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With the Royal Rumble just a few weeks away, this week's episode of Monday Night RAW is sure to be a great one. Not only will we get to see the fallout from last week's angle revolving around Rusev, Lashley, and Lana; but a 'fist-fight' has also been advertised on RAW featuring Seth Rollins, AOP against Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, and Big Show.
It was also revealed last week that Lesnar will enter the Royal Rumble this year. So if you are wondering who will eliminate The Beast from the Rumble, we might have the answer in store for you.
Let us take a look at 5 big rumors to know before RAW:
#5 Who will eliminate Lesnar at Royal Rumble?
Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar made a groundbreaking announcement on RAW last week, revealing that the WWE Champion will take part in this year's Royal Rumble. Not only that, the former Universal Champion will be entering first in the Rumble.
This led to speculation that whoever will eliminate The Beast from the match will be the one to face him at WrestleMania 36. While speaking on the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, SportsKeeda's Tom Colohue stated that it will most likely be Cain Velasquez who will eliminate Lesnar.
What’s most likely to happen that it’s going to be Cain Velasquez. But we are where we are with that one. I have mentioned in a previous report for Sportskeeda that the initial plan was for the Royal Rumble to feature another Cain Velasquez match or at least, Cain Velasquez would still be competing with Lesnar at some point. There was a little bit of loss of faith in Velasquez, so that could be at play here.
While Velasquez being a surprise entry into the Rumble is more likely to happen, there is still a chance that the former UFC Champion comes out on RAW this week to enter himself into the 30-man Royal Rumble match.
#2 Rey Mysterio to retire at WrestleMania 36?
3-time World Champion Rey Mysterio had talked about hanging up his boots not long back but was 'convinced' by his son to continue with his career and refrain from retiring. However, as per Tom Colohue, there has been some backstage talk on Rey Mysterio wrapping up his career soon - possibly at WrestleMania 36.
The finish with the mask is very telling because as we know masks are very important in that culture but as part of wrestling, you always go out on your back and masks being taken off is certainly a way to do that. So this could be leading towards that but it’s also sure that Rey Mysterio is wrapping up. I don’t think we are far off seeing a retirement angle coming to play.
I’m starting to hear that WrestleMania may be his last hurrah but I think he definitely wants to see Dominick wrestle either alongside him or be in his corner for a match before he goes.
If Mysterio is indeed planning to retire soon, he is sure to continue to give Andrade a rub on RAW so that he can become the next big Mexican star.
#3 Plans for Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens' partner
One of the biggest stories currently on Monday Night RAW is the feud between Seth Rollins and AOP against Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. While Big Show returned to team up with Joe and Owens last week on RAW, there are no plans for Big Show to be part of the long-term feud.
Dave Meltzer of WON has stated that Rey Mysterio is being planned to be the third man to join Owens and Joe in their crusade against 'The Messiah' Seth Rollins.
According to a recent report by The Wrestling Observer, the original idea behind Rey Mysterio's United States Championship loss on Boxing Day at Madison Square Garden was so that The Master Of The 619 could transition into the storyline with Owens and The Samoan Submission Machine.
(H/t: Sportskeeda)
Before Rey Mysterio got sidetracked with a feud with Andrade, he was being targetted by Rollins and AOP which is why a lot of the fans were surprised that the former US Champion was not part of the ongoing program involving Seth Rollins. So, we can certainly expect Mysterio to be more involved with Joe and Owens in the coming weeks.
#2 Reason for Big Show's return
The Big Show returned last week on Monday Night RAW to a huge reaction from the crowd. As stated previously, Big Show will not be a long-term partner for Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens. However, as per Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue, the former WWE Champion has been brought back to put people over.
As far as Big Show is concerned, he has come to put people over, and yes, he may have been made to look good this Monday night on RAW but that’s important in order to put people over because if nobody cares about you, nobody is going to care who you are putting over. He is not here to be wrestling every week, he is not going to do that, we are seeing a changing of the guard in the WWE at the moment.
Big Show is a veteran in WWE, and given his accolades, is one of the best people who can help make new stars. Anyone who defeats Show automatically earns credibility and it will be interesting to see who The Big Show will help in the coming weeks.
#1 Kevin Owens heading to NXT?
While The Prizefighter KO has been the center of attention on RAW as of late, he has expressed desire to head back to NXT if he gets the chance. While speaking on WWE'S The Bump show, the former Universal Champion talked about how he would love to go back to NXT.
“The NXT Title is the top title on NXT and just the way that NXT handles itself and the way people view NXT I think that title is just as prestigious as the WWE one, the Universal one. If I were given the chance — like if they said ‘you’re going back to NXT, but you’re going to be competing for the NXT Title’ — first of all, if they came to me and said ‘you’re going back to NXT’ without the NXT Title part I’d be ‘Okay.’ If the NXT Title was on the line as well I would jump on that offer.” H/t Credit: WrestleTalk
SportsKeeda's Tom Colohue has also revealed that KO is in Triple H's list of Superstars he wants back in the black and yellow brand. We can expect Owens to be pushed on RAW if WWE wants him to stay on the 'main roster'.
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