As the summer heats up, the WWE is getting set for what should be an explosive edition of "Monday Night RAW."
This week's episode will emanate live from the Honda Center in Anaheim with just 13 nights until SummerSlam. "The Bigest Event of the Summer" is slated for Aug. 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
With one of the biggest events of the year looming, here are five things to watch for on "RAW" this week.
1) Blue Brand's Beard
One of the major matches at SummerSlam will pit "RAW's" Brock Lesnar against "SmackDown Live's" Randy Orton. Both Superstars exchanged blows last week, with Orton taking out Lesnar on the flagship show and "The Beast" surfacing on the Blue Brand to gain some revenge on "The Viper" via an RKO.
The WWE is playing up the seriousness of brand invasions and "RAW" general manager Mick Foley has invied "SmackDown" GM Daniel Bryan to this week's show. The two will likely discuss the events that have happened leading up to the upcoming bout between their stars.
2) Universal Struggle
The all-"RAW" main event for SummerSlam will see Seth Rollins go head-to-head with Finn Balor to crown the first-ever WWE Universal Champion. "The Demon" got the upper-hand on "The Architect" on last week's show, but the WWE rarely books one-sided feuds. It's likely Rollins will gain some revenge and momentum this week on "RAW," and he promised such action on Twitter:
Everyone keeps asking how I'm gonna deal with Balor....did you folks forget what happens when #TheMan comes around? https://t.co/jhDBOZFL6e
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) August 7, 2016
3) Bling For The Boss
WWE Women's Champion Sasha Banks shared a photo of her custom plates for the WWE Women's Championship, but the question is how long the WWE will let her ride with the gold. "The Boss" is set to battle Charlotte for the Women's Championship at SummerSlam in a highly-anticipated rematch after Banks won the gold last month on the first post-Draft edition of "RAW." Charlotte got the upper-hand last week, so Banks is due to gain some momentum back.
A photo posted by Sasha Banks (@sashabankswwe) on Aug 3, 2016 at 11:05am PDT
4) Tag Team Turmoil
The WWE is selling The Club as the next greatest threat the The New Day's lengthy run as Tag Team Champions. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson took out the trio last week and will likely meet some variation of the team at SummerSlam. The WWE is playing up an injury angle for Big E after the attack last week.
"It remains to be seen whether the WWE Tag Team Champions are officially down a member, as little is known about Big E's condition at this time," WWE.com wrote, "but Anderson & Gallows certainly evened the odds as they continue to eye The New Day's titles."
5) SummerSlam Struggles
With just 13 nights until SummerSlam, four title matches have been announced, six bouts are scheduled overall and only two of those contests are all-"RAW" clashes. It's likely more matches will be announced for the show this week. One expected clash will be between Roman Reigns and United States Champion Rusev.
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