WWE Raw preview (Feb. 28, 2022): Finn Balor is suddenly the most interesting man on Raw

Raw airs tonight (Feb. 28) with a live show from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. This is the second Raw episode during the six week build towards WrestleMania 38 on the weekend of Apr. 2 & 3.

Finn Balor is suddenly the most interesting man on Raw

Tonight’s episode of Raw features Damian Priest defending the United States title against Finn Balor. This title match came about after Priest issued an open challenge to any world championship caliber opponent, and Balor accepted.

Balor has been off WWE television for most of 2022, but he’s back now and looking to play a key role at WrestleMania 38. It’s hard to know where he’ll land on that card because his booking has been all over the place on the main roster. Sometimes WWE books him in main event title matches against top stars like Roman Reigns, while other times he’s just some mid-card guy who is to there to make the heels look good.

For the first time in a long time, there is a chance that Priest may actually lose his belt. His split personality gimmick isn’t working, so it might be time for a title change. Maybe Priest loses the title to Balor and snaps, leading to a rematch against Balor’s demon form at WrestleMania. Then again, maybe Priest beats Balor, and Finn is just a stepping stone for Damian on his way to a match against someone like Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. Balor’s past booking has been so erratic that either outcome seems plausible.

Now that we’ve kissed the WWE championship goodbye for a while, the United States title has by default become the most important men’s title on Raw. If WWE has decided the belt needs to be on someone who can carry Raw main events, that could explain why Balor is suddenly a threat to take that spot. Alternatively, maybe he’s just going to flop around like a fish again and come nowhere close to sniffing the main event level.

It’s really hard to predict where this one is going and what the implications are for WrestleMania, and that makes Finn Balor the most interesting man on Raw right now.

The rest of the title scene

Becky Lynch defends the Raw women’s championship against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38. Belair showed off her impressive strength last week in her latest victory over Doudrop. Lynch is frustrated with Bianca’s success and will probably need to come up with a nefarious scheme in order to keep the advantage on her side.

Alpha Academy will defend the Raw tag team titles next week (Mar. 7) against RK-Bro and Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins. What does that mean for tonight’s show? Who knows! But don’t be surprised if RK-Bro picks up a win tonight after losing twice against Owens and Rollins this month.

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is not advertised for Raw. However, Paul Heyman is confident that The Beast will lose the title at a house show at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. It doesn’t appear that former champion Bobby Lashley will be his challenger due to a shoulder injury. Is there anybody else on Raw who can be a viable threat to Lesnar? Omos is really the only person who comes to mind, but I doubt WWE will go in that direction.

Dana Brooke is once again the new 24/7 champion after she used a kiss to keep Reggie down for the three count. It feels like WWE simply hit the reset button here.

Queen Zelina Vega and Carmella’s reign as the women’s tag team champions is finally relevant in kayfabe again. Sasha Banks and Naomi have formed a team on SmackDown and declared their intention to win the titles. If WWE’s plan is to use the women’s tag titles to get all the women onto the WrestleMania card, just like last year, then we may see some new teams announced on Raw tonight too. How about Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan, for example?

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- Edge has laid down a challenge for WrestleMania 38. Last week’s promo teased that his opponent on the grand stage could end up being AJ Styles, Damian Priest, or Cody Rhodes. Is this a case where WWE hasn’t figured it out yet so they are putting a bunch of ideas out there before settling on a name? Edge is back on Raw tonight to follow up on this challenge, so maybe this is where his opponent reveals himself.

- Logan Paul and The Miz have formed a team of obnoxious douchebags, and they took out The Mysterios last week. The Miz now finds himself involved in a celebrity match at WrestleMania for the second straight year, and Logan Paul already looks like a clear upgrade over his former partner, John Morrison.

- Kevin Owens’ disgust with Texas grows with each passing week. I’m sure we’ll hear more about it tonight.

- There’s a rumor that Vince McMahon will wrestle against Pat McAfee in a smoke-and-mirrors match at WrestleMania 38. Will this angle be Austin Theory’s path towards making the WrestleMania card, given all of his past awkward segments with McMahon?

- Alexa Bliss is finished with therapy but was a non-factor on last week’s Raw. Is it possible that she will cross paths with former partner Nikki A.S.H. soon?

- Asuka was rumored to return to WWE before the end of February, which can still turn out to be true if she shows up on Raw tonight. The main obstacle in her way might just be that pesky little thing called Creative Has Nothing For You.

- Dolph Ziggler is the number one contender for the NXT championship. Could that angle spill over to tonight’s episode of Raw in the form of Bron Breakker making his presence known?

- Veer Mahaan has been coming for four months. Perhaps I should rescind my statement about Finn Balor being the most interesting man on Raw.

What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?