WWE Raw: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for March 23

Count on plenty of ferocity and fireworks on the final edition of WWE Raw before WrestleMania 31.

The hype for WWE's biggest event of the year will be at its peak. Rivalries will intensify. Big stars will step into the spotlight.

Los Angeles' Staples Center hosts the go-home show on Monday night. Fans know to expect confrontations in excess, as Roman Reigns, John Cena, Triple H and others will be at the center of builds to marquee matches. Backstage reports and a photo making its way around the Internet provide a peek at just how those stories will play out.

James Wortman's five-point preview on WWE.com also provides a number of hints of what's to come on Monday's Raw. 

To get folks in the WrestleMania spirit, WWE has invited a pair of celebrities from two different worlds: A rapper and a journalist are set to be part of the show.

Special Guests Scheduled

As announced on WWE.com, "Rap icon Snoop Dogg and ESPN personality Bill Simmons will be paying the WWE Universe a visit."

Simmons, a longtime WWE fan, will provide guest commentary for a few matches. On Twitter, Simmons joked about his role for the show:

What Snoop will be up to is less clear. He's described in the aforementioned announcement as an "official guest star." 

Snoop has been on Raw before, hosting the show in 2009. That night, he clotheslined Chavo Guerrero in order to protect Hornswoggle. He'll have to find a new Superstar to tangle with this time around.

Perhaps that will be Curtis Axel, who called out the rapper on Twitter:

News, Potential Spoilers

With WrestleMania less than a week away, it won't surprise anyone that WWE will be employing an "all hands on deck" strategy for tonight's Raw. That reportedly includes a rarely seen, bat-swinging vigilante.

PWInsider's Mike Johnson reports, "Sting is in Los Angeles and will be appearing live on tonight's "go home" episode of Monday Night Raw."

Mike Mooneyham of The Post and Courier reports the same thing:

Sting has appeared on just two episodes of Raw in his career. Monday will mark the first time he has been on the show twice in a row. 

Brock Lesnar hasn't been around a ton either, despite being WWE champ. The powerhouse will be facing off against the man set to challenge him at WrestleMania: Reigns.

Fans may have had an early look at what WWE has planned for the No. 1 contender. A photo of Reigns in front of several video cameras (h/t Wrestle Zone) is leading to speculation that WWE is filming a segment with him to air on Raw.

Fans like Jorge Romero have been sharing the image across Twitter:

There's no official word on what the photo is or what WWE has planned, but it makes sense for Reigns to get a vignette focusing on him after Lesnar got that treatment last week.

Monday's Raw should also complete the list of this year's Hall of Fame inductees. Tatsumi Fujinami is already going in, as WWE announced on its website. A former WWE champ is expected to follow him.

According to F4WOnline (h/t Wrestling Inc), Kevin Nash is believed to be the next Hall of Famer announced for the 2015 class.

Nash would be the biggest name in that group other than Randy Savage, so it wouldn't be surprising for WWE to save this announcement for the go-home show.

Last Leg of Road to WrestleMania 

With The Granddaddy of Them All so close, WWE has to push all its stories close to their climaxes to leave fans hungry to see how it all plays out. The event's major matches promise to get the bulk of the attention on Monday night.

Triple H's response to Sting will be a key part of the show.

Last week, Raw ended with Sting and Randy Orton clearing out the ring. They left The Authority in retreat mode, taken back by this unexpected alliance.

Now the focus shifts to The Game. Wortman writes, "How will Triple H address his face-painted foe this Monday night?"

That's as important a factor as how WWE utilize will Sting this time around. So far, the company has picked its spots when using The Stinger, making sure to have him look like a superhero tearing through goons. 

Will WWE allow Sting to show some vulnerability here?

As for the Intercontinental Championship Ladder match, WWE clearly is looking to make the IC title relevant again. The fact that a IC title roundtable is the featured article on WWE.com is proof of that.

That's good news for Bad News Barrett and Company.

On Thursday's SmackDown, Barrett attacked Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler, softening up his future challengers with his trusty Bull Hammer. Wortman hints that the babyfaces will get some measure of revenge, askiing, "Will one—or both—of these Superstars get some payback against the intercontinental champion on Raw?"

As angry as Bryan and Ziggler might be, their animosity doesn't compare to what has to be flowing in Cena's and Rusev's veins.

Cena not only squeezed Rusev in his grip until he passed out but seemingly caused a rift between the United States champ and his manager, Lana. The Ravishing Russian hasn't been around recently. Rusev has instead been on his own, seething.

Not that there was any doubt that Rusev and Cena would be highly antagonistic toward each other, but Wortman writes, "Expect some serious fireworks between Cena and Rusev before their anticipated WrestleMania rematch."

The same can be said about Randy Orton and Seth Rollins. 

From Orton's throttling him in front of a live audience to Rollins' attempt to fool his opponent into believing that The Authority had abandoned him, this rivalry has grown electric in a hurry. In order to further the hate between them before WrestleMania, there is sure to be more violence.

Wortman asks in his five-point preview, "Will The Viper sink his fangs into 'The Future of WWE' on Raw?"

The Lesnar-Reigns feud has been far more about words than punches thus far. The majority of the story has seen Paul Heyman talk up his client's power and Reigns talk about how he wishes to prove his doubters wrong.

With the two Superstars set for a showdown on Monday's Raw, this may be when conversation morphs into carnage. It's not often that these kinds of segments don't end in a brawl, especially this close to such a big match.

Wortman hints at the expected when he asks, "Will the face-to-face confrontation between Reigns and The Beast Incarnate end in brutality? If so, for whom?"

Foreseeable or not, a fight between these two animals will do plenty to get fans pumped about WrestleMania's main event—at least, that will be the plan.