6 Things WWE subtly told us on RAW: Big title change not happening, Top champion's heel turn to take place next week?

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW. It was an interesting episode that had a good start and finish, with some important segments and matches in between. We're now a little over a week away from Elimination Chamber, and the company focused on the build to the show.

Bobby Lashley, the WWE Champion, didn't have too much of a role apart from a promo in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. He seemed a lot more like a babyface and certainly got a deserved hero's reception from the crowd. That aside, here are the important things that were subtly told to us on RAW this week.

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#6. RK-Bro's future after an eventful episode of RAW

RAW this week opened with the conclusion of the Academic challenge. To keep you up to speed, it was a best of three series. The first was a spelling bee academic challenge, which was won by RK-Bro.

The second one was a Scooter Race which was won by Chad Gable after Otis knocked Riddle right before the finish line. The third one was this week - a Quiz Bowl.

While The Alpha Academy had the edge and was about to win it, a couple of wrong answers allowed RK-Bro to catch up and pick up the win, securing their number one contender's spot for the RAW Tag Team titles.

The segment was surprisingly fun and enjoyable. Gable is truly growing into his role as a heel and it's easy to hate him, which means that he's doing an incredible job. RK-Bro, on the other hand, are the perfect babyfaces. Post-quiz, The Alpha Academy defeated The Street Profits.

While the RAW Tag Team title match hasn't been announced as of this writing, we fully expect it to take place at the Elimination Chamber show. Unfortunately for RK-Bro fans, they are unlikely to recapture the titles as WWE is most likely looking for a break-up and feud between Riddle and Orton.

It's a shame because the reactions they get are incredible and they could easily have another year together if the promotion chooses to keep them as a tag team.

The main event was supposed to be Riddle vs. Seth Rollins in a first-time-ever match-up, but it was spoiled by Kevin Owens, who caused a DQ by attacking Riddle. Randy Orton came out for the save and it predictably became a tag team bout.

However, it was Rollins and Owens who won the match, indicating that they could be a tag team heading into WrestleMania 38 if there are no better plans in place. It was a fun main event, albeit slightly predictable.

#5. Damian Priest's downfall on RAW and the inevitable turn

Damian Priest's 2022 hasn't started the same as the previous year on RAW. While 2021 saw him become one of the most pushed and protected superstars in all of WWE, he has been on a slump in the last few months.

It all seems to have started with his DQ loss to Shinsuke Nakamura at Survivor Series, and since then, he has been in different situations where he has lost his cool by unleashing "The Damian".

A heel turn has been teased for a while now, and after his inconclusive mini-feud against Kevin Owens (where he lost by both pinfall and DQ), he faced AJ Styles, a former WWE Champion. He lost clean to Styles, making it the first clean defeat of his main roster career.

Next week, The Phenomenal One will get his title shot against Priest, which means that he could potentially become a double champion at Elimination Chamber 2022. That isn't going to happen, but AJ Styles could stay in the US Title picture.

Damian Priest's heel turn is going to happen at some point soon, and it could be as soon as next week. Now that Styles is a face, Priest could turn heel to retain the title or turn after losing it.

He doesn't have the same level of momentum, but the string of losses has been made evident, and the heel turn is inevitable.

#4. Kevin Owens' road to WrestleMania has begun on RAW with an interesting turn

Kevin Owens was booked for a rematch against Austin Theory on RAW this week. In Owens' mind, if he defeated Theory, he could take his spot inside the Elimination Chamber. They had the best match of the night and KO defeated the young superstar after knocking his tooth out and hitting him with a stunner.

Kevin Owens soon went to the office of authority figures Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce and asked whether he would take Austin Theory's spot inside the Chamber, and they informed him that he wouldn't. Deville added that at this point, she wasn't even sure if Owens would be at WrestleMania.

This sent him into a state of disbelief where he ranted about how much the people of Texas love him. For the uninitiated, WrestleMania 38 will happen in Texas. The promo was great and it seemed to subtly indicate that Kevin Owens is no longer a heel.

Even the way he acted indicated a character change. Now, we're not saying that he is a full-fledged babyface, but he seems to be in between, or a "tweener", as it's termed in wrestling.

It gives WWE the flexibility to turn him fully babyface when or if the time comes, and he can even revert to being a heel in the blink of an eye. While he has maintained some of his classic heel characteristics (such as his mid-match attack on Riddle), he isn't 100% heel anymore, which is interesting to see.

While his attack on Riddle has still led some to believe that he is a heel, watch carefully as he quickly transitions out of that role.

#3. Why WWE is quietly pushing and protecting Bianca Belair

Bianca Belair has never truly lost momentum on RAW or SmackDown. When her SmackDown Women's title run ended at the hands of Becky Lynch in just 26 seconds, WWE did surprisingly well to protect her and present that victory as a moment of luck for Big Time Becks.

Belair shifted her focus to the RAW Women's Championship when she was drafted to the red brand, only to be unsuccessful on numerous attempts. Her pursuits for the title halted around November, and she has been building her way back up to title contention since then.

Now that Ronda Rousey has picked Charlotte Flair as her WrestleMania 38 opponent, it leaves a spot open for Becky Lynch's title match at The Grandest Stage of Them All.

An Elimination Chamber match has been announced for the women. So far, Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Doudrop, and Nikki A.S.H. have been announced. There is one vacant spot, so it will be interesting to see who steps up - presumably Dana Brooke or Tamina, who have recently been occupied with the 24/7 Championship.

The EST of WWE will be the favorite to walk out of the Chamber victorious.

#2. The Miz's feud on RAW might be indicative of his new role

Last week on RAW, The Miz defeated Dominik Mysterio. This week, he was with Maryse as they hosted both Rey and Dominik Mysterio. They had a clever little segway to promote Rey Mysterio being the cover star of 2K22, and we hope that they don't force it so often.

With that said, what we noticed was interesting. The Miz is coming off his feud against Edge and Beth Phoenix, and referenced the Royal Rumble match numerous times.

Immediately after that mixed couples feud, The A-Lister is now feuding with The Mysterios. This week on RAW, Dominik got a quick pin over The Miz and a bit of revenge from last week.

It seems as though the latter's world title days are fully over. While his last WWE title reign lasted only eight days, he fit the transitional role perfectly as the company moved from Drew McIntyre to Bobby Lashley.

Right now, the indication seems to be that The Miz will be in important feuds with high-profile stars, primarily to elevate them for different reasons. He will get his string of victories as well, but he has been established long enough to not get too hurt by losing big matches.

#1. Alexa Bliss is slowly becoming more "human" on her road back to RAW

While the rest of the RAW and SmackDown roster is focusing on the road to WrestleMania, Alexa Bliss is simply working on her road back to the red brand. She had another therapy session this week, and she didn't lose her cool the way she has been before.

The therapist has been making a lot of progress with her, and what we noticed this week was that Bliss is beginning to look more human again. In the 12-14-month stint that she had with her "Fiend"-influenced character, Alexa Bliss had a noticeably different look and a lot of make-up to show the darker side of her character.

That same look was present when the therapy sessions began a few weeks ago. However, this week, she looked more human than ever. There was a report that nine segments were filmed and that there aren't any plans for Bliss to wrestle immediately, which is why she wasn't in the Royal Rumble match.

However, this seems to be a way for WWE to slowly transition her character back into "The Goddess". While that is the right call, we hope that she can have a more evolved version of her character using influences from The Fiend while being The Goddess again.