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WWE had a good Royal Rumble pay-per-view where several top Superstars made their return to the ring. Edge and Bianca Belair impressed everyone with their performances and won the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches respectively.
On the WWE RAW that followed the event, Sheamus appeared early to turn on his friend Drew McIntyre and set his eyes on the WWE Championship. What made The Celtic Warrior turn from friend to foe in no time? And who will Edge challenge at WrestleMania?
The Rated-R Superstar then headed over to WWE NXT where he confronted Finn Balor and Pete Dunne. Will Edge challenge the NXT Champion at WrestleMania to break the norm? Karrion Kross, on the other hand, set his sights on Santos Escobar. Will the former NXT Champion destroy the NXT Cruiserweight Champion in the weeks to come?
SmackDown hosted the Royal Rumble winner, who was looking to decide who he'd like to challenge at WrestleMania 37. However, his segment with Roman Reigns allowed a previous rivalry to continue.
Let's take a look at five of the biggest questions from this week's episodes of WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown.
#5 Why is Lana back in the chase for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships on WWE RAW?
WWE worked hard for months to build a massive storyline between Lana and the team of Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax on WWE RAW. The two Superstars kept putting Lana through a lot of punishment, and she finally teamed up with Asuka to earn a shot at their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
However, WWE pulled Lana from the match and instead allowed Charlotte Flair to return and team up with Asuka to win the titles. This ended Lana’s storyline with the heels until she made her return at the WWE Royal Rumble and eliminated Jax from the match.
On last week’s WWE RAW, the company teamed Lana with Naomi to compete against Flair and Asuka, and Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team Match.
Lana and Naomi shockingly won the match on WWE RAW and earned a shot at the WWE Tag Team Championships. But the question must be asked, why has WWE given Lana another chance to get in contention for the titles after taking her out in the first place? And why have Naomi and Lana, who don’t have much storyline together, been put ahead of Rose and Brooke?
WWE seems to have gone back on their Asuka-Charlotte plan and have handed Lana and Naomi a surprising shot at the tag titles on WWE RAW.
#4 Will Alexa Bliss move into the WWE RAW Women’s Championship picture again?
Alexa Bliss has been one of the main characters on WWE RAW. After partnering with ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt, the Superstar has managed to completely turn her character around. While Wyatt has been away from WWE TV for some time now, Bliss has been carrying his rivalry against Randy Orton very well.
Bliss defeated Asuka a few weeks ago on RAW and followed it up with another good performance against the RAW Women’s Champion before The Viper interfered in the match. Bliss’ Championship opportunity was taken away in the process, and she failed to make an impact during the WWE Royal Rumble. On the RAW following Royal Rumble, Bliss did not get a Championship rematch against Asuka but had a match against Nikki Cross instead.
Following her match, she interfered in Orton’s match against Edge on WWE RAW. While it’s good to see how The Goddess is carrying the rivalry between Orton and Wyatt, will she get a chance to leave a mark of her own?
This is some of Bliss’ finest work in WWE, and she can easily get in the title picture against Asuka and win the WWE RAW Women’s Championship. Will Bliss get another shot at the title soon, or has WWE decided to save the rivalry for later?
#3 Will WWE NXT allow Karrion Kross to rip through a current Champion?
WWE NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar made some comments regarding Karrion Kross that did not sit well with the former NXT Champion. Last week on NXT, Kross delivered a warning to Escobar in the form of a message. This week, The Herald of Doomsday decided to take things a step further.
Scarlett watched on from an elevated platform as Escobar successfully defended his title against Curt Stallion. However, the night did not end too well for Legado del Fantasma as Kross arrived to attack both men, before warning Escobar once again.
Judging by these segments, it seems like WWE could be building towards a match between Kross and Escobar at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day. However, will WWE be okay with allowing Kross to destroy the NXT Cruiserweight Champion?
A match between the two men will likely be interesting and give Kross a chance to show his authority once again. WWE could book this to be a non-title match, as Kross is nowhere near a cruiserweight. However, allowing Kross to rip through Escobar could affect the Champion’s value. Will WWE be bold enough to take this step?
#2 Why has The Undisputed ERA been knocked out of the WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Classic?
The Undisputed ERA was once the top team in all of WWE. At one point, all four members of the faction held all the gold in NXT to prove that they are truly undisputed. However, slowly they all lost their titles, and have been in the chase ever since.
Over the past few months, Kyle O’Reilly has emerged as the top singles competitor from the brand while Adam Cole has moved into tag team competition. On last week’s NXT, The Undisputed ERA looked like the favorites in their match against Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa but failed to progress in the tournament.
This was another major setback for the team that had been doing increasing well last year. Since Ciampa and Thatcher’s tag team will only likely be temporary, why did management allow them to knock The Undisputed ERA out of the tournament?
Will The Undisputed ERA help Finn Balor in his battle against Pete Dunne and the NXT Tag Team Champions in the weeks to come? Winning the Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament would have been beneficial for the faction. Even being the runners up would have helped them stay on top on the brand. However, it’s not clear what WWE is planning for them going forwards.
#1 How long can WWE continue Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens’ rivalry on WWE SmackDown?
Edge appeared on WWE SmackDown this week with only one aim in mind. The Ultimate Opportunist wanted to keep the final Champion in WWE guessing after he delivered a warning to the WWE and NXT Champion.
Edge appeared in the final segment of the night where he was confronted by the Universal Champion Roman Reigns. While Reigns expected that Edge would acknowledge him as the main event of WrestleMania, Kevin Owens appeared to take him down.
KO was defeated by The Tribal Chief once again at the Royal Rumble, and it had looked like their rivalry was over. However, the company decided to bring The Prizefighter back in the picture just a few days later to continue their rivalry.
Is there no one else who can keep Reigns busy until WrestleMania? While KO is a phenomenal wrestler, it’s odd that WWE is not getting Shinsuke Nakamura or Daniel Bryan in the picture before the show of shows.
How long can WWE stretch the rivalry between Reigns and KO? And will it end up affecting either Superstars’ value?
