WWE ‘Monday Night Raw’ Preview: Brock Lesnar Returns To Address ‘Royal Rumble 2017’ And Loss To Goldberg At ‘Survivor Series’
One week after the return of Shawn Michaels, the return of The Undertaker, and the official announcement that WrestleMania 34 would be held in New Orleans, Brock Lesnar returns to Monday Night Raw to talk about Royal Rumble 2017 in his first appearance on WWE programming since jobbing to Goldberg at Survivor Series 2016. However, if this Lesnar appearance is anything like most of Brock’s Monday Night Raw cameos, The Beast Incarnate will mostly stand silently as Paul Heyman cuts a promo. But with Lesnar being a part of the Royal Rumble Match — and 17 spots remaining to be claimed — could one of the superstars from the red brand have the audacity to interrupt Heyman and his client to announce his own entry into the 30-man battle royal at WWE’s January PPV?
While Roman Reigns could invoke his obligatory rematch for the United States Championship, it seems more likely that he’ll remain focused on his WWE Universal Championship Match at Royal Rumble, in which Y2J will be locked in a shark cage above the ring. If Roman Reigns is walking into WrestleMania 34 as the champ, this is almost certainly the match in which Kevin Owens will drop the title. Now that both members of Jeri-KO are holding titles, they claim to be the faces of Raw. Reigns will undoubtedly have something to say about that.
Bayley also has a title shot at the Royal Rumble, in arguably the biggest match of her career. Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair is seemingly unstoppable when it comes to PPV title matches. Is there any chance that Bayley will figure out how to do what Sasha Banks has repeatedly failed to do? One week after Bayley and The Boss lost to Nia Jax and Charlotte, how will the No. 1 contender bounce back?
Finally, Neville continues his campaign to be recognized as King of the Cruiserweights as he challenges WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann for the title at Royal Rumble 2017. With the PPV still two weeks away, which member of the 205 Live roster will Neville look to obliterate on Monday Night Raw?
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Updated WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Card
- The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, The New Day, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Baron Corbin and 17 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
- Rich Swann (c) vs. Neville — WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
- AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena — WWE Championship Match
WWE Royal Rumble 2017 will be the next PPV featuring stars from Monday Night Raw (although it will also include competitors from SmackDown LIVE). Fewer matches are generally scheduled for WWE’s annual January PPV, since the Royal Rumble Match can take upwards of 90 minutes, with the lead-in promos and post-match shenanigans. 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]
