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‘WWE Monday Night Raw’ Preview: Rusev Responds To Roman Reigns Before ‘SummerSlam’

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 11:44 PST, Aug 14, 2016

Before Roman Reigns vs. Rusev was made official for SummerSlam 2016, the Big Dog interrupted the United States Champion’s in-ring wedding celebration with his new bride Lana. The Ravishing Russian was ultimately left covered in wedding cake, and General Manager Mick Foley made the U.S. title match official for SummerSlam. At the final Raw before the WWE’s biggest party of the summer, how will Rusev try to regain the upper hand on Reigns before their match next Sunday?

Booked weeks before the U.S. Championship Match was Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton. The last time Lesnar and Heyman showed up on Raw, Randy Orton was there to give his SummerSlam opponent a taste of what’s to come. What will The Anomaly have to say this week since evening the score by invading SmackDown Live two weeks ago?

Two other major singles matches at SummerSlam include the WWE Women’s Championship and the crowning of the first-ever WWE Universal Champion. Charlotte will defend her title sans Dana Brooke after Banks risked making it a Handicap Match on Raw last week. Meanwhile, Seth Rollins continues to mock Finn Bálor and his demon gimmick. With so much on the line at SummerSlam, there’s no doubt all four competitors will try to make a statement on Monday Night Raw.

Below is a deeper look at WWE’s official Monday Night Raw preview for August 15. Each week, the WWE Universe is provided borderline spoilers in regard to the assumed events that will take place on the WWE’s flagship program, which airs live on the USA Network.

WWE Monday Night Raw Preview

As the final episode of WWE Raw before SummerSlam on August 21, the red brand airs their show live from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. As Wrestling News World reported, Raw beat SmackDown Live in the ratings last week, averaging 2.911 million viewers, while SmackDown Live averaged 2.455 million. On August 15, Monday Night Raw looks to extend their ratings war winning streak to four weeks.

Lesnar to address The Viper

Aside from Orton’s “no enhancement needed” comment at Battleground 2016, the WWE hasn’t acknowledged Lesnar’s UFC drug-testing controversy on air. With less than a week until SummerSlam, Brock and Paul Heyman aren’t likely to bring it up now. Will Randy Orton find a way to bypass the Monday Night Raw security and hit Lesnar with another RKO Outta Nowhere? If not, what will Lesnar and his Advocate have to say this week that they haven’t already said to the WWE Universe?

Can Roman Reigns spoil Rusev’s night yet again?

As soon as the cakes were visible on last week’s Monday Night Raw, it was pretty obvious that Lana and/or Rusev would end up covered in frosting. The current United States Champion will undoubtedly have a response this week — as will his wife Lana, the Ravishing Russian.

Seth Rollins to deconstruct The Demon King

After Seth Rollins mocked Finn Bálor’s name and the mythology tied to his Demon King persona, WWE aired a very well-produced segment in which Finn went into great detail about the myths and monsters that inspire his alter ego. Apparently, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion wants to “conjure The Demon King” this week on Raw. Could the WWE Universe get a glimpse of Finn Bálor’s darker side less than a week before his match at SummerSlam 2016 for the WWE Universal Championship?

How will The New Day retaliate against Gallows & Anderson?

With Big E already sidelined thanks to a case of “ringpostitis” that was induced by The Club, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson tried to leave Kofi Kingston with the same injuries on Monday Night Raw last week. Xavier Woods fended Anderson and Gallows off, so The New Day still has two healthy members when they defend their belts at SummerSlam 2016. Will this be the last episode of WWE Raw in which The New Day hold the WWE Tag Team Championship?

Do cheaters prosper?

Taking on WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund as a life coach hasn’t yet paid off for Darren Young as well as he had probably hoped. After failing to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WWE Battleground, he finds himself in a feud with former Prime Time Players tag team partner Titus O’Neil. Now that both competitors have a win over each other thanks to a handful of tights, they will likely get a match at SummerSlam to finish the program — or more likely, a match on the SummerSlam Kick-Off Show.

Charlotte goes solo

In typical heel fashion, WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte has extended her title reign thanks in large part to assists from friends like Dana Brooke and her father Ric Flair. After defeating Dana on last week’s episode of Raw, Sasha earned the addition of a stipulation to her title match at WWE SummerSlam. Dana Brooke will be banned from ringside, forcing Charlotte to defend the title on her own. There’s no doubt that Charlotte and Sasha will be in each other’s faces on Monday Night Raw.

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Where To Watch

WWE SummerSlam 2016 is set for Sunday, August 21. It will air exclusively on the WWE Network at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central. The SummerSlam Kick-Off Show will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Central.

WWE Monday Night RAW airs live on the USA Network at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central, with the Raw Pre-Show airing on the WWE Network at 7:30 p.m. Eastern/6:30 p.m. Central. Replays of WWE RAW aren’t made available on the WWE Network until several weeks after the original air date. However, a 90-minute version of Monday Night Raw is available to stream on-demand the following day with a Hulu Plus subscription.

[Image via WWE]

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