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The action has been picking up in WWE over the past few weeks. With WWE SummerSlam on the horizon, the creative teams of all three brands have been building some of the top rivalries that could culminate at The Biggest Party of the Summer.
WWE RAW hosted a few matches between the participants of the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches. Who will walk out of Dickies Arena with the Money in the Bank contract on Sunday night?
The rivalry between Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal got more intense on RAW. Meanwhile, Randy Orton was missing from the show once again. Will The Viper show up on Sunday to help or cost Riddle the Money in the Bank briefcase?
Mandy Rose made her return from RAW to WWE NXT. Who will Rose face first upon her return to the brand? Sarray picked up another dominant victory on the show, while Santos Escobar made a comeback to the brand. Will Hit Row and Legado del Fantasma get into a big rivalry on NXT?
Karrion Kross defended his NXT Championship in a match against Johnny Gargano. Will Kross pay for laying his hands on Samoa Joe and provoking the NXT official?
Fans returned to fill up the arena on WWE SmackDown just before Money in the Bank. Friday night was packed with some great matches and segments to get the crowds warmed up before Money in the Bank.
Edge made Roman Reigns tap out after a match on the show. Will The Ultimate Opportunist be able to lock Reigns in a crossface on Sunday night? And why did the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions pick up another non-title loss on SmackDown?
Take a look at the five things WWE got right on RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5 Should WWE have waited until after Money in the Bank to get the Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal rivalry started?
Drew McIntyre will have another chance to get a title shot at WWE Money in the Bank. He will be one of eight men who will compete in the ladder match for a chance to win the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Most of the superstars who’re part of the match are currently not involved in any rivalries. However, McIntyre recently got into a feud with his former best friend, Jinder Mahal.
Mahal and McIntyre competed in a match a couple of weeks ago that was won by The Scottish Warrior by disqualification. Last week, McIntyre destroyed Mahal’s motorbike to get the rivalry rolling.
Fans have been waiting for the two men to cross paths on WWE RAW for some time. However, is it the best time to get their feud started? Will Mahal end up costing McIntyre at Money in the Bank to spice things up?
WWE could have waited until Money in the Bank to get this story started. Mahal and his men could have cost McIntyre the briefcase, leading to a rivalry between the two men. The current backstory isn’t strong enough and makes things a little too predictable for the future.
Will McIntyre’s ongoing rivalry take a toll on him during the multi-men ladder match? Or will The Scottish Warrior overcome the odds to once again get in the WWE title picture?
#4 Why is the WWE Champion losing so often on RAW?
Bobby Lashley has held the WWE Championship for over four months now. He has been a good champion on the RAW brand and has been involved in many matches and segments recently.
Over the past several weeks, Lashley hasn’t been as dominant as one would expect. His United States Championship run saw him remain undefeated for a long time. However, he has been pinned by a couple of superstars over the past two months.
In May, Lashley was pinned by former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston in a non-title match on RAW. Last month, he was part of the tag team that lost to Drew McIntyre and The Viking Raiders.
The New Day defeated Lashley and MVP a couple of weeks ago, while Lashley took a pinfall loss to Xavier Woods last week. Is WWE handing way too many losses to their top champion? Will a string of losses hurt Lashley’s credibility in WWE?
The All Mighty has always remained a strong superstar in WWE. If WWE is building towards a possible match between Lashley and Brock Lesnar, then the losses will undoubtedly affect his current standing in the company.
#3 Why did WWE break up another women’s tag team on the main roster?
Over the past couple of years, a few big names have made their way back to WWE NXT. Ember Moon, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe are among the top superstars who performed on the main roster before heading back to NXT.
This week on NXT, another WWE Superstar made their way back to the Black & Gold brand. This time, Mandy Rose moved from WWE RAW to NXT to try something different on the brand.
While it’s good to see certain superstars make a move to other brands, why did WWE decide to break the budding tag team on RAW? The main roster is already deprived of quality women’s tag teams. Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox’s recent move from NXT to WWE SmackDown was seen as a positive move.
However, WWE has broken the partnership between Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke on the main roster. It looked like the two superstars could get in contention for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships soon, but the company seems to have other plans.
Was it a good move to break a budding tag team on RAW? And will Rose end up winning a title on NXT this time around? One will have to wait and see how things work out for The Golden Goddess in the months to come.
#2 Is WWE rushing things with Samoa Joe on NXT?
WWE NXT hosted a big match between Karrion Kross and Johnny Gargano this week. What made things special was the fact that Samoa Joe acted as the guest referee during the contest.
Joe made his return to NXT on June 15 and quickly established himself as the brand’s special enforcer. Over the past few weeks, Joe has been seen taking out Adam Cole and getting in Kross and Pete Dunne’s face. Fans believed WWE was building towards some future rivalries for The Samoan Submission Machine, but it wasn’t too clear if and when he’d return to the ring.
Joe and Kross had a few unpleasant exchanges during the NXT Championship match last week. After Kross defeated Gargano, he took out The Submission Specialist with a Kross Jacket to make a statement.
The end of the match signals a possible rivalry between Kross and Joe. Fans have already seen The Herald of Doomsday perform in dark matches and on Main Event, and he may be getting a main roster call-up soon.
Joe could be the perfect superstar to hand Kross his first loss in NXT. However, is WWE rushing things with the former NXT Champion? Is it too early to put Joe back in the ring after having him appear as a special enforcer for a month?
It’s no secret that Triple H and the team behind NXT will be tempted to bring Joe to the ring as soon as possible. However, should WWE have waited a little longer before giving Joe a reason to return to the ring?
#1 Why did Big E take the pin in the main event of WWE SmackDown?
WWE Money in the Bank is just a few hours away, and SmackDown booked a massive Fatal 4-Way match ahead of the show. The four participants from SmackDown for the Money in the Bank ladder match competed in one of the best matches of the night.
Kevin Owens was phenomenal throughout the contest and delivered a big spot to keep the fans entertained. Meanwhile, Seth Rollins used his heelish tactics to take out Big E and pinned him to win the match.
Rollins is one of the favorites to win the Money in the Bank ladder match on Sunday. Big E and Drew McIntyre also stand a good chance of winning the briefcase for their respective brands.
Keeping that in mind, why did WWE allow Rollins to pin Big E on Friday Night? Wouldn’t it have been better for Shinsuke Nakamura to take the pin instead?
Big E had a good confrontation with Paul Heyman backstage before the match. He is someone who can end up having a good rivalry with Roman Reigns later this year. WWE could have protected Big E on SmackDown and kept his momentum going into Sunday night.
While he might still win the briefcase on Sunday, it was odd to see him take the pinfall on Friday night after getting a good push.
