RAW Preview: Rhea Ripley faces superstar who has only wrestled 5 matches ever, Grudge match to end in controversial finish? (11th December, 2023)

Welcome to this week's edition of RAW Preview. If the rumors are true that the 25th December episode will be a "Best of 2023" special, then it's going to be the second-last proper live episode of the year.

And to wrap up the year, WWE has announced an incredibly stacked episode where a lot is going to be decided - especially how things play out for a good chunk of 2024.

So, what is it that you need to look forward to on one of the last episodes of 2023? Keep reading to find out!

---

#5. Rhea Ripley faces Maxxine Dupri in a non-title bout on RAW

Rhea Ripley is expected to come out with a dominant victory, but can Maxxine surprise the world?

Alpha Academy's Maxxine Dupri may have technically only wrestled five matches ever and one singles match, but that hasn't stopped her from impressing the WWE Universe.

When she teamed up with Ivy Nile to earn a number one contender's spot for the women's Tag Team Titles, she surprised fans with the sudden improvement. But that may not be enough tonight on RAW as she takes on the most dominant woman in WWE, Rhea Ripley.

Ripley will certainly be expected to squash Maxxine, but can the Alpha Academy star shock the Women's World Champion by standing toe-to-toe with her?

---

#4. Cody Rhodes faces Shinsuke Nakamura in a grudge match

This is a grudge match that hasn't been building up for so long. It was a fairly straightforward built-up with Nakamura sneak attacking Cody Rhodes by spitting red mist on his face.

Last week, Shinsuke Nakamura explained how his Royal Rumble win in 2018 and WrestleMania 34 defeat to AJ Styles was similar to Cody's situation this year with Roman Reigns.

Vowing to finish Cody's story prematurely, a match has been booked between the two stars for this week. Given how quickly things have played out, don't be surprised to see this match end controversially.

---

#3. Becky Lynch to call out Nia Jax

The two women's hatred for each other goes a long way back

Nia Jax and Becky Lynch's history goes all the way back. We are just about five years and one month removed from the iconic incident where Jax punched and made Becky Lynch's face bleed on RAW before Survivor Series 2018.

They crossed paths very recently on RAW, and it seems like after finishing up with Xia Li, The Man is targeting an old rival in Nia Jax. This week, Becky Lynch will call her out. What will happen?

---

#2. Drew McIntyre faces Jey Uso again

Can "Main Event" Jey Uso finally get one over McIntyre?

Drew McIntyre has been on a rampage for the last few weeks. He is bitter about the fact that Jey Uso wasn't handed to him on a platter at WarGames and that The Judgment Day's "master plan" failed to work out.

He has since been targeting World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, who defeated him clean at Crown Jewel. McIntyre was furious to learn that Jey Uso was given a title shot when, in his mind, he is higher up on the pecking order.

He made his intentions clear when he took out Sami Zayn last week and is now looking to take Jey Uso out for good. But will the World Heavyweight Champion have a say in what's going on?

---

#1. CM Punk will make the decisive signing and choose which brand he will be exclusive to

CM Punk has been on RAW, SmackDown, and now NXT after teasing signing with all three brands and calling out several top stars. He made one thing clear in his first appearance back - he's not here to make friends - he's here to make money.

Seth Rollins has been his biggest critic and when Adam Pearce told the World Champion that he intended to sign Punk to a RAW-Exclusive contract, Rollins simply laughed and told him to do what he had to do, and that once Punk shows his "true colors", Rollins shouldn't be bothered when he takes matters into his own hands.

With Punk getting offers from Adam Pearce, Nick Aldis, and Shawn Michaels, the decision will be made tonight. One that will change the course of WWE for a long time to come.

So, which brand will Punk sign with tonight?