It looks like that tease of a big confrontation between a returning Ric Flair and WWE Champion CM Punk back at the Slammy Awards last month won't be a tease for much longer.

That's because the Wrestling Observer is reporting there are currently plans in place for some sort of confrontation between the two on next Monday night's (Jan. 14, 2013) 20th Anniversary episode of Raw.

Would they go so far as to book a match between the two? That seems unlikely considering what happened with Jerry Lawler having a heart attack just last September in Montreal and WWE brass seemingly being sticklers about Flair keeping the stipulation clean on the retirement match he had with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24.

But it's not completely out of the picture. This is pro wrestling, after all, and stipulations mean jack in this particular promotion. Plus, Vince McMahon himself wrestled after "The King's" heart attack and he's older than the both of them.

It's also interesting to note that if this plan does indeed come to fruition, WWE will have executed it without ever advertising that Flair is once again returning to Raw. They popped a solid rating for his surprise return at the Slammys but next week's show will be the first in many, many months that doesn't have major sporting competition going up against it. And with other surprises already planned, it makes sense to advertise this beforehand to maximize the potential audience they could get for whatever they end up doing with Flair and Punk.

Either way, next week's show is shaping up to be a big one.