WWE Raw Preview: Brock Lesnar Returns in Final Episode Before WrestleMania 35

Brock Lesnar returns to WWE Raw Monday, just six days before WrestleMania 35 and his Universal Championship defense against Seth Rollins, headlining what is already likely to be the most explosive broadcast of the year as the brand puts the final touches on the hype for wrestling's most prestigious extravaganza.

Also on tap Monday is WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle's final Raw match, in which he will battle a familiar foe with his own date for The Show of Shows.

Throw in a massive eight-woman tag team match that will serve as a preview for the Women's Tag Team Championship bout on Sunday, and you have a loaded broadcast also likely to feature a significant push for Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre's WrestleMania showdown.

Announced Matches

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio

Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch vs. The Riott Squad

Sasha Banks, Bayley, Beth Phoenix and Natalya vs. Nia Jax, Tamina, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay

Raw Tag Team Championship Match: Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. The Revival

The Beast is Back

The last time we saw Lesnar, he was distracting Rollins and costing his No. 1 contender a match against McIntyre.

The Beast was not physical on that night but expect that to change Monday as the company attempts to add drama and excitement for a title defense that has become somewhat overshadowed by the other, stronger stories elsewhere on the WrestleMania card.

Do not be surprised to see Lesnar steamroll Rollins, creating doubt that The Architect can actually defeat him and take his title. Maybe the challenger even gets one over on The Beast, leaving hope for a championship victory despite a seemingly overwhelming size differential.

Then there is Paul Heyman, who has a knack for turning it on from a promo standpoint when it is time for one last, hard sell of a big match.

Once upon a time, Rollins vs. Lesnar looked like the no-brainer main event for wrestling's biggest night. Now, it is struggling to stay relevant. It needs a red-hot angle to hammer home its significance and The Beast's return should help provide it.

Kurt Angle Renews An Old Rivalry

Once upon a time, the 2002 SummerSlam pay-per-view kicked off with a dazzling array of athleticism in the form of Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio.

That high-profile bout kicked off what would go on to become one of the more competitive rivalries in either man's career, and Monday night, they will tangle one last time in what is being billed as the Olympian's final Raw match. 

While Angle has defeated Samoa Joe, Apollo Crews and Chad Gable clean in the center of the ring without interruption, Monday's match feels like the perfect opportunity to have Baron Corbin interrupt proceedings and add heat to the farewell bout at WrestleMania.

Corbin ruining The Olympic Gold Medalist's Raw goodbye would be such a great heel move that it would be almost inconceivable that WWE Creative has not already booked it.

Considering the backlash the Angle vs. Corbin match received, the least the booking team can do at this point is make The Lone Wolf so wholly unlikable that fans will forget he isn't of the star power many envisioned for Angle's retirement opponent and, instead, want to see him obliterated in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Or John Cena shows up and throws Angle's plans into disarray.

Women's Division Action

For the first time in six years, Beth Phoenix will return to the squared circle on Raw.

The Glamazon will partner with Natalya and her WrestleMania opponents—women's tag team champions Sasha Banks and Bayley—to battle their other 'Mania foes Nia Jax, Tamina and The IIconics in an Eight-Woman Tag Team match.

That contest, which will deliver the final hype for the massive multi-woman clash, is only one of two tag bouts that will put a bow on the build to a major women's division bout at WrestleMania.

Becky Lynch, SmackDown women's champion Charlotte Flair and Raw women's champion Ronda Rousey will make for reluctant partners as they battle The Riott Squad just days before they make history as the first women to main-event The Showcase of the Immortals.

More importantly than the match itself is the potential announcement that could come from it.

Flair's victory over Asuka on March 26 for the SmackDown title threw the main event for WrestleMania into disarray. Now there are two champions in one match, so it only makes sense for WWE to try to overbook the match some more. 

Expect some sort of official announcement as to how The Queen's newly won title will factor into Sunday's marquee bout at some point Monday night.