When:
United States: LIVE, Monday Night, July 13, at 8/7c on the USA Network
United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, July 14, at 1AM on SkySportsHD3
Where:
Philips Arena
Atlanta, GA
Raw Five-Point Preview: July 13, 2015
With his clash with Brock Lesnar at WWE Battleground looming on the horizon, Seth Rollins undoubtedly clutching his WWE World Heavyweight Championship a little tighter these days. After all, The Beast Incarnate not only demolished J&J Security’s Cadillac last Monday night, but put both Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury on the shelf during his rampage. Who will watch The Architect’s back this Monday night in Atlanta, when The Anomaly is in the building?
Join WWE.com as we preview the final Raw before WWE Battleground.
1. What does Lesnar want more?
Ever since Seth Rollins robbed Brock Lesnar of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in themain event of WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar has had it out for “The Future of WWE,” and at WWE Battleground, Rollins will have nowhere to hide. Yet, as much as this collision is about the WWE World Heavyweight Title itself — the grandest prize in sports-entertainment — it’s also a matter of retribution for The Anomaly, who wants nothing more than to make The Architect pay for his past transgressions.
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But what is Lesnar truly looking for: Rollins’ title or Rollins’ suffering? Might his desire to destroy Rollins somehow supersede his championship aspirations? If that’s the case, what would happen if Lesnar got his hands on the WWE World Heavyweight Champion before their title bout? Could we see Lesnar destroy his WWE Battleground opponent before their championship encounter even takes place? Last week, we saw Lesnar decimate J&J Security’s Cadillac and J&J themselves … and we get the feeling he’s not done breaking things just yet. Expect more carnage from The Beast Incarnate on Raw.
2. Is Roman Reigns more afraid of Bray Wyatt than he’s willing to admit?
In his exclusive WWE.com interview with Michael Cole last week, Roman Reigns was hesitant to even mention the name Bray Wyatt, and admitted that a victory over The New Face of Fear at WWE Battleground might not even be enough to end Wyatt’s twisted crusade against The Big Dog.
After Wyatt hit Reigns with Sister Abigail yet again on SmackDown, one has to imagine that even more doubts are creeping into the powerhouse’s mind as WWE Battleground approaches. Will Wyatt’s psychological warfare waylay Reigns in his quest to re-enter the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture?
3. How will Sheamus respond to The Viper?
After returning to Raw last week and hitting Sheamus with a thunderous RKO, Randy Orton slithered to SmackDown and proclaimed that he would “make Sheamus entertaining” by “ripping that stupid mohawk off of his fat head and shoving it up his pale, white arse.” It was The Ascension — not Mr. Money in the Bank— who would confront The Viper moments later, and both Konnor and Viktor who would eat RKOs for their troubles. One has to imagine The Celtic Warrior was watching.
Now that Orton has made his painful intentions clear, how will Sheamus deal with WWE’s Apex Predator now that the gauntlet has been forcefully thrown down?
4. Can anyone stop Team Bella?
This past week, not only was Paige unsuccessful in toppling Team Bella in her one-on-one match with Brie on Raw, but Naomi & Tamina suffered a loss on SmackDown when they squared off against Brie & Alicia Fox in tag team action.
It’s becoming more and more apparent that Brie, Alicia and Divas Champion Nikki will do whatever it takes to rule the Divas division, and it seems as though anyone that opposes this calculating trio is doomed to failure — one way or another. Will Team Bella’s dominance continue on Raw?
5. Is Owens rethinking his Cena strategy?
During WWE and Mattel’s panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego, Kevin Owens learned from NXT General Manager William Regal that at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on Aug. 22, he’ll get his NXT Championship rematch against newly crowned titleholder Finn Bálor, live on the award-winning WWE Network.
Before then, however, he has an opportunity to claim John Cena’s United States Championship atWWE Battleground. Owens has been confident in the face of The Champ in recent weeks, but when we saw Owens ambush Cena at the conclusion of last week’s Raw, he was hit with an Attitude Adjustment and sent fleeing from the ring. No doubt, the brawler’s pride was hurt even more than his body that night in Chicago.
What’s going through Owens’ mind after his last encounter with Cena? Will he sink to new depths to get under Cena’s skin this week?
Don’t miss Raw at 8/7 C on USA Network, and be sure to tune in to Raw Pre-Show at 7:30 ET, exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.
