Former world champion to make surprise return after 717 days on WWE RAW? Exploring massive swerve

WWE Monday Night RAW is already a highly anticipated show following Elimination Chamber, and it is set to emanate from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. A huge tag team bout has been confirmed for the latest installment from the red brand.

The New Day will battle Imperium in a Street Fight. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have had issues with Giovanni Vinci, Ludwig Kaiser, and even Gunther over the past few months and will have a chance to end things once and for all when the pair take on Vinci and Kaiser with no rules to bind them.

Despite the excitement, there is the lingering threat of The Ring General, who might want to assert his dominance in the match. The New Day could potentially have something up their sleeve. There's a chance a popular former WWE Champion could make his return after 717 days away from the ring. The star in question is Big E.

Big E last competed back on March 11, 2022. He was unfortunately injured while taking a Belly-to-Belly Overhead Suplex from Ridge Holland. This led to the powerful and popular former champion having neck surgery, and he hasn't wrestled since.

It isn't actually known if he will ever return to the ring, but it would make sense for his comeback to happen tonight. When all hope appears to be lost for The New Day, WWE could swerve the audience and have the former champion return. This could then lead to Big E vs. Gunther at WrestleMania.

Although the prospect is exciting, the star has not yet revealed whether he has been cleared to compete in the ring, and his return only remains conjecture at this point. However, with the amount of fans backing the former world champion, it is safe to say that the pop he will garner upon returning will blow the roof off the arena.

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Sami Zayn will also have a big match on WWE RAW

As exciting as the impending Street Fight will be between The New Day and Imperium, anything regarding a potential return is just speculation. Regardless, there is also another big bout confirmed for WWE Monday Night RAW this week.

In a rematch from a recent episode on the red brand, Sami Zayn will once again battle Shinsuke Nakamura in singles action. These two men have a lot of history together, dating back to their days in NXT.

Sami Zayn has been in a major slump recently in WWE. He has had high-profile losses against stars such as Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, and Shinsuke Nakamura. He failed to impress in the 2024 Men's Royal Rumble Match and also did not qualify for the men's Elimination Chamber match. In light of his recent performances, Zayn will be desperate for a win.

It could be argued that Nakamura is on one of the best runs of his career, or certainly since joining the main roster, but can he put a motivated Sami Zayn down again? Fans will need to tune into RAW to see if The Underdog From The Underground can overcome the odds.