WWE Raw: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for Oct. 3

The spotlight will point at Charlotte and the Women's Championship on the first WWE Raw of October. Charlotte is set to defend her title against Sasha Banks, the only woman to ever dethrone her.

Monday's Raw will feature The Queen vs. The Boss, a pair of guest stars from the world of TV and a number of intensifying rivalries. 

The Staples Center in Los Angeles will host it all as Raw looks to recover from some cringe-worthy numbers.

The first round of presidential debates hurt Raw's viewership significantly last week. The Sept. 29 show earned a paltry 1.75 rating, per ProWrestling.net.

WWE has to shake that off. There won't be a political circus to compete with this week, and the company has to focus on building interest in the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on Oct. 30. That event sits on the horizon as unanswered questions linger.

Will Banks be champion heading into that event? Will the Cesaro-Sheamus alliance implode before then? Will Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens push Raw's authority figures to the side in order to focus on their own bad blood?

Thanks to Twitter, backstage reports and the WWE.com preview, fans will have a good idea of what to expect as Raw unfolds in the City of Angels beginning on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.

On Tap

Will WWE reset the Women's Championship picture? 

Banks wrested that title from Charlotte on Raw in July, only to drop it at SummerSlam less than a month later amid concerns over a back injury. The Boss avoided surgery and is again healthy enough to lead the women's division.

The Boss will get a shot at starting her story over when she takes on Charlotte for the gold on Monday night.

Monday's Raw is also assured some silliness. Actors Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson are headed to the show to settle some storyline beef with Chris Jericho.

Y2J mispronounced Kutcher's name a few weeks back. That was enough to get the former Punk'd host riled up and headed to Raw to seek Jericho out.

Kutcher previously guest-hosted Raw six years ago. 

News, Potential Spoilers

The Luke Harper watch continues. The undrafted big man is presumably headed back to action at some point soon.

After tearing his ACL in March, Harper has been cleared to compete, as noted by Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet. Dave Meltzer reported on Figure Four Online that Harper was backstage at Raw two weeks ago.

That could be an indication that he will join the Raw brand when he comes back.

Noam Dar will be there to join him. WWE previously announced that the Cruiserweight Classic competitor would join Raw's cruiserweight division, but he has not yet debuted. That could change as soon as Monday night.

According to PWInsider (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), Dar is expected to appear on Raw beginning this month.

Paige fans won't be as happy as Dar's supporters. 

After serving a 30-day suspension for violating the company's wellness policy, it looks like Paige will continue to be out of action. The former Divas champ tweeted that doctors offered her two surgery options: 

That leaves WWE to rely more on Bayley, Banks and others to flesh out the women's division.

Raw Streaks

The two safest bets on Raw each week continue to be Nia Jax and Braun Strowman. WWE has booked both wrestlers as unstoppable forces.

Jax remains undefeated since arriving from NXT.

Per CageMatch.net, she is 5-0-1 on Raw. Her last outing on the show ended in a no-contest after she flattened Alicia Fox at ringside.

After moving up from unknown to enhancement talent to Fox, it looks as if WWE is ready to have Jax climb up the ranks. Summer Rae is a good bet to be her next victim soon.

Rusev's place on the WWE food chain hasn't been as favorable.

The former U.S. champion hasn't won a match on Raw in his last four tries, per CageMatch.net. Rusev's last two bouts on the red brand both ended in double count-outs.

That moved him to a 2-2-2 record since the brand split. That's not R-Truth territory, but it's worth keeping an eye on how formidable The Bulgarian Brute looks in the weeks after dropping his title.

En Route to Hell in a Cell

The most unlikely of duos is prepping for a tag team title shot. Sheamus and Cesaro are now reluctant partners after beating each other mercilessly in their best-of-seven series.

After the last match of that series ended in a no-contest, Raw general manager Mick Foley decided to pair the two rivals and give them a crack at the Tag Team Championships.

Sheamus and Cesaro's unity needs a lot of work, a process Raw is certain to focus on in the weeks ahead.

Cruiserweight champ T.J. Perkins looks destined to take on Brian Kendrick at the upcoming PPV.

After fending him off at Clash of Champions, Perkins found himself crossing paths with the WWE veteran backstage. Their animosity is steadily increasing, and that promises to get worse on Monday's Raw.

Perkins is set to battle Kendrick on the show. The bout was first announced as a Cruiserweight Championship match, but it is now a non-title affair, per the WWE.com preview.

This will be a great opportunity for Perkins to further connect with the crowd as he looks to go from unfamiliar face to beloved titleholder.

The main narrative, as has been the case for weeks, will feature Seth Rollins' pursuit of Kevin Owens and the Universal Championship.

Last week, injured ribs kept Rollins from stepping into the ring. He defied the Raw GM's orders, though, and tried to brawl with Owens.

A similar story will play out again. The WWE.com Raw preview stated, "Although it's unclear as to whether Rollins will be medically cleared Monday night in the City of Angels, he will undoubtedly attempt to get his hands on Owens once again."

And expect Rollins' issues with Foley and Raw's authority figures in general to be a major part of the tale. He has spent just as much time bickering with Foley and Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon as he has clashing with KO.