WWE Raw preview (Dec. 4, 2017): Monday night DELIGHTs

It’s a crime that WWE is in Los Angeles, yet they sent The Miz to London to play a U.S. Marine.

The Headliner(s)

Their brother has some gold. Can Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins take us back to the time when all three Hounds of Justice were titleholders?

Survey says “yes”. With Roman Reigns not only healthy, but also wearing carrying the Intercontinental championship belt, Raw appears poised to give us The Shield reunion run that was put on hold by a backstage viral outbreak. The Lunatic Fringe is also back from a delayed honeymoon, so he and The Kingslayer get to battle tag champs The Bar once again tonight.

Cesaro and Sheamus’ partnership has gone better than anyone imagined - probably even Mick Foley. But Vince McMahon’s need for a popular act to book his flagship show around isn’t the only reason The Bar’s time at the top could be coming to end. The Celtic Warrior’s been nursing an injury for a while now, and with his partner reminding us again last week that he’s one of the best singles workers in the business (so good he doesn’t even need to win), well...

If The Shield’s over-ness happens to rub off on The Big Dog, I’m sure no one in Creative will complain. That is, if Roman can avoid getting choked out by Samoa Joe again.

The Destroyer has had Reigns’ number for a while now - there can be only one Samoan named Joseph at the top, after all. Joe’s probably just the next hurdle for Roman to clear on his way to WrestleMania. But if rumors are true and he will drop that belt on the road to New Orleans, The Samoan Submission Machine’s first main roster title might just be a Coquina Clutch away.

See... building the show around Romey, Traitorface and Dean-o is fun!

The title scene

We’re probably months away from his next title defense, but Universal champion Brock Lesnar is going to work a Monday night in a few weeks. Maybe we’ll know more then. Until then, don’t worry about it.

Despite a plethora of worthy challengers, the Women's championship feels almost as absent as The Beast. Alexa Bliss continues to show up on commentary, but the focus of Raw is on Absolution and their various targets. After Asuka was placed in their sights last week, and with Sasha Banks facing Paige tonight, The Goddess can likely continue to coast.

Compared to those belt-holders, Cruiserweight titleist Enzo Amore is practically a fighting champion. Even if he doesn’t work much besides his mouth. He does have a Train of dudes who follow him, and two of them (Tony Nese! Drew Gulak! Team Powerpoint!) will try to keep Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander from joining Rich Swann in next week’s #1 contender match.

Other stuff to keep an eye on:

- Was leaving Kane gagging right before a Glenn Jacob’s campaign rally payback enough for Braun Strowman? (Unfortunately) Probably not. The Monster Among Men has a habit of eliminating Raw’s other big men, and The Devil’s Favorite Demon will likely follow in Big Show’s footsteps before his latest run is done.

- Amazingly enough, WWE’s official preview for this episode makes no mention of Matt Hardy. The tag legend’s loss to Bray Wyatt, the transformative effects it had on him and his former employer’s reaction, have been the talk of the internet for a week. Fingers crossed for more DELIGHTFUL developments here.

- What will happen to Finn Bálor tonight, and how quickly will he Tweet about it?

- Can we hurry up with the Jason Jordan heel turn? Roman may have gotten cheered in Tennessee last week, but I don’t think the tide is going to turn for General Manager Kurt Angle’s son any time soon. And he’s actually pretty good as a sniveling guy-we-love-to-hate.

- Bayley and Mickie James were fodder for Absolution’s push a week ago. Will they have anything to say about that? Will they at least show up to keep Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville out of Paige’s match with The Boss?

- If we can’t have the A-Lister in Hollywood, can Elias keep Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel as back-up singers?

Eight weeks until Royal Rumble!

What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?