WWE 'Monday Night Raw' Preview 1/18/16: Brock Lesnar Appears, 'Royal Rumble' This Sunday!

WWE will present the January 18, 2016 episode of Monday Night Raw from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brock Lesnar appears tonight ahead of the Royal Rumble this Sunday, but there's plenty more to look forward to on tonight's broadcast. We've got a full preview for you, so let's dive into it.

The company has already announced that The Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar, will appear on Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel segment tonight. Hopefully this will provide some clarity on Lesnar's involvement in the Royal Rumble match on Sunday.

Last week, Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon stated their desire for Lesnar to enter the Rumble match, while Paul Heyman argued that his client is a prize fighter who should be headlining WrestleMania 32 no matter what. We never actually saw the resolution of this conversation on screen, but last week's episode of Raw ended with Lesnar demolishing everyone in sight, including the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns.

Now that we know Lesnar is in the match, could it come down to Reigns and Lesnar as the final two men? Or will WWE save that for a potential WrestleMania main event? We should get some idea tonight when Lesnar (or Heyman) talks to Jericho. You know, before Lesnar inevitably takes Jericho to Suplex City.

Reigns, meanwhile, has one more week with the belt before he defends that title against 29 other men in the Rumble match, which no other champion in WWE history has ever had to do. If Vince McMahon truly wants to take the belt off Reigns, then he would force the champion to enter the match at No. 1 and truly have to run the gauntlet in order to retain the title. We'll see if we get an official announcement on that tonight.

For the record, here are the participants officially announced for the Royal Rumble:

Big Show
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt
Brock Lesnar
Chris Jericho
Curtis Axel
Dolph Ziggler
Erick Rowan
Luke Harper
Roman Reigns
Ryback
Sheamus
Stardust

Elsewhere on the card, Dean Ambrose is set to defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Kevin Owens on Sunday in a Last Man Standing Match. These two men have been attacking each other for weeks, so this should be the final showdown between them for a while. Each man has had the upper hand at various points, but only one will walk away with the belt and (likely) carry it into WrestleMania.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte took their feud to a new level last week thanks to some scathing promos, an aggressive attack by a hurt and betrayed Becky, and this terrific line from the chellenger: "I'm taking your championship, and I'm taking your arm!" The two do not yet officially have a match for this Sunday, but expect WWE to announce it tonight. This has quielty become one of the best programs on the show, so hopefully that momentum carries into Royal Rumble.

Finally, Kalisto won the WWE United States Championship from Alberto Del Rio last week on Raw, but Del Rio won it right back on Thursday Night SmackDown. Kalisto could get one more chance at the title on Sunday, or Del Rio could move on to another challenger.

As always, check back with MStars immediately after the show for a full recap of all the action. But for now, let us know your predictions for tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw in the comments section below.