RAW Preview: Unexpected superstar to possibly earn title shot at Royal Rumble, 7-Time Champion to return with a big character change?

Welcome to the second RAW Preview for 2022. The road to the Royal Rumble has begun, and last week's episode saw numerous superstars announce their entry into the titular battle royal.

Austin Theory was "handed" his spot by Vince McMahon, but he will only be one of thirty other competitors in the Men's Royal Rumble match.

Last week's episode was great with another dream match for Brock Lesnar now official for the Royal Rumble. Let us take you through what you need to look forward to on tonight's episode:

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#5. A Triple Threat match to determine the RAW Women's title challenger at Royal Rumble

Last week, Becky Lynch made an appearance with the Women's Championship still intact. It was two days following her successful defense against Liv Morgan, the sentimental favorite of the WWE Universe.

However, two women confronted the Irish star last week to make a claim for the title -- Liv Morgan and Bianca Belair. Belair lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Becky Lynch at SummerSlam in 26 seconds, and their feud saw her fail to recapture the title.

Following their program, both women were drafted to RAW and Becky Lynch became the default Women's Champion of the red brand after a title exchange with Charlotte Flair. The feud between Lynch and Belair poured over to the red brand, where The EST Of WWE was unsuccessful again.

Becky Lynch would move on to a feud with Liv Morgan, whom she also defeated twice. The tension led to a brawl between Morgan and Belair, with Lynch interfering

Meanwhile, Doudrop approached authority figures Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville, furious at the fact that two women who failed to beat Becky Lynch on multiple instances were being handed a title opportunity.

Sensing the potential for a great match, it was turned into a Triple Threat, and this week will feature Liv Morgan vs Bianca Belair vs Doudrop in a number one contender's match. The winner will face Becky Lynch at the Royal Rumble.

While Doudrop made a fair point in arguing that Belair and Morgan were getting repeated opportunities, the Scottish star doesn't have a great record herself in recent matches.

Triple Threat matches are often delivered in WWE, and Doudrop could get the controversial victory along with an unexpected title shot. However, that may lead to either Belair or Morgan getting involved, making it a triple threat at the Royal Rumble. After all, there needs to be a babyface in the match.

#4. Alexa Bliss' journey back to RAW

This week on RAW, 5-time Women's Champion and 2-time Tag Team Champion Alexa Bliss returns. It's been over three months since she's been seen on WWE TV, with her last match being an unsuccessful attempt at dethroning Women's Champion Charlotte Flair.

The Queen, who is now on SmackDown, not only defeated Alexa Bliss but also ripped Lily apart, an angle that was used to write Bliss off TV. While a surprise return would have been a better option, perhaps this was WWE simply trying to get a bigger rating by advertising the former Women's Champion's return.

After all, the TV networks that pay WWE prefer ratings over surprises. Either way, it's going to be interesting to see what happens with Alexa Bliss when she returns. There isn't Charlotte Flair to feud with, so we may see a fresh start.

Perhaps we will see Alexa Bliss change characters into her old persona, or better yet, a modified version that is a mix of the previous Alexa Bliss and the "Wyatt" version of her.

Who will Alexa Bliss target upon her return to WWE?

#3. The RAW Tag Team Championship will be on the line

Last week on RAW, a non-title match took place between Tag Team Champions RK-Bro and Alpha Academy. Following RK-Bro's win and title defense over The Street Profits at Day 1, they resumed their feud with the Alpha Academy.

On an individual level, Randy Orton has defeated both and even did what many thought he couldn't do - hit the RKO on Otis. Either way, The Alpha Academy's spirits haven't been down, and last week, they picked up a rare win over the reigning tag team champions.

This automatically means that they have earned a title shot, and the Tag Team titles will be on the line tonight as RK-Bro face Alpha Academy again.

RK-Bro will undoubtedly be favorites to retain the titles, as they have enjoyed one of the more successful tag team title reigns in recent years. They're over four months into their reign now, and we're yet to see any dissent between the duo.

That could begin tonight, or we could see a teaser of it before the Royal Rumble. Assuming both Riddle and Orton are in the Rumble, then we may get another glimpse of tension between the two.

Will Alpha Academy pull off the upset and become the new Tag Team Champions?

#2. What lies ahead in the mixed tag team feud on RAW?

Edge vs The Miz now has a new layer to the feud on RAW. While many thought that Edge would simply beat The Miz at WWE Day 1 and move on, that isn't what happened.

The Miz and Maryse came out, with the latter particularly furious over Beth Phoenix's return to assist her husband, Edge, at Day 1. She vowed to slap the WWE Hall of Famer if she was in front of her, which naturally set up Phoenix's return.

As a result, the feud will now continue until the Royal Rumble at least. Instead of seeing Edge vs The Miz in another singles bout, we will see a mixed tag team bout as Beth Phoenix and Edge will take on Maryse and The Miz.

Both women will be making their in-ring returns after a long time, and one has to wonder how big a factor ring rust will play into this. Either way, it's an exciting feud and we fully expect a war of words between the two couples again tonight.

#1. Is Bobby Lashley ready for the challenge Brock Lesnar presents on RAW?

Last week on RAW, Bobby Lashley won a Fatal-4-Way match involving Big E, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins to become the number one contender for the WWE title.

This time, he will be facing Brock Lesnar. Bobby Lashley fans couldn't be happier, as he has made it known that his biggest reason for returning to WWE was to have a dream match against the former UFC heavyweight champion.

The unlikeliest of circumstances has led to this bout, and former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley will look to get back on the throne at the 2022 Royal Rumble.

This time last year Bobby Lashley was at the tail-end of his United States title reign, and closing in on his maiden WWE Championship run. Since then, The Almighty has dominated the red brand. Minus a rough spell in September and October, he has returned better than ever.

We should get to see a confrontation between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate seems a lot more focused on Roman Reigns than his upcoming challenger, but could this prove a costly error in the long-run?

What will Bobby Lashley and MVP have to say about the Royal Rumble and Brock Lesnar?