Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss: Latest Rumors and Preview for WWE Raw Aug. 28

Sasha Banks will look to avoid repeating her history of failure in Raw Women's Championship matches as she collides with Alexa Bliss on Monday's WWE Raw.

The Boss outlasted Bliss at SummerSlam, forcing the heel to tap out and claiming the Raw women's title. The next night, Banks was ready to take on her foe again. Bliss elected to wait until Monday for her rematch.

As Bliss reminded her rival last week, Banks has followed up her championship wins with short reigns. Again and again, she's been unable to successfully defend her title.

Banks hasn't had a reign longer than 30 days, as a result, per WWE.com.

Elsewhere on Monday's show, John Cena will continue to impact the red brand, Enzo Amore will follow up on his move to a new division and Elias will look to keep up his winning ways. Could a former tag team champ show up as well? Is WWE planting the seeds for a Cena vs. Roman Reigns bout at the Sept. 24 No Mercy pay-per-view?

Read on for a look at the latest episode, complete with backstage news, info from the Raw preview on WWE.com and storyline analysis. Raw will air on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network.

News, Rumors, Potential Spoilers

During a match with Amore last week, Big Cass tore his ACL.

The big man tumbled out of the ring, landed awkwardly on his leg and couldn't finish the bout. And now Big Cass is due to miss several months of action. He has already started the rehab process after undergoing successful surgery, per WWE.com.

Darren Young, meanwhile, has healed from his own injury and could return at any moment. 

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reported earlier this month: "Young will soon be making his return to the ring...because he's been cleared for action by WWE's medical staff." Young hurt his elbow in January.

Now that SummerSlam has come and gone, WWE may now look to work Young back into the mix on Raw.

John Cena, billed as a free agent, appeared on the show last week. As what his role on Raw will be, one backstage report pointed to a showdown with The Big Dog.

Credit: WWE.com

Sports Illustrated columnist Justin Barrasso wrote: "Cena is back on Monday nights on the USA Network for one reason: Vince McMahon wants Cena to elevate and give the rub to Roman Reigns."

En route to that, Cena could be facing a destroyer. Dave Meltzer noted on Figure Four Online: "John Cena over Samoa Joe has been happening at the Raw brand house shows this weekend."

Feuds seen on the house show circuit don't often find their way to TV, but they are sometimes an indication of what WWE has in mind for Raw and SmackDown. 

Raw Streaks

Elias' grating musical performances may be getting more attention, but his recent success in the ring is worth discussing.  

After taking down R-Truth last Monday, the guitar-playing grappler has won four matches in a row, per CageMatch.net. That includes a victory over Finn Balor, believe it or not.

It seems as if WWE is moving Elias upward. If that continues, he'll be wrestling at the next PPV rather than simply strumming his instrument.

Emma is not on pace to be a part of No Mercy. She's become the Raw women's division's punching bag.

A lopsided loss to Nia Jax extended a recent slump. Emma has now lost six consecutive bouts on Raw, per CageMatch.net. It's been nearly four months since her last singles win on the red brand.

That's a disappointing way to put her talents to use.

Preview

Shortly after Cena emerged on Raw last week, he and Reigns had a tense showdown.

But what looked to be headed toward a post-SummerSlam slugfest went in a different direction. They would go on to fight as a team against The Miz and Samoa Joe. During that bout, Reigns inadvertently nailed his partner with a Superman Punch.

That's sure to be a setup for what's to come between these men. WWE.com seemed to tease some future physicality between them when it asked: "Will the ramifications of that seemingly inadvertent strike be felt Monday night on Raw?"

Cena vs. Reigns is WrestleMania-worthy, but WWE may be looking to pit them against each other as soon as No Mercy.

Neville could have a surprising challenger when that PPV arrives.

Amore is now a member of the cruiserweight division after making his 205 Live last Tuesday. The trash-talking star confronted Neville that night, setting his sights on the Cruiserweight Championship.

Fans will soon get to see the next stages of Amore's title pursuits and what he looks like in the ring against his fellow cruiserweights.

Braun Strowman already has his title match lined up. After attacking Brock Lesnar last week, WWE announced The Monster Among Men would face Lesnar for the Universal Championship at No Mercy.

Lesnar's part-time schedule means he won't be around for every Raw leading up to the event. That will leave Strowman to build toward the bout on his own, likely via laying out various members of the roster.

And few things on WWE programming have been as fun as Strowman going on a rampage.

The Banks-Bliss SummerSlam rematch is likely to headline Monday's show. The championship stakes, their growing animosity for each other and The Boss' past failings make this a compelling clash.

Beyond, the in-ring action, how Bayley and Nia Jax fit into this story will be intriguing. Banks took Bayley's spot due to injury. There's potential for her to be jealous, for Bayley and Banks' friendship to show signs of splintering.

As for Jax, she has hovered around the title picture as both a contender and Banks' ally. WWE would be smart to play up her connection to Bliss more, gifting this narrative another layer. That will give the company added options heading into No Mercy.