WWE Monday Night Raw preview: 8 February, 2016

What will happen this week?A new episode of Monday Night Raw will unfold this week. The expectations, just like always, will be high and WWE will be responsible for delivering the goods. Brock Lesnar left a big message in last week’s edition and the storyline needs to be sorted out this time around. The Divas division took an interesting turn in the past few days and the United States Title picture also cleared up.All these, along with WWE’s plans for Fastlane will come under the scanner this week’s episode. Here is the complete preview for the upcoming edition of WWE’s weekly flagship show.

#5 New look Ryback

What does the new look mean?

Ryback sported a new look last week which produced mixed reactions. The look, which is interestingly similar to the one that Goldberg had during his glory days in WCW, has once again kick-started the Goldberg comparisons that haunted Ryback once.

But the question is, why now? Why did WWE decide to change the look of Ryback at this particular moment? Are they planning to put him into any midcard championship feud? Or are they simply trying to make him look different? And more importantly, are they pointing at a potential return from none other than Goldberg? Tuning into Raw might give an answer or two.

#4 The losing streak

He deserves better

Kevin Owens is a gem. He is by far the best heel in the WWE roster and it’s sad to see that WWE is making a mess out of him. Owens had been picking up losses for quite some time now and it has completely derailed his momentum. From the looks of it, WWE is trying to come up with a storyline for Ziggler and Owens but now what we have seen it a million times, booking it for Fastlane would be a mistake.

No matter what WWE has in their mind, they should think about pushing Owens as he has enough potential in him to be the next cult figure in the company.

#3 The Phenomenal One

Used more often?

The debut of AJ Styles in WWE was a blockbuster one. The match that he had with Chris Jericho later was hair-raising. But in order for AJ to be phenomenal in WWE, the company needs to use him more intelligently. The fans are heavily behind AJ and they want to see him wrestle but that does not mean WWE should make him wrestle in every show out there.

AJ, at least till WrestleMania is over, should be kept as a rare piece. WWE booking another Jericho vs. AJ match for SmackDown was really a surprising move as it could’ve fit perfectly into the live television that Raw offers. With an open slot available on Raw, what will WWE do with AJ styles?

#2 The injury woes of Del Rio

Del Rio is back in the mix

Alberto Del Rio’s inclusion into the Fastlane match card has surprised everyone. Del Rio getting another shot at Kalisto is not what surprised the fans; it was Del Rio’s recovery from the injury. There were rumors making rounds in the internet about his injury and to an extent, they were true as well.

However, now that he is booked for the pay-per-view and worked in SmackDown, it would be interesting to see how WWE plays out the remaining part of the buildup. The League of Nations as a whole is plagued by injuries and the future of the stable will also come under discussion in the coming weeks.

#1 Tale of miscommunications

The tale of miscommunication continues

The brotherhood of Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose is the best storyline that WWE has at their disposal. It might be a mere subplot; but then again, this has some explosive potential that could keep the fans on the edge of their seats. The proof of the same came in SmackDown when Reigns and Ambrose showed a brief miscommunication.

The fans ate up the whole thing and if something better happens on Raw, WWE will have some solid hype for Fast Lane. The chances of Lesnar being at the show are less so WWE will have to build the hype around Ambrose and Reigns.