WWE Raw Preview: Massive No. 1 Contender's Match and More for September 23

Seth Rollins may be preparing to defend his Universal Championship against The Fiend at Hell in a Cell but before he can enter the unforgiving structure on October 6, he awaits the winner of a massive Fatal 5-Way match Monday night on USA Network.

The match, featuring no less than three current champions in their own right, headlines a show that will also include a King of the Ring tournament rematch, the latest edition of The Firefly Fun House and women's action featuring two of the best in the business.

Already Announced

• Fatal 5-Way No. 1 Contender's Match: Ricochet vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Robert Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles
• Nikki Cross vs. Sasha Banks
• Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin

A Blockbuster Season Finale

The announcement on WWE.com that Monday's Raw will serve as a "season finale" came with the revelation current Raw tag team champion Roode, United States champion Styles, intercontinental champion Nakamura, future Hall of Famer Mysterio and Ricochet will battle for the right to challenge Rollins for the top prize on Raw next week.

Recent booking has prominently featured The OC as thorns in the side of The Beastslayer, setting Styles up as a potential challenger for his title.

The Phenomenal One, despite the current positioning of The Fiend, has been the lead heel on Raw post-SummerSlam. Of all of the competitors, he is the most sensical of the options.

With that said, the flagship show could desperately use a dash of the unexpected.

Use the match to set up a challenger to Styles' title, maybe Mysterio, while giving Rollins a fresh opponent to work with.

What better way to introduce a new season of television, while building heat for The Fiend, than by having Rollins defend against Ricochet in a red-hot babyface vs. babyface main event interrupted by the masked villain?

Either way, Styles feels like a retread and too much like the show we have spent weeks watching, even if he makes the most sense.

A King of the Ring Rematch

Corbin's King of the Ring coronation last Tuesday on SmackDown Live was interrupted and ruined by the man The Lone Wolf defeated to claim the crown, Gable. A week after their epic encounter, a legitimate TV Match of the Year candidate, the two men square off in a monumental rematch.

Despite the loss, Gable remains a favorite of fans who recognize his talent and appreciate the underdog story. Losing clean to a Superstar like Corbin, who has been a featured player on Raw for months, did nothing to hurt that.

Now that Corbin is the King of the Ring, what better way to keep the feud rolling than by having Gable follow up the disastrous coronation by defeating the former Raw general manager in their rematch?

If that happens, a third pay-per-view match should be expected and likely will ultimately help both Superstars involved.

Of course, it would not be a surprise if Corbin steamrolls Gable to kill his heat given the way Cedric Alexander was treated in his matches with Styles a week ago.

Marching Toward Hell

Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks will wage war inside Hell in a Cell, with the Raw Women's Championship at stake, but The Legit Boss will be in action Monday against women's tag team champion Nikki Cross.

Both Alexa Bliss and Bayley will be at ringside for the match, upping the likelihood of interference in the contest.

The question is whether Lynch finds her way into the fray as WWE Creative looks to build toward her showdown with The Boss.

It would make sense, but it would also not be out of the realm of possibility that Paul Heyman and the writing team opt to continue selling the match with another strong promo from The Man, who has a way of instigating emotion with words as much as she does her in-ring performances.

Even if there is no physical interaction between Lynch and Banks, the match between the No. 1 contender and Cross should prove to be a fantastic one, especially if it is given time and both women are allowed to showcase their considerable skills.