3 surprises that could happen on WWE RAW before Royal Rumble 2024

Tonight's WWE RAW episode will be the final edition of the red brand before the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event this Saturday.

Whilst most of the Premium Live Event's card looks to be wrapped up, there is still plenty of time for more individuals to declare for the match as well as other shocking revelations to come to light.

Join us as we take a look at 3 surprises that could happen on Monday Night RAW ahead of the 2024 Royal Rumble.

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#3 - The Judgment Day changes the ranks

One of the feature matches on RAW this evening has been brewing for a long time now as Drew McIntyre will take on Damian Priest of The Judgment Day.

Despite being on the same team at Survivor Series: WarGames in November of last year, the two powerhouses have never been able to see eye to eye. Recently, McIntyre's hatred for Priest increased when Señor Money In The Bank seemingly cost McIntyre the World Heavyweight title.

With Damian Priest wanting to fight this battle on his own, he is more and more alienating himself from The Judgment Day, a faction that has seen him become not only Señor Money In The Bank but one-half of the Undisputed Tag Team Champions as well.

Given Rhea Ripley's fondness of Drew McIntyre as well, fans may see the rest of The Judgment Day turn on Priest in this matchup and kick him out of the group.

Although Priest has wanted to go out on his own in recent weeks, he still sees himself as an integral piece of The Judgment Day. He recently gave details of the group's dynamic whilst speaking on WWE's The Bump:

"It’s interchangeable. We’re all leaders, so they are right. She is a leader, and I think Finn Balor’s a leader. I’m a leader. I think we all share in that leadership role, and right now, she’s just taking more of it because we obviously at times don’t act like ourselves. In this instance, she was there to lead me the right way. When she wasn’t around, I kind of took the reigns of leading the guys in a certain way. Other times, when Rhea was distracted and I was distracted, Finn Balor stepped in."

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#2 - The Visionary's reign comes to an end

Last week on Monday Night RAW, Seth Rollins retained his World Heavyweight Championship against Jinder Mahal in what was a back-and-forth contest. In what should have been a celebratory moment for the Visionary was cut short. He was seen writhing in pain at the end of the match, with many fans questioning if he had picked up an injury to his knee.

Following his match, Fightful Select reported a few days later that Seth Rollins had indeed picked up an injury, with the World Heavyweight Champion having torn his MCL as well as partially tearing his meniscus.

Given his integral role in WWE as well as it being WrestleMania season, many fans are hoping that he would be putting his title on the line on the grandest stage of them all in April, potentially in a main event match against CM Punk. However, with his injury appearing to be very serious, Seth Rollins may have to sadly vacate his championship this Monday on RAW.

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#1 - A WWE Icon declares for the Royal Rumble

One of the most anticipated segments for RAW tonight will be the verbal confrontation between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. Given that they both left WWE and then would go on to become stars in AEW before making their returns to World Wrestling Entertainment, the two of them will certainly have a lot to talk about on Monday.

The two WWE stars are arguably the biggest favorites heading into the men's Royal Rumble match this Saturday in Florida. Both of them desperately wanted to main-event WrestleMania 40. One performer who may have something to say about Punk and Cody's Mania aspirations is The People's Champion, The Rock.

Following his recent return to WWE on New Year's Day, The Rock took to social media as he thanked the fans for the reaction they gave him:

"This is 25+ grateful years of building this sacred connection with the people. This eruption at the end just hit different. I’ve experienced some very loud crowd pops, throughout my career, but this was on another level. This reaction had layers. Chills."

During his return promo, The Great One stated that he wants to take Roman Reigns' mantle as the head of the table, therefore hinting at a potential showdown for the Undisputed WWE Universal title. If The Rock does indeed want Reigns as well as the gold, then the best way for him to get there would be to declare for the rumble. This is something fans may see him do tonight on RAW when he interrupts Cody and Punk in the ring.