RAW Preview: Possible spoiler for Brock Lesnar-Bobby Lashley match at Royal Rumble, 2 legends to suffer humiliation ahead of big victory

Welcome to this week's edition of RAW Preview. It's the go-home episode before Royal Rumble 2022, and you can expect a lot of superstars to be tossed over the top rope - exactly what Rey Mysterio did to The Street Profits and his own son Dominik to prove a point.

Whether it's legends returning or not, this week's episode of RAW promises to deliver with some big segments. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Let's begin with the most important match from the red brand at Royal Rumble and what to expect tonight:

---

#5. Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley to have a final weigh-in on RAW

When it comes to having a big fight feel, few matches in WWE history match up to Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley. It's the dream match that fans have wanted to see for years and the sole reason why The All Mighty jumped back to Vince McMahon's promotion in 2018.

Of course, it should go without saying that Lashley's accomplishments speak for themselves. He took it to a new level in 2021 when he won the WWE Championship and dominated RAW for what felt like most of the year.

While he had a slip in form after losing the championship, he quickly recovered his dominance, which led to a world title shot at Day 1. This eventually set up the match against Lesnar.

On RAW tonight, we will see the two heavyweights have a final weigh-in just days before their blockbuster title match at Royal Rumble. Brock Lesnar has found himself as a defending world champion on numerous occasions at the event.

In 2015, he faced and defeated Seth Rollins and John Cena in a Triple Threat match. In 2018, he faced and defeated Braun Strowman and Kane.

In 2019, he defeated Finn Balor in a good match, and in 2020, he put on a record-breaking performance as he dominated in the first half of the Royal Rumble before being eliminated by eventual-winner Drew McIntyre.

Royal Rumble has always meant great spots for Lesnar. In the case of 2020, he was so dominant that rather than seeking out a WWE title challenger, he entered the Rumble match himself.

Bobby Lashley gets a huge opportunity at regaining the WWE title, but will he be able to dethrone The Beast Incarnate? It all ultimately depends on what happens between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in the Universal title bout.

While some may not believe this, there is a higher chance of Rollins walking out as the Universal Champion than there is of Lashley walking out as the WWE Champion.

This means that despite the dream encounter between the two strongest men in WWE, Brock Lesnar is likely to walk out with the title intact.

#4. The Miz hosts Maryse's birthday celebrations on RAW

It's the most must-see birthday celebration in RAW history! Ahead of the big mixed tag team match at Royal Rumble, The Miz will host a birthday celebration for his wife Maryse.

The feud has largely seen the "It Couple" look foolish, but they decided to change that up. Last week on RAW, Maryse put on an act begging for the match at Royal Rumble to be canceled, seemingly in fear of facing Beth Phoenix.

The "Grit Couple" didn't fall for the act, but it was played out well enough where Maryse had a brick in her purse and was able to outsmart them for the first time thanks to a little assistance from her husband.

The birthday celebration means only one thing - a party crash is inevitable. Edge and Phoenix will make their way out to interfere, but will they get the better of the "It Couple" once again?

The feud has essentially been about who can get the upper hand. This week, we expect The Miz and Maryse to stand tall ahead of Royal Rumble, which only means that Edge and Beth Phoenix will pick up the win in the eventual mixed tag team match later this week.

#3. What will be the fallout of the Rhea Ripley-Nikki A.S.H. feud on RAW?

Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. were among the first stars on RAW to announce their entry into the 2022 Royal Rumble. However, things turned sour in an interview when Ripley decided that she wanted to part ways with Nikki, but on good and respectful terms.

This didn't sit down with Nikki A.S.H., who turned heel and attacked her now-former tag team partner. While they were supposed to settle the difference last week, Queen Zelina came out to comment and Nikki attacked The Nightmare from behind again.

The feud has now heated up and it's less than a week ago until Royal Rumble and the road to WrestleMania starting. One will eliminate the other in the 30-woman contest, but the question is as to who WWE will choose as the beneficiary of the feud.

Will tensions continue to boil over between the two former women's champions? Or will they finally settle it in the ring for good ahead of the road to WrestleMania?

#2. The road to the RAW Women's Championship at Royal Rumble continues

Doudrop emerged as the unexpected number one contender for the RAW Women's Championship after beating Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan. This essentially meant the temporary end of Morgan's title pursuits, while Doudrop has been the one with all the momentum.

Last week, she teamed up with Big Time Becks to face Liv Morgan and Bianca Belair. While the champion was about to get the pinfall on Morgan, Doudrop prevented it from happening. Instead, a slightly-miscalculated moment saw the referee remind her that she wasn't the legal competitor in the first place.

She eventually got the pin over Liv Morgan and stood tall against Lynch once more. So far, Becky Lynch has found herself overpowered in the face of her new challenger Doudrop.

While she could talk all sorts of trash to get into Morgan's head, she is unable to do the same to Doudrop - who essentially forced her way into the title picture similar to how Bobby Lashley did last month.

Who will gain momentum on the go-home episode before Royal Rumble 2022?

#1. RK-Bro take on Alpha Academy in an academic challenge on RAW

A couple of weeks ago, Alpha Academy shocked RK-Bro by dethroning them and winning the RAW Tag Team titles. However, their momentum didn't last long as Chad Gable's graduation ceremony featuring Otis was hijacked by the former champions.

It was Riddle who first came out to cause the distraction, while Orton did the damage. Last week on RAW, the segment ended with RK-Bro standing tall and posing while wearing the graduation attire.

Before all that happened, Gable challenged RK-Bro to an "Academic" challenge, and that will take place this week. It will be interesting to see how Riddle and Randy Orton fare in this fairly unique segment.

The big question is as to whether they will outsmart the so-called academians in Gable and Otis. This could either do that, or the former champions could suffer humiliation at such a level that it causes a bigger rift between them.

None of the members of Alpha Academy nor RK-Bro have declared themselves for the Royal Rumble match. Perhaps they will this week, which could serve as a way of adding to the currently non-existent rift between Riddle and Orton.