Most Intriguing Storylines to Track on Road to WWE Royal Rumble 2019

Last Sunday's TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view arguably closed out the year on a high note for WWE, but the company has its work cut out as far as maintaining momentum between now and next month's Royal Rumble event.

It isn't uncommon for WWE to phone it in during the buildup to the Royal Rumble, fully expecting the multi-fighter matches alone to generate excitement from fans. However, there is more of a reason to be optimistic this year that the road to the January 27 PPV will be compelling based off the events of Monday's Raw.

Between it being announced that the McMahon family will be running both Raw and SmackDown Live and fresh faces from NXT are on their way to the main roster, it's an interesting time to be tuning into the product.

Ratings have been at an all-time low for months, but perhaps this shake-up of sorts will be what WWE TV needs to become must-see again.

Plus, the Universal Championship bout for Royal Rumble is already set: Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman will meet again one-on-one with the gold up for grabs. However, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are the true talk of the town these days and will surely spice up SmackDown in the coming weeks.

The remainder of 2018 will likely be fluff with the holiday season upon us, but beyond that, it's full steam ahead to the most unpredictable period of the year for WWE.

If management is adamant about turning things around, it will make the extra effort to deliver worthwhile storylines that will give fans an incentive to watch Raw and SmackDown every Monday and Tuesday night.

Let's look at all the intriguing angles worth keeping an eye on as the 2019 Royal Rumble quickly approaches.

Will Braun Strowman Be 100 Percent by the Rumble?

Braun Strowman's pursuit of Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship dates as far back as the summer of 2017. Every time he has contended for the gold against The Beast Incarnate, he has fallen short and been bumped to the back of the line.

At Crown Jewel, he might have had a better chance of beating The Beast Incarnate had it not been for Baron Corbin. Now that the threat of the former acting Raw general manager has been eliminated, Strowman's sights are set on becoming champion once and for all at the Royal Rumble.

His latest obstacle, though, is being cleared to compete in time for the Rumble. Although he underwent successful elbow surgery in early November, he has not got physical on WWE TV since then, including during his TLC match with Corbin last Sunday.

Thankfully, plenty of time remains until the Rumble PPV, so The Monster Among Men is bound to be close to maximum health before then. In the meantime, how he'll maintain momentum on Raw and if he'll have any sort of a presence on the program remains to be seen.

We already know Lesnar won't be appearing on every Raw over the next month, so WWE will need to heat this feud back up and get fans to care about seeing Strowman finally conquer The Beast.

How Will the New Management Affect Raw and SmackDown Live?

WWE promised a "shake-up" of some sort in the days preceding Monday's Raw, and ultimately it turned out to be an announcement from Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon and Triple H that they will be running Raw and SmackDown Live going forward.

With this change, authority figures will be a thing of the past, and the McMahons will be prominently featured on both brands from here on out. As nice as it will be to not have a heel at the helm of either show for the foreseeable future, it also means the McMahons will be at the forefront of WWE programming for the umpteenth time.

Time will tell how that will affect storylines and if they will eventually interject themselves into an important angle, but Raw and SmackDown should see an upgrade in quality in the coming weeks.

Raw this week was significantly better than what we've come to expect from the show, while SmackDown was solid as well.

In addition to new faces being introduced (more on that later), the McMahon clan promised fans fresh matchups, something SmackDown and Raw have desperately needed for some time. It was also revealed that the automatic rematch clause for former champions will be done away with.

Thus, all went well for the first week of this new regime, but the real test will be whether these changes will still be in place a month from now.

WWE has the chance to right recent wrongs and deliver must-see programming, assuming it doesn't get cold feet and immediately revert back to the status quo.

Where Will Mustafa Ali's Meteoric Rise on SmackDown Live Lead?

In a cool turn of events, Mustafa Ali arrived on SmackDown Live on December 11 and made an immediate impact by going toe-to-toe with WWE champion Daniel Bryan. Although he failed to beat the champ, he had a strong showing in defeat and proved he could hang with a top talent.

One week later, it was revealed that Ali had been officially added to the active roster on the blue brand and he would be wrestling in the main event alongside AJ Styles against Bryan and Andrade "Cien" Almas.

The exhilarating encounter saw Ali not only take the fight to his opponents but also pin Bryan's shoulders to the mat for a three-count.

There's no telling what this will mean for the WWE Championship picture heading into the Royal Rumble, but one can only assume Ali has earned himself a shot a the strap.

While WWE could easily hold the championship clash on an upcoming episode of SmackDown, it would be an excellent addition to the Rumble card as well.

Either way, it's refreshing to see someone who was previously relegated to the cruiserweight division waste no time in flourishing on the main roster. He belongs among the elite on SmackDown and should be treated like a rising star in the coming months.

Ali has had an outstanding 2018 on 205 Live and appears to have a bright future on SmackDown as well.

When Will the Latest NXT Call-Ups Arrive on Raw and SmackDown Live?

Along with Raw and SmackDown Live being under new management, the McMahons also announced on Monday that fresh faces from NXT would be introduced on both brands soon enough.

The batch of up-and-comers slated to be called up includes Lars Sullivan, EC3, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans and Heavy Machinery.

Interestingly enough, none of those names ever won gold in NXT, but they still have plenty of potential to be big stars on the main roster. Elias exceeded expectations upon arriving on Raw in 2017, so there's no reason why these top prospects can't experience similar success.

It was already known that Sullivan was on his way to either Raw or SmackDown. He has been paving a path of destruction in NXT for over a year-and-a-half and can be a valuable asset to whichever brand he ends up signing with.

EC3 is another individual with a ton of upside and someone who might be a better fit for Raw or SmackDown than NXT. Additionally, Cross can join her Sanity stablemates on Tuesday nights, Evans can be a real player in either brand's women's division, and Heavy Machinery are championship material.

An influx of new talent is never a bad thing, and as long as they are utilized properly and not lost in the shuffle on SmackDown or Raw, they can be a boost of excitement on both brands.

When Will Lynch and Flair Set Out for Retribution Against Ronda Rousey?

Becky Lynch first caught the attention of Ronda Rousey leading up to their encounter at Survivor Series on November 18.

When the bout was called off due to The Irish Lass Kicker suffering an injury, she continued to call out the Raw women's champion in promos and on social media in the weeks that followed.

Charlotte Flair has also been a thorn in the side of Rousey since Survivor Series, which was where she obliterated the former UFC star with a kendo stick after failing to put her away. Thus, Rowdy has had a bone to pick with both women for weeks, and it was merely a matter of time before she exacted her revenge.

At TLC, Rousey interjected herself into the main event and tipped over the ladder with Lynch and Flair on it, costing them the SmackDown Women's Championship in the process.

Needless to say, The Man and The Queen were furious on the subsequent SmackDown Live and are clearly planning on getting back at Rousey sooner rather than later.

All three women will be under the same roof at the Royal Rumble, but they will likely come in contact before then. Besides, Lynch has invaded Raw before and laid a brutal beating on Rousey, so nothing is stopping her from doing that again or from the star of the red brand returning the favor.

Regardless of what happens, these three Superstars have been the best thing going on either show for months and should continue to be the focal point of WWE programming heading into the Rumble.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.