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WWE News: ‘Monday Night Raw’ Preview–Brock Lesnar Returns

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 20:38 PST, Jan 10, 2016

Every week, WWE posts a “Five-Point Preview” for Monday Night Raw. As the only live show WWE currently produces, no WWE program other than Raw is available without spoilers. WWE.com’s preview highlights five different storylines in the WWE world that will get some attention on Raw. With John Cena‘s injury, the Royal Rumble being less than two weeks away, and the highly anticipated return of Brock Lesnar — in the city where he ended “The Streak,” no less — what can we expect from this potentially epic WWE Raw?

It looks like things could really begin to shake up tonight for The Beast Incarnate, Roman Reigns, Kalisto, Dean Ambrose, Becky Lynch and more. According to WWE.com’s official Monday Night Raw preview page, below are five narratives from the WWE Universe that will likely be addressed on the USA Network tonight.

The Beast is back!

With his appearances being so rare, the presence of Brock Lesnar generally indicates something huge. Lesnar’s return was booked before John Cena’s injury, so WWE may have already made changes to their plans for the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion. While it’s virtually a guarantee that he’ll be at WrestleMania 32, will he add his name to the list of entrants in the Royal Rumble Match? It’s possible WWE was going to have him come back just to announce he would challenge the winner of the Rumble Match at WrestleMania. But with a major name like Cena out of the picture, WWE could expedite Brock’s return to in-ring action at the Royal Rumble instead of waiting until Mania.

The fight of Reigns’ life

The current WWE World Heavyweight Champion’s motto is “One Versus All.” When Steve Austin was in his prime, his motto was “Don’t Trust Anybody.” On last week’s episode of Raw, Reigns told Stephanie that holding that title is his whole life now. The same was frequently said about Austin during his heyday. Just like Austin’s title reigns, The Big Dog continues to overcome obstacles that the boss puts in his path. And Austin frequently had a “target on his back” as the Rumble approached. According to WWE.com, “Reigns already had a target on his back, but now nearly every Superstar on the roster will be looking to weaken Reigns, either during the Royal Rumble Match or in the two weeks leading up to it.”

To figure out what WWE has in store for Roman Reigns next, maybe all we need to do is take a refresher course on the Austin/McMahon feud of the Attitude Era.

Is a U.S. Title Match in Kalisto’s future?

One of the last acts John Cena made before he was put on the DL was getting the current WWE United States Champion to get in the ring with Kalisto. The smaller half of the Lucha Dragons got an upset victory over “Mexico’s greatest export,” leading many to believe — as WWE.com has teased — that Kalisto could get a rematch tonight with the title on the line. As Wrestling Inc. reported, Sin Cara is still injured. Could that mean Kalisto gets a singles push right away? Will ADR be willing to grant a title shot tonight on Raw? Or could they announce that as one of the under-card matches for the Royal Rumble?

The carnage continues

Of all the current feuds in the WWE Universe, the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) is into Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens the most. If all of the “smarks” and the IWC were polled, you can bet that both Ambrose and Owens would at the top of the list for WWE Superstars that they would want to see win the Royal Rumble Match. Their fights have been some of the most brutal action on WWE programming lately. Could another WWE Intercontinental Championship Match get booked for the Royal Rumble? Or, if both men plan on participating in the Rumble Match, could we get that rematch on Raw tonight?

Will Becky get payback against the Flairs?

In another feud that the IWC is highly invested in, The “Lass Kicker” Becky Lynch has officially ended her friendship with WWE Divas Champion Charlotte. On last week’s debut of WWE Thursday Night SmackDown on the USA Network, Lynch almost took the title from Ric Flair’s daughter. Living up to her father’s reputation as the “dirtiest player in the game,” Charlotte has taken a by-any-means-necessary approach to keeping the strap around her waist.

Since neither of these Divas fit the profile of someone like Chyna, Beth Phoenix or Kharma, there’s almost zero chance they’ll end up in the Rumble Match. I think it’s safe to assume that Lynch will get her WWE Divas Championship rematch — but not until the Royal Rumble.

As all of these stories continue to develop, and the build towards the Royal Rumble and the Road to WrestleMania 32 reaches a boiling point, this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw could be the most significant three hours of Raw that we’ve seen in months.

To find out how WWE will fill the John Cena gap and just what they have planned for Brock Lesnar, tune into WWE Raw on USA, beginning at 8/7c. The Raw Pre-Show can be streamed on the WWE Network at 7:30/6:30c.

[Image via WWE]

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