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Last week's RAW was quite interesting. A few people noted that it started off well, but by hour two, it began to lose pace and interest. That's a fair argument, but we still believe that the first RAW of 2019 was solid and entertaining.
John Cena kicked off 2019 on RAW with a bang, announcing his entry to the Royal Rumble match. Well, technically it did kick off with a brawl between Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley, but we'll get back to that.
Rollins pinned Ambrose in the opening tag team match, and Triple H, happy with Rollins' aggression, granted him a title match for the very same night. Oh, and it was Falls Count Anywhere!
We have a dream match-up for the Women's Championship, as Sasha Banks is now the #1 contender to Ronda Rousey's title. A controversial tag title match and more saw an interesting episode of RAW. But we're looking ahead, not behind, and with that said, let's look at what to expect from RAW this week.
#5. Ronda Rousey and Sasha Banks team up
We mentioned the dream match. Royal Rumble will see Sasha Banks challenge Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women's Championship. She won her opportunity after defeating Nia Jax in a number one contender's match last week.
Rousey has been full of praise for Sasha Banks, while The Boss told Rousey she'll teach her how to lose with "dignity and respect". While the two don't have particular animosity, they team up tonight to face common enemies Nia Jax and Tamina.
Could tensions pop up and frustrations start to pour out? Corey Graves has always been vocal about Sasha Banks turning on anybody to get the job done, and he could be right. Rousey is a big Sasha Banks fangirl, but if she's naive enough, Sasha could turn on her to get in her head and make a statement.
#4. What does Braun Strowman have to say?
Last week, Brock Lesnar refused to come face-to-face with Braun Strowman. First, he appeared on the titantron, then after Strowman relentlessly asking him to come out, he accepted.
However, he only circled the ring and walked away. Strowman seemed like the bigger man, but if you notice his somewhat thrown off sentences during their segment, he showed a hint of nervousness as well, something we've never seen before.
What will Braun Strowman have to say about last week's incident? Will Lesnar appear?
#3. The build to the Royal Rumble continues
We've got a whole bunch of superstars from RAW and SmackDown Live who have announced their entries into the Royal Rumble. We've already got 19 names in the men's match and 13 names in the Women's match. More will be announced in the coming weeks.
Also read: 2019 Royal Rumble confirmed entrants
It's also quite a star-studded Rumble, and it's going to be interesting to see how the superstars of the red brand try to keep their momentum alive as the road to WrestleMania begins.
#2. The Revival conspiracy
The Revival has had some serious bad luck in RAW Tag Team title matches. In fact, looking at recent memory, there's probably been no team as unlucky. Remember when they were supposed to challenge The B-Team for the titles and got taken out by Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler? The men who beat them down ended up winning the titles!
The last few weeks, The Revival has been screwed over in back-to-back title matches. The first time, the wrong member of The Revival was in the ring and ended up getting pinned. Last week, there was a lumberjack title match that turned out to be more like a circus.
Scott Dawson was pinned by Gable, but as you can clearly see in the photo above, Dawson's foot is under the rope. Not only this, but the photo reveals that the referee had a clear view of what happened.
The Revival firmly believe that there's a conspiracy against them, and we tend to agree with The Top Guys. Take a look at what they had to say.
#1. A triple threat Intercontinental Championship show-down
Last week, Seth Rollins had a Falls Count Anywhere match for the Intercontinental Championship. It was a gruelling affair, as the action ended up going backstage. Seth Rollins finally had Dean Ambrose beat when he landed the curb stomp, but Bobby Lashley interfered and attacked Rollins, allowing Ambrose to pick up the win.
Lashley sent Rollins through the table post-match too. Rollins and Lashley have been going at it since Rollins attacked Lashley during their match, DQing himself. Last week began with a brawl between the two, and Lashley has now forcefully interjected himself into the Intercontinental title picture.
The powers that be decided to make a triple threat match tonight between Ambrose, Rollins and Lashley and anything can happen! Remember, the champion doesn't need to be pinned, and there are no disqualifications. Lashley could very well end up becoming the Intercontinental Champion. He is long overdue for a title win, after all.
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