5 Biggest clues about Royal Rumble from this week’s Raw

#4 Strowman isn’t taking the Universal Championship

Brock Lesnar backs down from Braun Strowman

Many wrestling fans have long resented the notion of Brock Lesnar as an absentee Universal Champion, but right now that’s what we’re stuck with on the Raw brand.

At one point in time, the trigger was ready to be pulled on a Braun Strowman Universal Title run, with fans clamouring for The Monster Amongst Men to become the face of WWE.

Sadly, the bloom feels a little off the rose by now, with Strowman having so many false starts and unsuccessful title shots that the response for Braun isn’t quite what it once was.

Another loss to Lesnar would be seen by many as yet another massive blow for Strowman, but that appears to be the likely outcome at the Royal Rumble PPV.

This past week’s Raw saw a truly awful promo from Strowman, and the WWE has done him no favours in recent months. Facing another opponent will be a more intriguing prospect for Lesnar at WrestleMania. Expect Paul Heyman’s Beast to keep hold of the Universal Championship for the foreseeable future – be that by pinfall, countout, DQ, or whatever underhand methods are required.

Strowman fans will just have to hope that WWE creative has something substantial lined up for the former Wyatt Family member as the attention switches to WrestleMania.