Ronda Rousey Defends Title and Preview for December 24 Episode of WWE Raw

WWE Raw is in the midst of a makeover, thanks in large part to sagging television ratings and the McMahon family's promise of a shakeup. Monday night, the red brand puts to bed many of its ongoing rivalries and turns its attention to the new year and the road to Royal Rumble.

What matches and developments can fans expect on a special Christmas Eve edition of WWE's flagship show?

Here is a sneak peek.

Preview

Championships Up For Grabs

Ronda Rousey will defend the Raw Women's Championship against Natalya Monday night in a match set up by The Queen of Harts' victory in last week's Gauntlet match. The longtime friends will set aside their feelings, battling for the right to be the top female Superstar on Monday nights.

Natalya is fresh off a victory over Ruby Riott in a Tables match at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs and big victories over the likes of Riott, Ember Moon and Sasha Banks in the aforementioned Gauntlet bout. She is as hot as she has been in nearly a year and presents as a woman who can set a challenge to Rousey due to her technical skill.

Rousey, on the other hand, is wrapping up one of the greatest rookie years of any Superstar and will look to add a victory over the third-generation competitor to her already impressive resume.

That is not the only championship match on tap for Monday's broadcast.

After their victory in the Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender's match last week, The Revival will look to right a number of wrongs as they challenge Bobby Roode and Chad Gable for the Raw Tag Team Championships.

There are two ways this match can go.

One, The Revival finally gets the opportunity to run with the titles and picks up a monumental victory on the penultimate episode of Raw in 2018. Two, they are fodder used to put the bland team of Roode and Gable over.

One of those options is much more appealing than the other.

A High-Stakes Triple Threat

Finn Balor, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre have spent weeks embroiled in a rivalry that has seen them all interfere in each other's matches. Monday, their program comes to a head as they meet in a Triple Threat match that could determine the Superstars in line for a shot at the Universal Championship.

As late as a few weeks ago, it appeared as though McIntyre was on the fast track to a championship feud with either Brock Lesnar or Braun Strowman. However, recent losses to Balor and Ziggler have some feeling as though management has cooled on The Scottish Psychopath.

That is unlikely to be the case.

Right now, WWE is building to a championship bout between Strowman and Lesnar. Rather than allowing McIntyre to become the tired dominant force who beats everyone, when the main event already has two of those, it has allowed him to prove his value between the ropes against two wrestlers widely considered to be among the best in their fields.

A McIntyre win would be a suitable way to propel him into the championship scene, but right now it seems there is a groundswell of support for Balor, who routinely receives among the loudest ovations of the night and whose creative is trending upward, based on recent wins and television time.

With his steady overness and Raw in need of a headline babyface behind Strowman, Balor could win here to jump-start a run toward the title as 2019 arrives.

Baron Corbin's Last Stand

As if enduring a verbal beatdown and the humiliation of being called out in front of the WWE Universe and blamed for the ongoing issues with the brand was not enough, Baron Corbin endured insult to injury after being left reeling backstage following a back-and-forth with Seth Rollins.

Monday night, Corbin looks to gain a measure of revenge as he battles Rollins in singles competition.

The match, the main event of Monday's show, feels like one less about Corbin and more about giving Rollins another signature victory in a year with lots of them.

If anything, this should spell the definitive end of Corbin the general manager.