WWE Monday Night Raw Preview for 06.20.2016: Ambrose Era Begins, John Cena Responds to Loss, Becky Lynch/Natalya Feud Explodes

Previews, Top Story

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WWE has a new Monday Night Raw in the wake of a huge Money in the Bank 2016 PPV.

Last night at the Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins pinned Roman Reigns, then Dean Ambrose cashed in the briefcase to become the new World Champion.

WWE.com on the new Ambrose era:
After capturing the coveted Money in the Bank contract last night, Dean Ambrose cashed in on his former Shield “brother” Seth Rollins to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion! What can the WWE Universe expect during The Lunatic Fringe’s first Raw as sports-entertainment’s supreme titleholder?

It was a shocker that Dean Ambrose came out of the PPV as champion, but what does this mean for the push of “the Guy” Roman Reigns? It looks like there will be a three-way feud for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with the former members of the Shield. Is Reigns still the chosen one lead babyface? Or are we seeing the beginning of a heel turn?

WWE.com is teasing another former Smackdown figurehead to return for wacky skits on Raw. All signs point to Vickie Guerrero returning to Raw at least once in the next few weeks for crazy comedy with Stephanie. People always point to Vickie as someone who got the best of Stephanie on her way out of the company so it should be interesting to see how it is handled.

AJ Styles defeated John Cena at the PPV – but in very controversial fashion. The Club came down after a referee bump to attack Cena, putting Styles on top for the pin. How will this feud move to the next chapter? Obviously there will be another match, but when? What if they are separated in the Brand Split 2.0?

You can’t talk about Raw without the ongoing issues between Shane and Stephanie McMahon. With no more PPVs before the July 19th Smackdown Tuesday move, all the focus of WWE will be to build to the Brand Split 2.0. There should be more intolerable sibling rivalry segments on Raw.

There are tons of open issues right now – who will be the next contender for the WWE Tag Team titles against the New Day? And what’s next for both of the second tier champions – United States Champion Rusev and Intercontinental Champion The Miz?

There was finally some big movement in the women’s division at Money in the Bank PPV, as Natalya attacked Becky Lynch after their tag team loss to Charlotte and Dana Brooke. This feud feels fresh and hot heading into Raw. Becky is a great babyface and now Natalya can flex her skills as a heel. Plus Charlotte will turn her attention to a new challenger for the Summer – possibly Paige or Sasha Banks?

There were rumors that Daniel Bryan was training Nikki Bella for a return this summer, including a new finisher, maybe it is her time to get revenge on Charlotte?

WWE.com Quick Hits Preview:

  1. How will Dean Ambrose celebrate his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship? Now that the WWE World Heavyweight Title belongs to The Lunatic Fringe, can we expect Raw to be even wilder than usual?
  2. Might another former SmackDown figurehead emerge? Will we see this trend continue on this week’s edition of Monday night’s hottest show?
  3. Will Natalya explain herself? The assault came as a complete surprise, both to Becky and the WWE Universe watching around the globe, as Natalya and the fiery redhead have been friends since before they reunited in WWE
  4. Did The Club conspire against John Cena? It’s unclear at this point as to whether Styles planned on Gallows & Anderson’s intervention all along, or if his allies were acting on their own. Regardless, Cena will be looking for reprisal when he arrives in Phoenix for Raw.
  5. Will Titus O’Neil get retribution against Rusev? After Rusev spoiled his Father’s Day in a disgusting and disrespectful manner, O’Neil isn’t going to let The Bulgarian Brute off easy tonight.

The next WWE PPV is Battleground 2016, which is after the Brand Split 2.0

WWE Battleground 2016 – July 24 on WWE Network

Watch WWE Battleground 2016 live on Sunday, July 24 at 8/7 C, only on WWE Network.

Vote in the Money in the Bank 2016 Poll!

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Stephanie McMahon hits the canvas: WWE Canvas 2 Canvas

Artist Rob Schamberger paints the The Billion Dollar Princess in this beautiful rendition of her WrestleMania 32 entrance.

Listen to this week’s Rabblecast!

Jonathan Widro is the owner and founder of Inside Pulse. Over a decade ago he burst onto the scene with a pro-WCW reporting style that earned him the nickname WCWidro. Check him out on Twitter for mostly inane non sequiturs