6 things WWE subtly told us on RAW: Huge Royal Rumble match teased, WrestleMania 35 rematch in main event (16th December 2019)

Monday Night RAW after TLC is in the books and it wasn't the best post-PPV episode. Survivor Series 2019 had a great post-PPV RAW, but this wasn't on the same level. It did, however, end with an incredible main event that was a rematch from WrestleMania 35.

Interestingly enough, 1/3rd of the entire show was spent in a gauntlet match and unfortunately, it wasn't reminiscent of the Kofi Kingston gauntlet match earlier this year on SmackDown nor was it anything like Seth Rollins' epic gauntlet match in early 2018 before Elimination Chamber.

It was made worse by the outcome, but we'll get to that in a bit. However, not all is bad. There was still decent storyline progression and there are some fresh, exciting feuds that will take up the rest of the year before the build to Royal Rumble 2020 begins. We have two episodes left of RAW this year and here's what WWE subtly told us on the show.

#6 A big debut, a big push, and a Royal Rumble tease

This wasn't a squash match, surprisingly

Deonna Purrazzo from NXT made her RAW debut when she took on Asuka. Usually, these circumstances are when the NXT star is jobbed out to the RAW star. However, this was anything but that. Purrazzo was given an excellent showing and WWE has been consistent with their push of NXT, knowing well that they need to make the brand look great.

As a result, Deonna Purrazzo had a great showing against Asuka even though she fell short. Asuka was always going to win and it's no secret that she's set to face Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship at Royal Rumble 2020.

Becky Lynch's backstage interview put The Empress over big time, with Lynch telling Asuka that she "needs her", showing a burning desire to get her win back over the Japanese Champion.

#5 A big wedding angle in the works

Did you know that Lana thinks that her boyfriend Bobby Lashley is hot? If you didn't, watch the segment on RAW so you can hear her mention it a 100 times in 5 minutes. Surprisingly, Rusev didn't appear today, but that was likely on purpose so that they can drag out the rivalry further.

It looked like Lana was about to propose to Lashley, but instead, she asked him to propose to her. While Lashley was skeptical at first, he teased a rift, saying that he never listens when people tell him what to do...except for her.

So he knelt down on his knee and proposed to her, with Lana and Lashley now getting engaged. It's clear that the angle is going to spill over to 2020 as well, with a big wedding angle set to happen on RAW.

However, we all know how weddings work out in WWE. They hardly ever end well, except for "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth, who had a great, uninterrupted wedding in their own right.

Other than that, it's been all disaster and Rusev is going to make sure that the tradition of disastrous WWE weddings continue.

#4 The OC and the Viking Raiders' feud set to continue

It was clear from the inconclusive finish of the TLC open challenge match that The OC vs The Viking Raiders would continue. Before this, The OC was the only team in WWE to have a pinfall victory over the RAW Tag Team Champions. And this includes NXT!

The Viking Raiders have had a long streak that saw them run through the division and win the NXT Tag Team titles, only to vacate them after being drafted to RAW post-WrestleMania 35.

Since then, Gallows & Anderson have been the only ones to get one over them and on the RAW after TLC, they did it again! They pinned Ivar, handing The Viking Raiders only their second defeat overall since joining WWE.

That's certainly impressive in its own right and it just goes to show how valuable they are to the company. The win for Gallows & Anderson means a big push for them, but it's not just the title implication that it has. There are more names to be involved, but we'll get to that next.

#3 The main event and next big rivalry

The main event of RAW featured an incredible WrestleMania 35 rematch between Randy Orton and AJ Styles. It also happened to be far superior to their WrestleMania bout, which is surprising given that they were quite early on the card (when the crowd is still usually hot).

However, they succeeded this time around and Randy Orton got his revenge, finally landing the Phenomenal forearm-to-RKO during his third match against Styles. Even though Styles had been aware of the spot and only teased it once before succumbing to it the second time.

Post-match when Orton was celebrating, Gallows & Anderson came out and assaulted Orton, only for The Viking Raiders to come out for the save. The RAW Tag Team Champions would suffer a beatdown as well, with The OC standing tall at the end.

What's clear from this is that the rivalry will be spilling over into a six-man feud, with Orton vs Styles likely being over as a singles rivalry. It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out at the end, but we expect the babyfaces to get one over The OC eventually.

#2 What was the meaning behind the inconclusive Gauntlet match finish?

The Gauntlet match on RAW was between R-Truth, Akira Tozawa, Matt Hardy, Ricochet, Humberto Carrillo, and Andrade to determine Rey Mysterio's next United States Championship challenger.

Admittedly, this wasn't the best gauntlet match and certainly not the most exciting line-up. We can't point our finger on it, but there's something about Carrillo that's not clicking despite the push that he's been getting.

Perhaps it's due to the lack of character and personality that he had, but he was given a good showing in the gauntlet match, where he overcame Ricochet, only to be taken out by Andrade, who was the final competitor. El Idolo would assault Humberto Carrillo from behind and DDT him onto the concrete floor, ending the match without a finish.

This is a clear-cut way to continue the feud between Andrade and Carrillo. Carrillo beat the former NXT Champion twice this past week, including one on the TLC pre-show. We initially believed that it would be to set up a triple threat United States title feud. While it's still possible, we can't be sure of it because of what happened to Rey Mysterio after the match. Read on to find out.

#1 A big title match set for next week

After the segment where Rey Mysterio went out in concern for Humberto Carrillo, he was confronted by Seth Rollins and the AoP. Rollins was holding the metal pipe that he gave Mysterio and AoP ended up ambushing the United States Champion.

Seth Rollins teased attacking Mysterio and told the champion that he owed him one, only for The Architect to curb stomp the United States Champion. After the match, he challenged Rey Mysterio for a United States Championship match and the legend was more than willing to accept his challenge.

And so next week's main event is officially set. Seth Rollins will be facing Rey Mysterio for the first time. While we do anticipate a title change, there's a high possibility of an uncertain finish or a DQ at the end of it, given that AoP could interfere.

However, AoP's presence makes it even more dangerous for Mysterio, but it isn't the first time that he's had to overcome the odds.

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