WWE Monday Night Raw preview: September 18, 2017

Braun Strowman's quest to capture the WWE Universal Title reaches its concluding stages

Also read: WWE RAW Results, September 18th 2017, Live Updates and Commentary

Just a week before the WWE rolls into Los Angeles for No Mercy, Raw comes to us from the SAP Center in San Jose with a number of interestingly poised storylines.

Chief among them is the riveting rivalry between John Cena and Roman Reigns. With "The Leader of Cenation" getting the better of the back and forth verbal volleys so far, how will their final encounter play out before they finally lock up on Sunday? The question is whether the Face that Runs the Place would show up as he was in China for a live event.

He was written off television last week as part of the brutal beatdown at the hands of Braun Strowman.

Another duo on a collision course at No Mercy, Nia Jax, and Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, will do battle on Monday Night Raw. Will it be a sign of things to come?

And talking about signs, the signs for WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar heading into No Mercy are pretty bleak. Braun Strowman has victimised "The Beast" at every turn... but will Lesnar be able to turn the tables just in time with a strong showing on Raw?

Let's find out as we run through all these points and more in our preview of this week's episode of Monday Night Raw.

#1 Monster-handled

No human being can do that to Brock Lesnar...but Braun Strowman is no human being

Brock Lesnar has been dealt a stinging taste of his own medicine at the hands of Braun Strowman so far.

While everyone did expect "The Monster Among Men" to provide a stiff test to "The Beast", no one thought he would go on to absolutely decimate Lesnar the way he has at every opportunity.

He put him through two announcers' tables at SummerSlam, took him out again on the fallout episode of Raw and picked a fight with him and laid him out again last week.

With just a few days left for their titanic clash at No Mercy, will this week's episode of Raw have another "Monster" beatdown in store for Lesnar?

But there's a slight issue! Brock Lesnar has not been advertised for RAW and is expected to sit this one out if reports are to be believed.