• home icon
  • WWE
  • 5 biggest questions from WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week -

5 biggest questions from WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week -

By Ali Akber Habib
Modified Apr 18, 2021 16:00 IST
Take a look at some of the biggest questions from WWE after WrestleMania
Take a look at some of the biggest questions from WWE after WrestleMania

WWE RAW opened up the night after WrestleMania and gave Bobby Lashley a chance to dominate Riddle. The WWE Champion impressed once again just a couple of nights after retaining his title.

RAW had a few surprise returns, including the return of Charlotte Flair. Will The Queen get back into the RAW Women’s Championship scene following her return?

RAW also crowned the next #1 contender to the WWE Championship for WrestleMania Backlash. Is it wise to keep Drew McIntyre in the WWE title scene for so long? Is there no deserving superstar other than The Scottish Warrior?

WWE NXT moved to Tuesday night and delivered a good episode. The brand shocked its fans by making the NXT Cruiserweight Championship switch hands a week after TakeOver. Will KUSHIDA manage to replicate Santos Escobar’s success in the weeks to come? And who can stand up to the new NXT Champion, Karrion Kross?

Cesaro aimed high on WWE SmackDown as he got in the face of The Tribal Chief. However, his rivalry with Seth Rollins seems to be far from over. Will The Swiss Superman finally get a shot at the Universal Championship?

Bianca Belair celebrated her SmackDown Women’s Championship victory with The Street Profits. Will the new champion have to prove her worth by going up against both Sasha Banks and Bayley?

Let’s take a look at the five biggest questions from WWE RAW, NXT and SmackDown this week.

#5 How did Randy Orton return after disappearing with The Fiend at WWE WrestleMania?

‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt returned to the WWE ring at WrestleMania for the first time since December 2020. Wyatt was burned by Randy Orton at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2020. He appeared in his charred state a couple of times before WrestleMania.

However, at The Show of Shows, The Fiend appeared completely healed and looked to take down Orton. While the sinister being had the edge over The Viper, Alexa Bliss distracted him. This allowed Orton to hit an RKO and pin him to pick up the victory.

After the match, The Fiend and Bliss disappeared from the ring. This allowed WWE a chance to build towards another big storyline as fans were wondering where The Viper would go next in the storyline after beating Wyatt again.

WWE squashed that massive opportunity and brought back Orton on WWE RAW without much mention of what happened. Meanwhile, Bliss and Wyatt continued to extend their storylines.

Why did the company let go of such a massive opportunity to build an interesting storyline?

Orton competed in a Triple Threat Match against Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre but ended up on the losing side. If WWE did not want Orton to win on Monday, should creative have kept him away from the show and allowed some other superstar to compete in his place?

#4 Have T-Bar and Mace joined The Hurt Business on WWE RAW?

WWE RAW did not have many big matches or moments after WrestleMania. However, it did have a few returns that helped stack up the roster even more. The final match on RAW saw Braun Strowman, Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre compete in a Triple Threat Match.

All three men had a decent outing. McIntyre managed to win the match with a Claymore to Orton. After the match, MVP appeared on the stage and distracted the former WWE Champion.

The distraction allowed T-Bar and Mace to enter the ring and lay McIntyre out with a double-chokebomb. This was one of the biggest moments on RAW after WrestleMania, it left fans asking a few questions.

Have T-Bar and Mace joined The Hurt Business? Or are the two men looking to make a name for themselves together? Where was Slapjack in all this? Will he join The Hurt Business too?

Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander were doing well on RAW before creative decided to remove them from The Hurt Business. It now seems like MVP is looking for other RAW Superstars to help Bobby Lashley retain his WWE Championship.

#3 Has Imperium lost its way in WWE NXT?

Imperium returned to WWE NXT not too long ago and made their intentions very clear. WALTER and his men were looking to recruit Timothy Thatcher to the faction. In the weeks that followed, Tommaso Ciampa was used as the bridge between Imperium and Thatcher.

Ciampa tried to protect Thatcher from Imperium, and even took on WALTER for the NXT UK Championship at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. However, Ciampa lost his match against The Ring General.

The big question at the time was why did Thatcher not show up for a match so heavily connected to him? Even after WALTER won the match, there was no mention of Toothless Timothy.

This week on NXT, things got even more confusing. Thatcher and Ciampa appeared in a backstage promo to challenge MSK for the NXT Tag Team Championships. On the other hand, Imperium attacked Killian Dain and Drake Maverick after their match against MSK.

Has Imperium forgotten why it came to NXT in the first place? Has WWE’s premier faction forgotten about Thatcher even though WALTER won his match against Ciampa?

It will be interesting to see where this storyline goes in the weeks to come. WWE had a good chance of having Thatcher turn on Ciampa at TakeOver, but that did not happen.

#2 Why did Santos Escobar lose the WWE NXT Cruiserweight Championship after TakeOver: Stand & Deliver?

Santos Escobar and Jordan Devlin competed in one of the most high-profile matches at WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. The two superstars competed in a Ladder Match to crown the undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion.

While Devlin outperformed Escobar in the contest, it was the leader of Legado del Fantasma who climbed the ladder to retrieve the titles. This allowed him to become the one-and-only NXT Cruiserweight Champion.

Escobar has done well to elevate the value of the titles for almost a year now. He issued an Open Challenge on NXT this week which was answered by KUSHIDA. After a hard-fought contest, KUSHIDA stacked up the champion for the three-count to become the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion.

Why did WWE allow Escobar to win at TakeOver only to have him lose on the following episode of NXT? Will KUSHIDA prove to be just another transitional champion? Will Escobar move to the NXT Championship scene or the main roster?

The Japanese Superstar has been great over the past couple of years and deserves a title run. However, the outcome of the match just after TakeOver has raised a few major questions.

#1 Why did The Street Profits fail to win the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships this week?

Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode did well to defend their WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships against three teams last week. This week, Ziggler and Roode once again defended their titles against the Street Profits.

It looked like Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins had a good chance of winning the titles on SmackDown. After Bianca Belair won the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania, it looked like creative would allow her husband to win gold for his team.

However, the same did not happen, and the heels managed to defeat the Street Profits on SmackDown. WWE surprised several fans with the outcome of the match. Why did the Street Profits fail to win the titles this week? Will Ford and Dawkins fall out of the tag team championship picture for some time following the loss?

The only answer here could be that Rey and Dominik Mysterio will likely move into the SmackDown Tag Team title picture once again and pick up the victory at WWE Backlash.

The babyfaces are looking for their big moment as a father-son duo, and this could be their chance to win the titles from the heels.

What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.