WWE Loads Up Tonight's WWE Raw With Brock Lesnar, No. 1 Contender's Match

By Connor Casey

WWE wrapped Saturday night's Day 1 pay-per-view with Brock Lesnar pinning Big E in a five-way match to become the new WWE Champion. This immediately raised questions regarding the future direction of The Red Brand, given a) Lesnar had been used primarily on SmackDown despite his onscreen "free agent" status, b) his rumored match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38 in April is apparently still happening and c) the decision to have E drop the title was apparently a last-minute call, to the point where official social media graphics were accidentally released showing E listed as the winner of the initially-planned four-way match. 

But WWE has decided to hit the ground running for this week's Raw, not only confirming that Lesnar will appear to start the show but that a four-way match will take place to crown Lesnar's next challenger (presumably at the Royal Rumble). The show's card consists of:

  • Big E vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens (No. 1 contender's match)
  • United States Championship: Damian Priest vs. Dolph Ziggler (Priest will lose his title if he's disqualified)
  • AJ Styles vs. Omos

In theory, a one-on-one match between Lesnar and E would make the most sense. But multiple reports have since popped up pointing towards Lesnar vs. Lashley, a dream the latter has openly campaigned for years to have. 

"The powers that be on his side are... sometimes he may need to be a little protected. I don't know what the case is," Lashley said regarding the match in a recent interview with ComicBook. "I think that Brock picked his matches. Right now, he's really tight with Roman (Reigns). So I don't know how long he and Roman are going to go, but there's definitely a match that we'll probably look at in the near future."

There will also likely be a build towards the two 30-wrestler Royal Rumble matches scheduled for the Jan. 29 event, as well as the likely mixed tag team match pitting real-life married couples Miz & Maryse and Edge & Beth Phoenix against each other.

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