WWE Raw preview (January 11, 2016): Beast of Bourbon Street

WWE is heading to New Orleans, and the Previews are taking a slightly different slant.

If you're on of the seven or eight thou...no...hundr...err...okay, if you're one of the seven or eight people who come her for my fantasy booking and comedy stylings, this might be bad news. If you're the rest of our non-paying audience who only want to know what to expect on a given show, this might be good news.

Long story short - things like "what they should do/what we're afraid they'll do" and "Winners/Losers" will spin out into occasional feature posts. Previews will be pretty straight-forward rundowns of what WWE is hyping for a particular show. My smart-assery will bleed into them, no doubt - I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam - but the focus is shifting to providing you with information and a place to chat about the show before the opening bell.

As the star of tonight's show once said/asked, "Let's! Do! This!?!?"

The Headliner

Returning to the city where he broke the Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak, fresh off the news that the man he faced at last year's Mania has to defend the WWE title in the Royal Rumble match in a couple of weeks...everyone wants to know what Brock Lesnar is doing on Raw.

Probably jogging in place while Paul Heyman says some stuff. But will the Advocate say what the Beast Incarnate will be up to at the next pay-per-view (PPV)? And will that provide any hints as to what he'll be doing when the Granddaddy of The All rolls into North Texas in early April?

The Title Scene

Roman Reigns remains your WWE World Heavyweight champion. After successfully defending the title in another showdown with Sheamus orchestrated by Vince McMahon to ensure he lost the belt, the Chairman announced the historic Rumble stipulation for the Big Dog. Tonight will be his first appearance, and chance to address a live crowd, about Vince's bombshell.

Dean Ambrose is still Intercontinental champ after a war with Kevin Owens on SmackDown ended in a double countout. Their fight didn't end with the referee's signal, however, with the cameras going to black when the two men went off the stage and through some boxes & tables.

United States champ Alberto Del Rio lost a challenger when John Cena went under the knife last week. But he gained one when Kalisto defeated him on Thursday night.

Becky Lynch would be Divas champ if Ric Flair hadn't pulled Charlotte's foot to the ropes to negate her tapping out to the Dis-Armer. Instead, the Nature Girl is still holding the butterfly belt. But WWE.com, and the world, expect the Lasskicker to say and probably try to do something about that tonight.

The New Day may be Tag Team champs, but expect them to keep getting ready for the Rumble. Creative isn't even trying to build a challenger to them right now, so they'll probably do some schtick, work a six or eight man tag (that will probably involve the Dudleyz) and call it a night.

Other stuff to keep an eye on:

- People sure do seem to like the new stable formed by Heath Slater, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas & Adam Rose. What's the plan for the Social Outcasts?

- After putting together a rag tag crew to face Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Miz on Thursday night, Dolph Ziggler turned on all of them to drive home the every man for himself" vibe one needs to kick ass in the Rumble. Who will join the Show-Off, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Ryback, Axel and the whole Wyatt Family in the battle royal for Reigns' belt?

-Stardust might do stuff. Last week he lost to Titus O'Neil and tried to ransom Stephen Amell's Slammy.

Two shows before Royal Rumble 2016!

What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?