WWE Raw: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for Jan. 9

The road to the Royal Rumble will be bolstered with star power on Monday's WWE Raw, as Shawn Michaels is set to appear on the red brand, and Undertaker is expected to follow suit.

A rare appearance from The Heartbreak Kid will help boost ratings. The same goes for Undertaker. Raw will need it; the College Football Playoff National Championship will give Raw a stiff challenge in the battle for viewers.

A United States Championship match, deepening rivalries and more clarity on the Rumble card are on the way as well.

The returning megastars will get all the hype heading into Monday night, but WWE's focus will be on the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Jan. 29. Title bouts have to be booked. More Superstars have to enter the Rumble match. 

Backstage news, storyline analysis and the WWE.com Raw preview offer a look ahead for Monday's show. All the action will kick off in New Orleans at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.

On Tap

Former world champ Michaels is scheduled to show up on Monday's broadcast. WWE is also teasing an Undertaker appearance:

The Heartbreak Kid is going to plug his new movie The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.

As to what else he will be up to, there has long been speculation that Michaels would wrestle at the Rumble PPV because it will be in his hometown of San Antonio. He's more likely to promote the event than announce his participation in it at this point, though.

Undertaker apparently won't be limited by the brand split. He's poised to show up on Raw after a November SmackDown appearance.  

Monday night will also feature Roman Reigns defending his U.S. title against both Chris Jericho and universal champ Kevin Owens, as WWE announced on Twitter:

The bout will open up a number of intriguing options. Sean Rueter of Cageside Seats wrote, "It would be nice to get some forward momentum in Raw's main event, whether that comes from a U.S. title change, some shift in Jeri-KO's relationship, or both." 

Stagnancy is the only road WWE can't go down here. The Reigns-Owens story has fizzled for the most part. The U.S. Championship scene needs a jolt to wake up Reigns' underwhelming time as champ.

News, Potential Spoilers

Enzo Amore isn't going to be kicking any tail, unless you count what he does with a microphone in hand.

A knee injury has slowed the New Jersey native of late, and it's not clear when he'll be ready to go again. Dave Meltzer reported on Figure Four Online that there's "no timetable for a return past he will be re-evaluated in two weeks."

Monday's Raw may mark the start of the annual Hall of Fame announcements. 

Tickets are going on sale for the ceremony this weekend, so the hype process may begin right away. "It makes sense that WWE will announce the first member of the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame tonight," as Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com wrote.

Diamond Dallas Page could be the first name revealed. According to PWInsider.com (h/t Bill Pritchard of Wrestle Zone), DDP will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

Raw Streaks

Braun Strowman's dominance continued last week.

The monster throttled Sami Zayn in a Last Man Standing match. He left the babyface out cold and followed up his beatdown by ramming him off a stretcher:

That victory was the sixth in a row on Raw for Strowman, per CageMatch.net.

He is marching closer to the top of the card. He's one to watch in the Rumble match, as he's bound to be one of its bigger stars.

Titus O'Neil's place in the WWE hierarchy is worlds away from that.

The powerhouse has no momentum to speak of. Last Monday, he challenged Xavier Woods to a match, only to fall once more.

Per CageMatch.net, O'Neil is winless in his last 10 matches on Raw, with his last victory on the red brand coming last August. He's looking like he will be fodder for the Rumble's bigger names, netting a quick elimination come Jan. 29. 

En Route to the Royal Rumble

The New Day, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and Baron Corbin have all recently announced their entries in the Royal Rumble match.

In the coming weeks, more wrestlers will join them to fill out the 30-man bout. And those names may be revealed as early as Monday.

The Raw preview on WWE.com hinted at that: "There are also many more spots in the bout that have yet to be claimed by Team Red's roster. Will more Superstars step forward this week?"

Neville and Rich Swann are likely too focused on their own bad blood and the cruiserweight title to enter the Rumble.

The Man That Gravity Forgot has quickly forced his name into the Cruiserweight Championship picture. The nastier, more aggressive Neville has attacked several of his peers, including Swann.

And after scoring recent wins over the champ and TJ Perkins, a title bout looks to be in his future. The WWE.com Raw preview stated, "Perhaps we'll learn more about Neville's next move this Monday night."

The Raw Women's Championship is promised some spotlight on Monday's Raw, too.

Bayley earned the No. 1 contender's spot by beating Nia Jax last week. That has to have champion Charlotte Flair nervous, as the hug-happy babyface has beaten her three times in non-title action.

Now that their title match is official for the Rumble PPV, it's time to start building up the bout.

WWE has to keep Bayley and Flair from competing against each other until then. Bayley can gain more momentum beating other members of the division. Flair can bolster the rivalry by trashing Bayley on the mic or bashing her knees backstage. The more personal this becomes, the better. 

In between Michaels' and Undertaker's roles on Raw, it will be quality storytelling in feuds like Bayley vs. Flair that will keep fans from switching over to Alabama vs. Clemson.