WWE Monday Night Raw Preview for 02.01.2016: Brock Lesnar Returns, Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose Bro Tension Teased, Sasha Banks

Previews, Top Story

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WWE kicks off February with an all new episode of Monday Night Raw emanating LIVE from the Legacy Arena at The BJCC in Birmingham, AL.

With the Royal Rumble firmly in the rear view mirror, WWE set up the penultimate PPV on the Road to Wrestlemania 32 last week, by announcing a huge 3 way main event for WWE Fast Lane 2016.

HHH, who won the WWE World Heavyweight Title by winning the Royal Rumble, won’t be wrestling at Fast Lane. Instead, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar will wrestle in a match to determine the #1 contender to challenge HHH at Wrestlemania 32.

The lead story for Raw is the return to TV of Brock Lesnar along with his advocate Paul Heyman. The Beast was eliminated from the 2016 Royal Rumble by the Wyatt Family, and hasn’t been heard from since. Heyman, along with Lesnar, will be on Raw to address the situation, including the Fast Lane main event.

WWE.com on Brock Lesnar:
The Beast is back. Since The Wyatt Family utilized the no disqualification environment of the Royal Rumble Match to eliminate Brock Lesnar from the bout, The Anomaly has yet to be seen in a WWE ring. With his return imminent, the entire WWE locker room braces for impact. Who will feel the wrath of this raging behemoth? WWE.com has some ideas

In addition to Lesnar, both Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose will be on Raw to promote the match as well. Tension was teased a bit between the two bros during the Highlight Reel last week on Smackdown. There is sure to be some additional tension between them as they are on a collision course against each other in last than 3 weeks.

A.J. Styles has hit WWE in a big way, first with a lengthy stint in the Royal Rumble, then with wins over Chris Jericho on Raw last week and over Heath Slater on Smackdown. Styles will return to Raw for the second time and will begin to lay out his gameplan for WWE.

Sasha Banks made her intentions for the WWE Divas Title clear. Now she will feel the fallout – how will her “teammates” in Team B.A.D. react? What’s up with the Divas champion Charlotte? And what about Becky Lynch?

Paige tweeted a great fan video of her superkicking Charlotte, then Charlotte doing a Ric Flair face-first fall, then Paige strutting:

Speaking of Paige, she seems back in the “Total Divas” segment of the Divas division, with Alicia Fox, Natalya and Brie Bella. Their storyline, and possibly introducing Mandy Rose (aka Tough Enough Amanda) will continue on Raw as well.

More matches are expected to be set up for Fast Lane, including a possible US Title rematch between Kalisto and Alberto Del Rio, and a new tag team contender for the New Day.

Check out WWE.com Five Points Preview:

  1. Beast mode – But which Superstars will suffer his wrath: Bray Wyatt and his followers, The Beast’s WWE Fastlane opponents or both?
  2. Will tensions rise between Ambrose and Reigns? – Will mind games tear these brothers apart?
  3. Of rematches and revenge – Alberto Del Rio seems to be biding his time, even though he’s guaranteed a rematch after losing the star-spangled prize to The King of Flight at the Royal Rumble event.
  4. Will Goldust and R-Truth finally partner up?- Will Goldust continue his well-meaning but hilariously ineffective pursuit on Raw?
  5. Like a Boss – How will Sasha Banks prove that she deserves to be next in line for Charlotte’s prize on Raw?

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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