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Bobby Lashley and MVP appeared on WWE RAW this week to send a warning to Goldberg. MVP asked Gage Goldberg to watch closely at WWE SummerSlam as The All-Mighty rips his father apart. Will Goldberg’s son play a role in the outcome of the WWE Championship match at The Biggest Party of the Summer?
The match between Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley ended after Charlotte Flair attacked both women. Did WWE do well to protect the RAW Women’s Champion and Ripley before the big match at SummerSlam?
Ted DiBiase appeared on WWE NXT again to lay down a big challenge for LA Knight. The WWE Hall of Famer wanted Knight to defend his title against Cameron Grimes. Knight agreed but said that DiBiase would have to become his butler if Grimes lost.
Sarray and Ilja Dragunov picked up their first losses on NXT. Will Dragunov be the first man to defeat WALTER for the NXT UK Championship at TakeOver 36?
King Nakamura defeated Apollo Crews to become the new Intercontinental Champion on WWE SmackDown. Nakamura will likely come across his first challenger for the title soon after SummerSlam.
Sasha Banks aligned with Carmella and Zelina Vega to beat down Bianca Belair on Friday night. Will The EST look for some backup on this week’s SmackDown before her title defense at SummerSlam?
Take a look at the five biggest questions from WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5 Why is WWE using the same storyline for two teams on RAW?
Randy Orton and Riddle have formed one of the unlikeliest partnerships on WWE RAW. Orton returned to RAW this week and was not in favor of teaming up with Riddle again.
However, The Bro helped him out during his match against AJ Styles, and The Viper repaid him by putting him down with an RKO. Fans are very much behind the team comprising of Riddle and Orton, which is now known as The RK-Bro.
While this partnership is entertaining, the creative team seems to be building another tag team on RAW around the same story. Mustafa Ali and Mansoor have allied, and the two men are also following a similar pathway on RAW.
Ali is not interested in a friendship with his partner, just like Orton, while Mansoor is trying his best to win his partner’s trust, just like Riddle. The two stories seem very similar, and one wonders whether WWE is using the angle to build two tag teams simultaneously.
WWE is not short of talent or ideas, but the company could suffer if it recycles ideas too quickly. Is the RAW creative team using the same storyline for the two new tag teams for the brand? Or is RK-Bro different from Mustafa Ali and Mansoor?
#4 Has WWE RAW lost the plot in Alexa Bliss and Lilly’s story?
Alexa Bliss cost ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt the final match he competed in before his release from WWE. Since then, Bliss has appeared with a doll named Lilly and has tried to build towards several rivalries.
Lilly was spotted backstage stalking a few WWE Superstars and officials. Meanwhile, Bliss also claimed a few times that the doll had her eyes on a certain superstar. After weeks of building different storylines on RAW, Bliss got into a rivalry with Eva Marie and Duodrop.
The Goddess competed in a match against Duodrop on RAW this week and picked up the win after a bizarre spot involving Lilly. Is this the best way to build Bliss, who once had the most interesting characters on RAW? Did the creative team plan to take Bliss in such a direction after splitting her up from The Fiend?
WWE has some of the biggest and most bizarre characters. However, many will agree that the company could have done much more with Bliss’s current character had they built on it properly. Currently, it looks like Bliss and Lilly have no real direction on RAW.
#3 When will Baron Corbin and John Morrison get their dividends paid in WWE?
Baron Corbin appeared on WWE RAW this week after Jinder Mahal made him an offer he couldn't refuse. The troubled superstar was offered money by Mahal to compete against Drew McIntyre.
Corbin tried his best to put down The Scottish Warrior but failed to pick up the win. Even though RAW could have picked Veer, Shanky, or an underutilized superstar for the job, it felt like Corbin was the perfect man in the situation.
The former King of the Ring has turned his gimmick upside down in WWE. Once known as The King, Corbin is now completely broke and looking for a way to make some money to make ends meet. He has had some of the most interesting gimmicks in WWE and has managed to make all of them work well.
At the same time, John Morrison has been extraordinary in the ring even though he has picked up more losses than victories in his current character. Morrison has helped give superstars like Damian Priest a big push in WWE.
When will these two superstars get a chance to win a major title and get to the top of the roster? They have the talent and charisma to make any character work, but will WWE pull the trigger and give them a major championship run?
Many superstars in WWE deserve much more than they’re given for all the work they put in. Corbin and Morrison have proven time and time again that they top that list.
#2 Why did Ilja Dragunov lose his first televised contest on WWE NXT?
Ilja Dragunov is arguably the best wrestler on WWE NXT UK today. The superstar is set to take on WALTER for the NXT UK Championship at TakeOver 36.
Dragunov appeared on WWE NXT this week and cut a short promo before being interrupted by Pete Dunne. The two men got into a war of words that led to Dragunov’s first televised match on NXT.
Dunne and Dragunov had a solid match where it looked like The Unbesiegbar had the upper hand. However, a distraction from WALTER allowed Dunne to hit the Bitter End and pick up the win.
Why did NXT allow Dunne to defeat Dragunov in his first match on NXT? Shouldn’t The Unbesiegbar have been given a victory over the former NXT UK Champion ahead of his big match at TakeOver?
Draganov isn’t great on the mic but he proved what he can do inside the wrestling ring. WWE could have put him up against Oney Lorcan instead of Dunne and allowed him to pick up the victory before being attacked by The Ring General.
A victory would have helped Dragunov walk into TakeOver with a lot more momentum and backing.
#1 Where was Finn Balor on this week’s WWE SmackDown?
Finn Balor returned to WWE SmackDown recently after a great run on NXT once again. The Prince took out Sami Zayn before trying to get in the Universal Championship picture.
Balor managed to convince Roman Reigns to give him a shot at the title at WWE SummerSlam. The former NXT Champion was taken out by Baron Corbin during the championship contract signing ceremony, after which John Cena stole his opportunity to get in the title picture.
Last week on SamckDown, The Prince called out Cena and said he was ready to fight him for a Universal Championship opportunity. Instead, Roman Reigns attacked Balor for no reason.
This week, Reigns and Cena had an epic promo battle on SmackDown. This could have been the perfect chance for WWE to have Balor come in and demand a match against Cena or ask for a Triple Threat Match at SummerSlam.
Where was Balor this Friday night and why did he not continue to push for a way to get back in the Universal Championship picture? After all, he was the man who should have signed the contract after Reigns accepted his challenge for SummerSlam.
WWE could have used the angle to get a blockbuster match between Cena and Balor before SummerSlam. However, it looks like the company is trying to protect both the babyface superstars.
