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WWE SummerSlam hosted some top matches from RAW and SmackDown. Bobby Lashley retained his WWE Championship against Goldberg. The superstar was out early on RAW in search of a new challenger for his title.
Nikki A.S.H. lost her RAW Women’s Championship to Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam. Flair was confronted by Alexa Bliss on an episode of RAW that followed. Will The Goddess and Lilly take down The Queen for the title?
Samoa Joe arrived on WWE NXT after winning the top title for the third time. He was confronted by several men who wanted to have a go at the championship. Who will face Joe for the NXT Championship first?
Meanwhile, Carmelo Hayes defeated Odyssey Jones to win the NXT Breakout Tournament. The newcomer now has a contract to challenge any champion of his choice to a match on NXT. Will Hayes target KUSHIDA for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship?
Becky Lynch returned to WWE SmackDown and settled into her new heel character. Meanwhile, The Usos believe that Paul Heyman knew about Brock Lesnar’s return at SummerSlam beforehand. Will Roman Reigns’ special counsel betray him in the months to come?
SmackDown also continued to tease some tension between Rey and Dominik Mysterio. Will the younger Mysterio turn on his father soon?
Take a look at the five biggest questions from WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5. Has Karrion Kross silently moved from WWE NXT to RAW full time?
Karrion Kross proved to be one of the most dominant WWE NXT Superstars in recent times. The Herald of Doomsday bulldozed his way to two NXT Championship victories on the Black & Gold brand.
Kross started appearing on WWE RAW while holding the NXT Championship several weeks ago. He suffered his first loss since his return to WWE and started losing a lot of steam on the main roster.
At NXT TakeOver 36, Kross lost his NXT Championship to Samoa Joe. The next night, Kross appeared on RAW and ripped through Ricochet to pick up another quick victory.
The Herald of Doomsday did not appear on the episode on NXT that followed. While several men came out to confront Joe on the episode, Kross was missing from the mix.
Has WWE moved Karrion Kross to RAW for good? Has his time on NXT come to an unceremonious end?
There is a lot WWE could have done with Kross on NXT before moving him to the main roster and letting him remain dominant for some time. Recent matches and losses have certainly affected the former NXT Champion’s credibility in the company.
#4. Why did Shayna Baszler take the pin on WWE RAW?
Shayna Baszler hasn’t had the best time on WWE RAW. The former NXT Champion was expected to reach the top of the brand with ease, but the creative team seemed to have other plans for her.
Baszler won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships twice with Nia Jax, but she failed to make it big as a solo performer. In recent weeks, it looked like WWE would give her a solo run on RAW.
Jax teamed up with Charlotte Flair a couple of weeks ago, and it looked like Jax and Baszler had split up. However, the two women were made to team up again on RAW to take a loss at the hands of Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H.
Surprisingly, Baszler was the one who was pinned by Ripley during the contest. Why did the creative team pair the two women only for The Queen of Spades to take the fall again? It certainly points to the creative team not having any plans for Baszler on RAW.
#3. Who will step up to the RK-Bro for the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships?
AJ Styles and Omos had a decent run with the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships. The two men gave The Viking Raiders a tough time and overcame a few others before facing RK-Bro.
At WWE SummerSlam, Randy Orton and Riddle defeated Styles and Omos for the titles. The two appeared on the episode of RAW that followed, and Riddle defeated Styles in a one-on-one match again.
It now looks like the rivalry between the two teams is over. RK-Bro will probably get into a new rivalry on RAW for the tag team titles. However, which team will step up to the new champions first?
The Viking Raiders have been off television since their loss to Styles and Omos. Mace and T-Bar have been underwhelming, while Mansoor and Ali are just getting started on RAW.
It looks like there aren’t many formidable teams that can stand up to RK-Bro on the brand at the moment. It will be interesting to see who challenges Randy Orton and Riddle for the titles first.
#2. Did WWE NXT do the right thing by giving Kay Lee Ray a squash match?
At WWE NXT TakeOver 36, Raquel Gonzalez defeated Dakota Kai in a grudge match to retain her NXT Women's Title. After the contest, Kay Lee Ray came out to eye the champion and her title.
On this week’s NXT, Lee Ray had a match against Valentina Feroz. The former NXT UK Women’s Champion showcased her talent once again and dominated Feroz to make a statement.
She crushed Feroz with a Gory Bomb to score a big squash victory. It looked like NXT booked the match to show how good Lee Ray is in the ring. However, was it the right move to put the former NXT UK Women’s Champion up against a listless competitor?
The brand could have booked a competitive match for Lee Ray and given her a big victory instead of a squash win. That could have helped her build her case for a shot at the NXT Women’s Champion.
#1. Will WWE keep Brock Lesnar away from Roman Reigns until Crown Jewel?
Roman Reigns defeated John Cena at WWE SummerSlam to retain his Universal Championship. After the match, Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to the WWE ring and confronted The Tribal Chief before destroying Cena.
It looked like Lesnar was all prepared to get into a program with Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. Throughout the episode of WWE SmackDown that followed, the creative team continued to build tensions between Paul Heyman and The Head of the Table.
However, at the end of the show, it was Finn Balor who once again demanded a shot at the Universal Champion. Balor and Reigns will meet in a title match on next week’s show.
It was good to see Balor come back into the Universal Championship storyline after SummerSlam. But is he working to simply fill in for a bigger superstar once again?
WWE took out The Prince in favor of John Cena for SummerSlam. The creative team could look to Balor to keep Reigns busy until Lesnar makes another appearance before Crown Jewel.
Loyalty will be tested in the weeks to come and it will be interesting to see when Lesnar appears again. Will Paul Heyman turn on Reigns soon to side up with The Beast?
