WWE Raw: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for Jan. 16

A beast's rage will highlight Monday's edition of WWE Raw.

Brock Lesnar is set to return, and he'll be frothing at the mouth. This will be his first WWE appearance since his embarrassing loss to Goldberg at Survivor Series. 

What will be The Beast Incarnate's response to falling so hard? How will WWE use Lesnar to build toward the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Jan. 29?

Fans in North Little Rock, Arkansas, will learn the answers to those questions up close.

The show will also touch on the rivalries involving the Cruiserweight Championship and the Raw women's title. Newly crowned U.S. champ Chris Jericho gloating, the growth of the Royal Rumble field and perhaps a Triple H sighting are likely on Raw's docket as well.

Social media updates and the Raw preview on WWE.com help provide an early look at the upcoming show. Read on for a breakdown of the latest showcase of the red brand before it airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.

News, Potential Spoilers

Emmalina has to arrive at some point, right?

After undergoing a gimmick repackaging, Emma is supposed to debut as Emmalina. According to the vignettes hyping her return, she will premiere soon. But that's been the case since October.

Triple H looks as if he'll show up in Arkansas.

After hosting the United Kingdom Championship Tournament over the weekend, The Game noted on Twitter he was on his way back to Raw. Seth Rollins responded to the news:

We may finally get the Rollins-Triple H confrontation that's been needed since last August, when Triple H cheated The Architect out of a chance at the Universal Championship. There has been little follow-up since.

On Monday night, it would be smart to at least lay a touch of the groundwork for their expected WrestleMania collision. 

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), Tye Dillinger, Kassius Ohno and Elias Samson are among the NXT prospects in a group the company is prepping for a call-up in the near future.

The Royal Rumble match is a more likely spot to debut some of these wrestlers, but any of them could pop up before then. 

And fans will expect WWE to salute a Hall of Famer after his passing. Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com wrote, "Obviously, WWE will pay tribute in some fashion to the late Jimmy Snuka as well."

Raw Streaks

The dark side has been good to Neville. 

The Newcastle, England, native defeated Lince Dorado on last week's Raw. The victory marked the second straight win on the red brand for The Man That Gravity Forgot. That in itself isn't exactly noteworthy, but Neville is now 7-0 in his last seven bouts overall, per CageMatch.net.

And he's undefeated on 205 Live. 

Titus O'Neil, meanwhile, is on a much different path. After losing to Kofi Kingston last Monday, the powerhouse has extended his winless streak on Raw.

Per CageMatch.net, O'Neil is 0-10-1 on Raw following his win over Darren Young last August. 

After a few brief pushes, it looks as if O'Neil is destined for bottom-feeding status. He may not even make the Royal Rumble cut at this point.

Royal Rumble Build

Animosity will continue to overflow in the women's division.

En route to Bayley's match with Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble PPV, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks got involved. Their issues led to a tag team match last week where Flair and Jax double-teamed The Huggable One.

Revenge is likely on the way. The WWE.com Raw preview wrote of Bayley, "She'll surely look to bounce back to gain some momentum against The Queen before then."

Arkansas will also witness the continuation of the Cruiserweight Championship rivalry between Neville and Rich Swann.

Neville's recent win streak earned him a title shot against Swann at the Rumble. With the match now official, it's time now to turn up the personal issues between the champion and challenger.

The newly vicious Neville is bound to go after Swann before their bout. Should the heel look to soften up Swann via ambush, the storyline will receive a boost. 

The Royal Rumble's namesake match should get some attention on Raw, too. Undertaker, Lesnar and Goldberg have all entered the upcoming 30-man Battle Royal. Who will join them?

WWE's best bet is to book qualifying matches between midcarders to have them earn their spots. It's fine for the big stars to just throw their names in the mix, but the company can tap into drama aplenty should acts like Rusev and Big Cass have to fight their way in.

Jericho has already signed up for the Rumble. And thanks to a win over Roman Reigns last week, he will march into the bout with the United States Championship over his shoulder.

Jericho and Kevin Owens overwhelmed Reigns in a handicap match for the title last Monday.

Reigns can now focus on his pursuit of Owens' Universal Championship. Jericho, meanwhile, can give the U.S. title more spotlight. What other aftereffects can we expect?

The WWE.com Raw preview asked, "How does The Big Dog's defeat last week change the complexion of that high-stakes clash in the Alamodome?"

Hopefully the shift creates some sparks. The main event narrative has lacked electricity. WWE needs to tune up Owens vs. Reigns in a hurry.