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WWE has been setting up towards a couple of big shows, as we will see NXT TakeOver XXX take place in the month of August along with WWE SummerSlam.
The biggest party of the summer will likely give us some of the biggest matches of the year, while WWE NXT will be planning something big for the 30th NXT TakeOver event too.
Last week on WWE RAW, Randy Orton made it clear that he wanted to target the WWE Champion Drew McIntyre for his title. McIntyre accepted the challenge but took an RKO from The Viper for his troubles at the end of the show.
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Sasha Banks was able to cement her position as the RAW Women’s Champion thanks to Bayley, and the two heels managed to bag all the gold in the women’s division of RAW and SmackDown.
WWE NXT had a big confrontation between NXT Champion Keith Lee and Karrion Kross, while the end of the night saw Dexter Lumis progressing to the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match at TakeOver XXX.
WWE SmackDown surprised fans with a couple of returns, a heel turn, and a big ending that left everyone in awe. Big E got back on track as a singles competitor, while SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley was once again able to defeat Nikki Cross.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things that must happen to build towards WWE SummerSlam and NXT TakeOver XXX.
#5 Seth Rollins threatens to take Humberto Carrillo’s eye out on WWE RAW
Last week on WWE RAW, Seth Rollins came out to the middle to call out Dominik Mysterio and explain to him that his father wouldn’t have lost his eye had he simply listened to him. After Rollins ran his mouth for some time, Dominik arrived and immediately tried to take down The Messiah of Monday Night RAW. However, with the help of Murphy, he was able to overpower the young WWE Superstar who is starting to find his footing in the company.
Aleister Black came to Dominik’s aid but he could not keep both the heels down and ended up paying for it as Murphy reluctantly injured his eye with the corner of the steel steps.
Dominik was able to save Black for any further damage by grabbing a Kendo Stick and unloading on Rollins. The Messiah wasn’t too happy with Dominik’s actions and showed the injuries he picked up on social media.
This week on WWE RAW, Rollins must appear on the show once again and compete against Humberto Carrillo, taking out the Superstar. After the match, he must call out Dominik to face him at WWE SummerSlam and threaten him to accept that challenge or he’d poke out Carrillo’s eye with the steel steps too.
This must allow Dominik to come out and reluctantly accept Rollins’ challenge to protect Carrillo, allowing WWE to book Dominik’s first match in WWE against one of their biggest Superstars.
#4 Asuka challenges Bayley for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
WWE RAW and SmackDown locker rooms have been under the control of Bayley and Sasha Banks who now hold all the gold attached to the two brands. Last week, Asuka fought against Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Championship on the Red brand.
However, Bayley attacked Kairi Sane backstage during the match between Asuka and Banks which led to Asuka leaving the ring to save her friend and losing the title by countout.
While The Empress had everything to lose during the match, she went to defend her fried first rather than continuing to compete in the ring. This showed that Asuka cared for Sane more than anything else, and will be missing her now that she’s left for her home country.
While The Pirate Princess might be gone, we could see The Empress look for revenge on the upcoming episode of WWE RAW. During the show, we could see the Golden Role Models come out once again to celebrate all the titles that they are currently holding.
This could bring out Asuka who instead of going for Banks, must challenge Bayley for her WWE SmackDown Women’s title. The Role Model was responsible for Asuka’s loss at WWE Extreme Rules and during last week’s WWE RAW and was the one who attacked Sane.
This could lead to an interesting cross-brand match, much like we saw between Banks and Asuka, as there seem to be no real challengers for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship ready on the Blue brand. With SummerSlam drawing closer, we could see The Empress target Bayley while someone like Nia Jax could take on Banks for the WWE RAW Women’s title.
#3 Dakota Kai defeats former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley
With NXT TakeOver XXX creeping up, the big question on everyone’s mind was who’d challenge NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai at the big event. While WWE had a few directions to go with, they’ve decided to book a #1 contender’s match between Dakota Kai and former NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley.
While Kai has been dancing with Shirai in recent weeks on television, Ripley was in a storyline with Robert Stone who tried hard to get the NXT Superstar to join her. While Ripley did not join Stone no matter how hard he tried, it was Mercedes Martinez who made a big return to WWE NXT and ended up joining the Robert Stone brand.
This week, Kai and Ripley will compete for a chance to face The Joshi Judas at NXT TakeOver XXX. While Ripley is the bigger WWE Superstar in this match, and Kai has already competed in a few NXT Women’s Championship matches earlier, WWE must allow Kai to pick up the victory.
This could be done by booking an interference from either Raquel Gonzalez or having Martinez attack Ripley behind the referee’s back during the match and causing her to lose. This could lead to Ripley teaming up with Shotzi Blackheart to take on the Robert Stone brand at NXT TakeOver XXX, while Kai could get another shot at the WWE NXT Women’s title.
#2 Ridge Holland makes a big impact on WWE NXT
Another big match announced for this week’s WWE NXT will see Oney Lorcan, Damian Priest, and Ridge Holland compete in a Triple Threat Match to earn a spot in the WWE NXT North American Championship Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver XXX.
Lorcan is fresh out of a rivalry with Timothy Thatcher, and judging by the way their previous match came to an end, we can safely say that the two men are far from done with each other.
Priest was competing against Cameron Grimes for some time and overcame the Grime Time to shut the heel up for some time before he made his way back to WWE NXT last week.
Holland, on the other hand, will be making his NXT television debut next week after having a good time in NXT UK. His last televised match came against the massive WWE NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER in March this year.
While all three men are great in the ring, WWE should give Holland an immediate push by allowing him to pick up a victory over the two accomplished NXT Superstars during next week’s match.
Holland has the size, strength, and charisma to come across as a big star, and they could start building him right away to give NXT Universe a taste of what to expect from him.
#1 Shorty G gets the better of Matt Riddle on WWE SmackDown
Last week on WWE SmackDown, King Corbin got into a match with Drew Gulak. While Gulak did a great job at keeping Corbin down for some time, he was no match for the King's size and power.
At the end of the match, Corbin hit a Deep Six followed by the End of Days to pin Gulak clean. Right after the match, Matt Riddle hit the ring and attacked the King. However, Shorty G came out and surprised everyone by attacking Riddle and siding with Corbin. This suggested that Shorty G had turned heel in hopes of cashing in the King's Ransom.
This week on SmackDown, WWE must book a match between Riddle and Shorty G. Even though Shorty is the smaller Superstar, WWE must allow Corbin to distract Riddle and give Shorty G to pick up the victory to piss off The Bro of WWE even more.
This will give WWE a chance to further build towards a match between Corbin and Riddle for WWE SummerSlam while giving Shorty G to build himself as a formidable heel.
Vince Russo answers who killed WCW HERE
