WWE Raw Preview: 5 Things to Look for in Tonight's Episode (May 7)

Monday's suck...unless you're a WWE fan.

I don't know about you, but I tend to enjoy the first workday of the week because it means we get another episode of Monday Night Raw.

Tonight's episode is just one of two remaining Raws before the WWE's next pay-per-view, Over the Limit, which is only 13 days away.

So, that means that the WWE is going to have to put on a great show tonight to make us interested in a B-level pay-per-view that is taking place just three weeks after the last one.

There are a lot of major storylines going on right now, so the WWE has a great opportunity to deliver the goods tonight.

Let's take a quick examination if five things we should look for in the May 7th edition of Monday Night Raw.

5. A New Addition to Vickie Guerrero's Stable?

This may end up meaning absolutely nothing in the long run, but infrequently seen superstar Mason Ryan reportedly worked as Dolph Ziggler's "bodyguard" at live events over the weekend.

While it remains to be seen if this angle takes place on TV as well, something tells me that it will.

Ziggler and Jack Swagger have had a really hard time dealing with Brodus Clay over the last several weeks, and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon.

Vickie Guerrero's stable needs something, or someone, to help them overcome "The Funkasaurus."

Mason Ryan might be that guy.

I can't remember the last time I saw Ryan on TV, but Vickie's stable has been booked so badly as of late that adding Ryan to the mix might help Ziggler and/or Swagger pick up a win for a change.

I'm not saying Ryan is the groups saving grace, but can he really make it any worse?

4. The Next Step for the Tag Team Division

Hey, the WWE's tag team division actually kinda, sorta matters as of late.

We've seen a lot more tag team wrestling on SmackDown since WrestleMania, and on last week's Raw, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth reunited as a tag team to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.

The creative team is slowly making small steps to improve the tag team division, but I'm interested in seeing where it goes from here.

A.W. has now signed Epico and Primo and is looking to help them regain the tag team titles, while other duos like the Usos as well as Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel could be making some noise soon, too.

I don't want to get my hopes up too much because the WWE still only has a handful of tag teams and obviously has a lot of work to do.

But it's been a while since tag team wrestling has meant anything, and I would really like to see the progression of the WWE's tag division continue.

3. The Start of the Feud Between Daniel Bryan and CM Punk

Internet wrestling fans, it's time to celebrate.

Two of the most popular, critically-acclaimed wrestlers on the planet, Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, are now set to face face each other for the WWE Championship at Over the Limit after Bryan won the Beat the Clock Challenge on last week's Raw.

There is already a ton of excitement for this match (especially after seeing all of their great TV matches at the beginning of 2012), but what's perhaps even more intriguing is how the WWE may build up this feud.

We're only 13 days away from Over the Limit, which means the WWE doesn't have a ton of time to create a great story for this rivalry.

Still, I'd like to see something behind this feud that makes it more than just a wrestling match, although that match does certainly have the potential to be the best match of the year.

Other than what's going on with Bryan and Punk, I'll also be keeping an eye on Chris Jericho because I get the feeling that he's not done with Punk yet and might insert himself into this feud on tonight's Raw.

No matter what exactly happens, though, the WWE definitely has my attention with a potentially great rivalry between Punk and Bryan.

2. John Cena's Response to Last Week's Beatdown by John Laurinaitis

I have to admit it--I didn't really see the ending to last week's Raw coming.

I thought that thought Lord Tensai would be announced as John Cena's opponent for Over the Limit, and that would be it.

Much to my surprise, though, it was revealed that John Laurinaitis will face Cena at the pay-per-view instead, and Laurinaitis, Tensai and Sakamato laid a brutal beatdown on an already injured Cena.

I'm still not crazy about Laurinaitis wrestling on PPV, but I am at least somewhat interested in seeing what goes on with this storyline.

Clearly, Cena is going to be pissed about what happened at the end of last Monday's Raw, and I'd fully expect to hear his response to the attack on tonight's show.

Then, what happens?

I honestly don't know what's going to go on with this feud tonight, next week or at Over the Limit for that matter. But that's precisely why it has my interest.

1. What's Next for Brock Lesnar and Triple H?

Last week's Raw started with a bang when Brock Lesnar attacked Triple H and broke his arm in the process.

This angle was seemingly done to write Lesnar off of TV for a while and to set up a potentially huge match with Triple H down the road, possibly at SummerSlam.

I think we can get that much out of what went down last week.

But if Lesnar is going to be gone from TV for an extended period, the WWE is going to have to give us some kind of storyline explanation, and we're also going to have to get an update on Triple H's condition.

The WWE can build up to a great HHH/Lesnar feud/match here if the creative team does everything right, so tonight's Raw will go a long way in determining the direction of this angle.

My prediction? Lesnar gets suspended indefinitely, so his return (whenever that is) can be more of a surprise. 

I guess we'll find out for sure what's going on tonight, though.

Drake Oz is the WWE Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions (to be answered in the B/R Mailbag) on Formspring.