RAW Preview: AJ Styles in huge title match, Top heel returns (August 19th, 2019)

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE RAW Preview! We're a few weeks removed from WWE Clash of Champions 2019, but it's certainly been an interesting start to the build. The conclusion of last week's RAW saw Seth Rollins suffer a beatdown at the hands of the OC, only for the Universal Champion to be saved by Braun Strowman, who handed him his title and teased being the next challenger.

Perhaps the biggest news coming out of the red brand last week is the fact that the King of The Ring tournament is set to begin. It's coming back after four full years and you might be excited to learn that it starts tonight!

The big post-SummerSlam return happened to be none other than The Boss Sasha Banks, who returned from a four-month hiatus with new hair color, taking out both an injured Natalya and Becky Lynch as well. The Women's division has just heated up and so is WWE programming. This week, we're set to see a whole lot of things that will help them build towards WWE Clash of Champions.

Here's what you need to look forward to this week!

#5. The King of The Ring brackets are revealed

The King of The Ring brackets are officially out and it looks absolutely incredible. We have some really nice and juicy first-round match-ups, particularly with Chad Gable taking on old partner Shelton Benjamin.

There are some really interesting first-round match-ups because we will see the likes of Kevin Owens going up against his old ally Elias while Ricochet has a huge challenge in Drew McIntyre.

We don't know who made this bracket or whether it was a random selection, but having Ricochet and McIntyre in the first round itself is going to be extremely interesting to see.

#4. What does Sasha Banks' return mean for the Women's division?

The WWE Women's division has noticeably been weaker ever since WrestleMania 35. This isn't to blame Becky Lynch, Bayley, Charlotte Flair or any of the other title holders, but the simple fact of the matter is that there were clearly two major names missing from the roster on RAW - Ronda Rousey and Sasha Banks.

While the absence of Nia Jax, Ruby Riott, Mickie James, etc. are all felt, the above mentioned two were among the centerpieces of the women's division. Last week, Natalya was making a heartfelt speech when she was interrupted by The Boss, who clearly chose a convenient time and place to make her big return.

She turned on Natalya and attacked her before The Man and RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch came in for the save. However, she was decimated by The Boss, who also attacked her with a steel chair.

The Toronto crowd loved it and it's clear that she adds a whole new element to the Women's division. With Natalya in a cast and Lacey Evans not deserving to be a contender again, it's clear that Sasha Banks will be next in line for the RAW Women's title.

#3. 2 matches kick off the King of the Ring tournament

The King of The Ring tournament officially begins tonight and here is what we have on the card:

Samoa Joe vs Cesaro

Sami Zayn vs Cedric Alexander

Both are extremely interesting match-ups for a multitude of reasons. Samoa Joe, now free from any blame with regards to Roman Reigns and the incident will look to set his sights on personal glory as he takes on The Swiss Superman/Cyborg Cesaro in a first-round match-up.

It's a shame they have to go right off the bat because nobody wants to see either superstar lose. It's going to be an extremely physical contest and expect Samoa Joe to be taken to his very limits. Knowing their stylistic match-ups, the bout could even end quicker than anticipated.

As for the second match, Sami Zayn and Cedric Alexander both have a chip on their shoulders. They haven't been featured all too much despite being incredibly talented competitors. Unfortunately for them, there can only be one winner - and it'll certainly be interesting to see who wins the match between the two high-flying and fast-paced superstars.

Who do you predict to go through to Round 2?

#2. The 24/7 chase runs through Elias

The WWE 24/7 chase continues this week and in a rather rare occasion, it runs through Elias this time around. Last week, The Revival pinned R-Truth and became the first co-24/7 Champions.

As you would have imagined, that lasted all but moments as R-Truth once again regained the title. However, his happiness was short-lived as usual as Elias smacked him with the guitar to become the 24/7 champion again.

Drake Maverick continued his pursuit but failed miserably. However, if there's anything that Drake Maverick cares most about in this world - it's that championship (and consummating his marriage afterward, of course).

This week, the chaos is going to continue and Elias will have all sorts of people running behind him. An uninterrupted music concert? No chance! As long as he is breathing backstage, he's going to have people behind him - starting with Drake Maverick and R-Truth

#1. AJ Styles defends the United States Championship against Braun Strowman

AJ Styles was the first to confront 2-time Universal Champion Seth Rollins following his hot victory at WWE SummerSlam 2019. It led to a champion vs champion match in the main even of RAW last week and as expected, once the pressure started mounting on Styles, The OC interjected.

Styles was DQ'd and even Ricochet's help wasn't enough to put out the trio. However, what was enough was The Monster Among Men Braun Strowman coming in and bulldozing past all of them, respectfully handing Seth Rollins the Universal Championship before shaking hands with him.

This week, AJ Styles has to defend the United States title against Strowman and it's clear that he's going to need all the help he can get during the bout. With that being said, it's certainly going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Given Strowman's impact last week, you would think that he is next in line for the Universal title. He doesn't even need to earn the title shot because there are currently no better contenders than him.

Will Seth Rollins make his presence known or will The Monster Among Men be able to capture only his second title in WWE?

Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE