WWE ‘Monday Night Raw’ Preview 8/31/15: Sting Returns to Challenge Seth Rollins

The August 31, 2015 episode of WWE's Monday Night Raw will emanate live from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida and will build toward the Nightof Champions pay-per-view, during which Sting will challenge Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. We've got our full preview of tonight's episode below, so let's get to it.

At the close of last week's Raw after SummerSlam, Seth Rollins stood in the ring with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon and cut one of his interminable promos in which he proclaimed himself as the greatest athlete to ever walk the face of this planet. A black curtain in the center of the ring covered what was supposed to be a statue of the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and WWE United States Champion. But unbeknownst to Rollins, the legendary Sting sweated away his face paint inside that curtain. When the fabric was pulled away, Sting stood there glaring at the champion and his two proud faux parents. He attacked the champ, who scurried away with his tail between his legs.

WWE has already announced that Sting will be on Raw tonight and will open the show, presumably to explain his actions last week. The Icon will likely explain how he was sitting at home for the past few months, stewing over his loss to Triple H at WrestleMania 31. And now that Rollins has all the titles, someone needed to step in to stop him, someone who has a reputation as a vigilante who doles out justice to cowards and tyrants.

WWE has also officially announced the first Divas Beat The Clock Challenge to determine the No. 1 Contender to Nikki Bella'sDivas Championship. Paige, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch will all compete in the challenge, and the winner will get a shot at the title, presumably at the Night of Champions pay-per-view on Sept. 20. By that date, Nikki would have surpassed AJ Lee'srecord reign of 295 consecutive days.

It's unclear whom the members of Team PCB will face tonight, but our money is on Sasha Banks, Naomi, and Tamina Snuka. Of course, they could also face Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, or even Nikki herself. We'll have to wait and see the matchups tonight.

John Cena needs something to do now that he has lost the United States Championship, and a long-term feud with Jon Stewart doesn't seem likely. However, he could make another run at the U.S. title if WWE follows its own internal logic.

The rules state that every title in the company must be defended during the Night of Champions pay-per-view. Triple H announced last week that Rollins would defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Sting, but not the U.S. title. Does this mean Rollins could pull double duty on Sept. 20 and defend both belts? Look for Cena to make that claim tonight. Plus, he could add in that he is owed a rematch no matter what.

Bray Wyatt has added a third member to The Wyatt Family, and his name is Braun Strowman. This big man looks like a larger, scarier version of Bray, which is something we didn't think possible until Strowman showed up last week on Raw to completely demolish Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. It appears that the former Shield members are fully entrenched in this war with the Wyatts, but now they are outnumbered. Will they recruit a third man to help neutralize this new threat?

The tag team division just got a lot more interesting with the return of The Dudley Boyz last week, so logic would dictate that the Attitude Era mainstays would get a chance to become 10-time WWE Tag Team Champions at the next pay-per-view against The New Day.

Finally, Dolph Ziggler and Rusev are set to have a SummerSlam rematch tonight, so expect this one to also end in a manner that leads to a mixed tag team match at Night of Champions.

As always, check back with MStars for a full recap of all the action. But for now, let us know your predictions for tonight's show in the comments section below. Do you agree with our preview? What do you think will happen tonight?