‘WWE Monday Night Raw’ Preview: Which Matches Will Be Added To ‘Royal Rumble 2017’ Card?
So far, the only matched booked for WWE Royal Rumble 2017 are the 30-man battle royal (featuring Goldberg and Brock Lesnar) and the Universal Championship Match (featuring Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens and a shark cage). With Christmas officially over and 2016 coming to a close, the stars of WWE Monday Night Raw have one final episode to set the tone for 2017 and for the “Road to WrestleMania 33,” which begins at the Royal Rumble next month. Is that when Bayley will get her title match against Charlotte Flair? Is that when Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman will finally get another official match?
With no mention of Goldberg, Lesnar or even Paul Heyman in WWE’s official Raw preview, the central focus of the show is likely to be the Universal Championship. To make sure that Chris Jericho can’t interfere on Kevin Owens’ behalf, he will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage for the duration of the title bout at the PPV next month. As demonstrated last week, Y2J is apparently afraid of heights, so his acrophobia will likely be a recurring joke in many segments featuring Jeri-KO between now and Royal Rumble.
However, after Braun Strowman attacked both Seth Rollins and United States Champion Roman Reigns last week — all because he couldn’t get his hands on Sami Zayn — how will the interaction between these four men play the matches already scheduled for Royal Rumble? Will Jericho still be involved in the Royal Rumble Match? Will Strowman and Zayn both be a part of the battle royal?
Additionally, Bayley is now 3-0 against Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair since moving up to the main roster. It seems very likely that she’ll be the next person to challenge for the title, and the Royal Rumble seems a likely time and place. However, if Bayley goes into the Alamodome 3-0 against the champ and then loses her title match, it gives her a very undeserved equivalence to James Ellsworth. He was also 3-0 against AJ Styles before finally getting a title match, in which he was firmly put back in his place.
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Updated WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Card
- Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and 28 others TBD — Royal Rumble Match
- Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns — WWE Universal Championship Shark Cage Match
- Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley — Raw Women’s Championship Match (unconfirmed)
- AJ Styles (c) vs. TBD — WWE Championship Match (unconfirmed)
- Alexa Bliss (c) vs. TBD — SmackDown Women’s Championship Match (unconfirmed)
Prior to the last Monday Night Raw of 2016, only two matches had been confirmed for WWE Royal Rumble 2017. Royal Rumble will be the next WWE PPV and will feature stars from both WWE Raw and SmackDown LIVE. Royal Rumble 2017 will air live on Sunday, January 29, from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. As more information is confirmed, it will be updated at WWE’s official Royal Rumble preview page.
Where To Watch WWE Raw
WWE Royal Rumble 2017 will air live on the WWE Network on Sunday, January 29 at 8/7c. The Royal Rumble Kickoff Show will begin at 7/6c.
Episodes of WWE Monday Night Raw air live on the USA Network at 8/7c. 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 subscription.
[Featured Image by WWE]
