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With WrestleMania Backlash on the horizon, WWE had a few big bookings scheduled for this week. WWE RAW saw Asuka and Rhea Ripley compete in another WrestleMania rematch. Once again, Ripley defeated Asuka cleanly to make a statement. Will Rhea Rhipley retain her title against both Asuka and Charlotte Flair at Wrestlemania Backlash?
The match between Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre came to an abrupt end after Braun Strowman came out to lay waste to both men. Who will come out of WrestleMania Backlash as the WWE Champion?
Karrion Kross defeated Austin Theory in his first match as NXT Champion. Finn Balor came out immediately after the match to demand a rematch for the title. Has The Prince made a wise decision by challenging The Herald of Doomsday?
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A match for the NXT North American Championship was booked by William Regal for next week. Johnny Gargano will defend his title against Bronson Reed inside a Steel Cage. Will Reed win his first title in WWE next week?
Jey Uso wasn’t too happy with his brother’s antics on WWE SmackDown. Jey and Roman Reigns called out Jimmy Uso for not falling in line and led him into a match against Cesaro. Will The Swiss Superman end The Tribal Cheif’s supremacy over SmackDown?
Natalya and Tamina won their first titles as a tag team in WWE. Will Tamina make her first title reign in the company memorable?
Let’s take a look at the five biggest questions from WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5 Why was Asuka pinned on WWE RAW?
Asuka was handed the WWE RAW Women’s Championship after her Money in the Bank Ladder Match victory in 2020. She had a decent rivalry with Sasha Banks for the title and lost it before winning it again at WWE SummerSlam 2020.
The Empress had a long reign with the title, however, it wasn’t as great as it could have been. Rhea Ripley moved to the main roster before WrestleMania 37 and challenged Asuka for the title.
At WrestleMania 37, Ripley pinned Asuka clean to win her first RAW Women’s Championship reign. Since then, Asuka has been in the picture for the title along with Charlotte Flair.
This week on RAW, Asuka was once again pinned by Ripley during their rematch for the title. This raises the question as to why Asuka has been pinned clean twice and will still get a shot at the title at WrestleMania Backlash.
Will Asuka be used to take the pin at WrestleMania Backlash during the Triple Threat Match for the RAW Women’s title? This seems to be the case as her build for the match has been the weakest.
Flair seems to be the strongest contender to win the title, while The Nightmare also has a good chance of retaining it. Has WWE simply added Asuka to the mix just so they can protect Flair and Ripley from the pin?
#4 Why did Mansoor not feature on WWE RAW?
Mansoor had a great stay at WWE 205 Live, where he had a 49-match undefeated streak. Mansoor also picked up victories over Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler during events in Saudi Arabia in 2019 and 2020.
WWE seems to have a lot of faith in the international star who can help the company get more viewers from Saudi Arabia. Last week on RAW, Mansoor signed a contract to join the Red brand.
Soon after, he got into a match against the United States Champion Sheamus. The match came to an end after Humberto Carrillo attacked Sheamus and handed him a disqualification victory.
WWE built Mansoor so much over the past couple of years and gave him a match against a current champion on his RAW debut. However, why wasn’t he featured on this week’s show?
WWE could have brought Mansoor back this week to give him a match against Drew Gulak or Akira Tozawa to keep him in the spotlight. A victory would have helped Mansoor establish himself.
Was it the right call to keep Mansoor away from RAW just a week after making his contract signing a big deal? Should the superstar have gotten a chance to pick up his first victory this week?
#3 Why did Cedric Alexander lose to Shelton Benjamin on WWE RAW?
Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin had a great time as The Hurt Business on WWE RAW. After splitting from MVP and Bobby Lashley a few weeks ago, it was expected that the two men will try to break out on their own.
However, the two men fell apart soon after, and Alexander split the team after their loss to The Lucha House Party last week. This week, the two WWE Superstars immediately got themselves a match against each other.
Alexander was the more aggressive superstar in the match and had the upper hand for most of the contest. However, Benjamin was allowed to put Alexander away and pick up the win.
Was it the right call to put the veteran over the former Cruiserweight Champion? Shouldn’t WWE have given Alexander the victory a week after he broke up the team by calling Benjamin the weak link?
The loss surely dented Alexander’s value just a week after he made the bold decision. A loss for Benjamin would have made more sense as he has already had a lengthy career in WWE.
Alexander has a bright future ahead of him in the company. Should WWE have allowed him to pick up the victory over his former partner?
#2 Why is Finn Balor getting a rematch for the WWE NXT Championship?
Karrion Kross defeated Finn Balor to win the WWE NXT Championship at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. This was Kross’s second NXT Championship victory after an injury forced him to relinquish the title after his first win.
Last week, Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, and Balor all came out to challenge the new NXT Champion. However, Kross got his first match as champion against Austin Theory.
The Herald of Doomsday ran through Theory in the non-title match and emerged victorious after choking out his opponent. After his victory, Balor appeared to challenge Kross to a rematch for the title.
Balor has already had two great reigns as the NXT Champion, and WWE could have moved him into another rivalry. However, instead of protecting him from another loss, it looks like the creative team wants to give Kross another victory over him.
Is it the right call to have a rematch between these two superstars after Kross beat Balor clean? Should Balor be getting a rematch for the title at a time when so many new challengers are waiting for their turn?
WWE seems to be looking to make Kross the most dominant superstar in the company. However, another loss for Balor could hurt The Prince’s image.
#1 Will Cesaro lose at WWE WrestleMania Backlash but cost Roman Reigns his authority?
Cesaro has been on a roll on WWE SmackDown over the past several weeks. The Swiss Superman has found himself in his first singles world championship match in WWE.
Cesaro will challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania Backlash. However, Cesaro isn’t the only superstar who’s causing problems for The Tribal Chief.
Jimmy Uso returned to SmackDown last week and refused to follow Reigns’ orders blindly. This week, Jimmy once again warned Reigns before losing a match against Cesaro.
While The Swiss Superman may not be ready to win the Universal Championship yet, will he manage to break Reigns’ stronghold on SmackDown? This seems to be the case as Cesaro has already caused some problems for The Tribal Chief.
The Swiss Superman is looking to avenge his friend Daniel Bryan, and he could take Reigns to the limits and possibly make his relationship with The Usos fall apart.
This would lead to an interesting storyline and, potentially, the downfall of The Head of the Table. Will Cesaro break down the Universal Champion before finally defeating him?
