5 Things WWE subtly told us on RAW: "Disgraced" top star set for babyface turn, New favorite to win the Men's Royal Rumble revealed?

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW. It was the second RAW of 2021, and a lot that happened even it wasn't as powerful as the post-Day 1 episode.

A few more superstars declared their entry into the Royal Rumble match, including AJ Styles and Damian Priest. The United States Champion teamed up with The Street Profits in a losing effort against The Dirty Dawgs and Apollo Crews. The Dirty Dawgs have been quietly protected despite losing to Priest, and seem to have gotten the last laugh.

The build-up to the Royal Rumble continued, and it will only continue to accelerate as WrestleMania season draws closer. Here is what WWE subtly told us last night:

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#5. Brock Lesnar disgraces Bobby Lashley on RAW, with far-reaching consequences?

The opening segment saw Brock Lesnar come out, and have a dream confrontation with Bobby Lashley. Despite MVP and Paul Heyman -- the two best talkers -- being in the ring, it was Lesnar and Lashley doing the talking.

Last week's episode ended with Bobby Lashley earning a WWE title shot against Brock Lesnar, but The Beast Incarnate refused to acknowledge him and simply said that he would see Roman Reigns on SmackDown.

Brock Lesnar's focus has been Roman Reigns, and on the latest episode, the disrespect continued. Lashley was labeled a "Brock Lesnar wannabe" among other things, and the WWE Champion made a knock-knock joke with the ultimate disrespect, asking "Bobby who?" before walking away.

Bobby Lashley declared that The Hurt Business was over and took out Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander, who attacked him from behind. The faction is now done for good after an underwhelming reunion, and Bobby Lashley could be set for a big change in character.

There was a rumor earlier that WWE has been planting the seeds for a Bobby Lashley face turn, and despite Brock Lesar's current status as a fan-favorite, The Almighty could join him in that role.

WWE has been hinting at a Bobby Lashley face turn for a while now, and the disrespect shown to him by the lack of acknowledgement only reaffirms this. It's a good decision to turn Lashley face, as it's been nearly four years since his WWE return, and he only enjoyed one brief run as a babyface.

#4. Seth Rollins vs Big E and the fallout from RAW

Seth Rollins came out on RAW to address the situation that happened on SmackDown. As you know by now, Adam Pearce handpicked Seth Rollins from the red brand to challenge SmackDown's Roman Reigns in a Universal title match that has now been made official.

It's an interesting match-up, but one that highlights how much Roman Reigns has run through the SmackDown roster. Rollins addressed the match and made quite a few references to their Shield days, but it was Big E who came out to confront him.

Big E declared his entry to the Royal Rumble match, and he may have instantly become one of the favorites to win the Men's Rumble bout this year. He lost to Rollins in a good match, but the result was expected.

This was because WWE had to build-up Seth Rollins' legitimacy to face Roman Reigns -- a man he has pinned twice to become WWE Champion (WrestleMania 31 in 2015 and Money in the Bank 2016).

Big E may have lost, but hope hasn't been extinguished . Fans of the former WWE Champion can expect him to play a crucial role in the Men's Royal Rumble match. Don't be surprised if he emerges as the winner and books his spot in the main event of WrestleMania.

The only problem is what the Royal Rumble winner could do if WWE goes ahead with a champion vs champion match at WrestleMania between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.

#3. The road to WrestleMania begins for RK-Bro on RAW

RK-Bro are no longer the RAW Tag Team Champions. It came as a big shock, even though RK-Bro were only a little over four months into their Tag Team title reigns. The Alpha Academy are the new champions.

But given the way RK-Bro was presented, they seemed to be nearly unbeatable. They even defeated The Usos at Survivor Series, something that came as a shock in itself. But ultimately, Otis and Chad Gable had been training way too hard, and it looks like the neck workouts have paid off.

What was more surprising was the fact that Randy Orton took the pinfall from Otis, rather than Riddle. It was a good move by WWE to protect a potential future top star. Since the year has only begun and RK-Bro have been dethroned, it means that the road to WrestleMania may begin prematurely for the now-former tag team champions.

Riddle vs Randy Orton always seemed to be the direction for WrestleMania, and when WWE puts together an oddball-duo for a year-long storyline, there is likely only one target destination in mind.

Expect to see dissent slowly build within RK-Bro before an inevitable heel turn sets up a WrestleMania match. Riddle and Orton could also eliminate one or the other at the Men's Royal Rumble match.

#2. The possible reason behind the painful break-up on RAW

This week on RAW, we saw the "painful" break-up of former Women's Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. We say it was painful not because it was heartbreaking, but because the segment was up there with one of the worst ones in recent memory.

While Nikki A.S.H. wanted yet another title shot at Queen Zelina and Carmella, Rhea Ripley groaned and declared that she wants to part ways with mutual respect.

Ripley simply felt that it was better to go their separate ways, but she maintained respect throughout. Nikki A.S.H. implied that she was the one who was being held back, not Ripley.

While they agreed to be friends, Nikki A.S.H. attacked Ripley and turned heel, in a move that was admittedly a bit unexpected. The move was likely one step further to deal a big blow to the non-existent WWE Women's Tag Team division. All the teams have been gutted, and we wouldn't be surprised if WWE is going all out to kill the division step-by-step.

The question is also whether the tag team titles are necessary now. What steps could WWE possibly take to re-build the division?

#1. The RAW Women's Championship direction for the Royal Rumble

The main event of RAW was a sudden death triple threat match between Bianca Belair, Doudrop, and Liv Morgan. Doudrop seemed like the odd one out during the match due to her recent losing ways, but the way things played out wasn't what fans expected.

We speculated and predicted Doudrop winning the match in the main event, and that ended up happening. Naturally, it wasn't a clean finish. Women's Champion Becky Lynch was at ringside for commentary, and she decided to get involved and directly influence the outcome.

This led to all kinds of chaos, and since it was a Triple Threat match, it was also no disqualification. Becky Lynch prevented Bianca Belair from securing a guaranteed victory and proceeded to help Doudrop win the bout, as she pinned Liv Morgan for the win.

The only problem with this women's title match at the Royal Rumble is the fact that it's heel vs heel. Also, Doudrop's recent record hasn't done anything to make fans believe she's in a position to win the title.

Becky Lynch is likely set to walk into WrestleMania with the title intact, and we wouldn't be surprised to see Bianca Belair getting involved to make it a triple threat match at the Royal Rumble.