though Zelina Vega will have to start pulling double-duty once March begins. Andrade is going to return as soon as his suspension is over. Whether Garza is going to be a permanent fixture on RAW or not, we're not sure. However, he speaks good English and is solid in the ring - a far superior performer to Carrillo.

It's going to be an interesting few weeks ahead for him.

#2. Becky Lynch vs Asuka 3 could lead to an Elimination Chamber PPV match

Becky Lynch accepted Asuka's challenge

The RAW Women's roster is unfortunately weak and it's showing - even with Becky Lynch being one of the best Champions in the company. Her rivalries since becoming RAW Women's Champion have been against Lacey Evans, Sasha Banks, The Kabuki Warriors and then just Asuka.

Her last rivalry isn't over. Despite beating her clean, Asuka challenged Becky Lynch for another title match after submitting Natalya on RAW. Becky Lynch came out and accepted her challenge before throwing Kairi Sane out of the ring.

The match is official for next week and the two women will have a televised singles match for the third time. However, this seems to be one of those situations where WWE wants to drag it on for a few more weeks.

Becky Lynch needs one more major match before WrestleMania and Asuka could be that last hurdle. It likely means that we won't be seeing an Elimination Chamber Match for the RAW Women's Championship.

#1. The Brock Lesnar-Ricochet feud

Is this the right match?

The reason why Brock Lesnar appeared in the Royal Rumble match rather than defending the WWE Championship was simple - there were little to no credible challengers left. While Drew McIntyre was the right man, they made sure to save him for a much bigger spot.

Until then, Brock Lesnar needs a filler feud to get to Super ShowDown - and Ricochet is exactly that. We're admittedly a bit disappointed that Bobby Lashley didn't win - especially since he said that one of the reasons he returned was to face Brock Lesnar.

This would have been a good time to do it but perhaps Ricochet's involvement in Drew McIntyre eliminating Lesnar at the Rumble was a sign in itself. He even confronted Brock Lesnar before the Royal Rumble and it ended badly for him.

Right after Ricochet pinned Bobby Lashley to secure his spot as the #1 contender to the WWE Championship, Lesnar came out and F-5'd him. Unfortunately for Ricochet, he's only in a temporary spot to fill time until WrestleMania.