WWE Raw preview (Mar. 28, 2016): Last round-up

It's the last stop on the road to WrestleMania (sorry, SmackDown - even with "live elements", we can smell a clip show from a mile away)! How will a Brooklyn date with the full cast sell us on the Show of Shows?

The Headliner

Read into it what you will, but WWE.com's big question about the 'go home' show is what plans two guys who lost out on a Mania shot at the WWE title have for one another.

A rare Brock Lesnar appearance on the blue brand last week saw a team-up and collision with the man he'll have a no holds barred Street Fight with on April 3. Dean Ambrose has been collecting weapons from Legends, but last Thursday he opted for his own kendo stick when he first helped the Beast Incarnate run-off those darn Wyatts and then went after Brock. For his part, Paul Heyman's guy never wanted any help to begin with, and thanked Dean for the effort with a F5.

Our story thus far has focused on convincing us a mere mortal like Ambrose stands a chance against a god like Lesnar. Will they stick with the bestowing of weaponry to the Lunatic Fringe, or will Raw feature another confrontation?

The Title Scene

Since returning to action following surgery on his nose, Roman Reigns has sent WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H to the medical room, silenced Stephanie McMahon will declaring himself the Authority and then beat up the Game some more with a parking lot assault. Kind of hard to believe Hunter or his wife will leave things there, but then, they did have the first laugh with the attack that kept the Big Dog off television for weeks.

KO-Mania is not going the way Intercontinental champ Kevin Owens planned. His scheme to have a title defense against either Zack Ryder, Stardust or Sin Cara resulted in a ladder match where all three - plus Miz, Dolph Ziggler and his nemesis Sami Zayn will all get a shot at his belt. Even his usual "walking out on a tag match" scheme backfired last week. Maybe he should just head to Texas and skip Raw all together?

All three ladies in the upcoming Divas title Triple Threat got new merch recently, and hopefully their encounter from SmackDown will re-energize their feud. Champion Charlotte can't be happy after what looked like tension between challengers Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks ended up leading to the Boss pinning her and the Lasskicker suplexing them both.

Don't know if you noticed, but United States titleist Kalisto isn't very large. His rival for Sunday, Ryback, is sometimes called the Big Guy. Boom - instant feud.

Not that their tag belts are on the line, but New Day have an ongoing war with League of Nation they'd probably like to win, especially after the battle which occurred last Thursday ended with Sheamus Brogue Kicking Kofi Kingston into next week.

Other stuff to keep an eye on:

- It was already an "everything but the kitchen sink" kind of affair, but last week Vince McMahon revealed that in addition Shane McMahon either earning control of Raw or else having no stake in WWE, his Hell in a Cell match with Undertaker will also have the Dead Man's WrestleMania future on the line. And if that sentence doesn't make much sense to you, don't blame me. Both the Phenom and Shane O'Mac are scheduled to be in Barclays Center... maybe they can help us make sense of it.

- Believe it or not, there are still two matches which haven't been finalized for Sunday. One is awaiting a response from Chris Jericho, who really doesn't think he should need to wrestle AJ Styles anymore.

- The other is a multi-woman affair. Team Lana added both Summer Rae and Emma last week on Main Event, giving them a five-on-four advantage. The two most famous members of the Total Divas are supposed to be on hand in Brooklyn, so look for them to even the odds by revealing their fifth.

- Will anyone, or any pieces of furniture, be joining the Usos and Dudleyz on the pre-show?

- And we still need a whole bunch of dudes to round out the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Last show before WrestleMania!

What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?