5 interesting things that could happen on Raw & SmackDown this week (13 & 14 May 2019)

Money in the Bank is just a week away, and WWE has one episode of Raw and SmackDown each to ensure that the build towards the pay-per-view is worth it.

With the two go-home shows of the main brands lined up, we are more than certain WWE will have something in store to make the build towards one of the biggest events of the year worth the wait.

Last week, Vince opened up Raw and made a few announcements that literally shook up the two main brands to the core. Apart from two WrestleMania 35 rematches which took place on Monday night, we came across WWE’s new wild-card rule.

Now that the new rule is set and clear to us all, we can only expect WWE to use it properly and make each episode of Raw and SmackDown more interesting and exciting.

With that said, we will take a look at 5 interesting things that could happen on the two main brands this week, and how they can affect the weeks to come.

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#5 Sami Zayn outsmarts Braun Strowman

These two men have had an interesting rivalry in the past

Last week on Raw, Sami Zayn went about his business and criticized the WWE Universe once again in his epic heel promo.

While the WWE Universe couldn’t lay their hands on The Underdog from The Underground, Braun Strowman emerged to silence the loud-mouthed Superstar. Strowman chased Zayn down to the backstage area and tossed him into a dumpster that was carried away by a garbage truck.

Zayn must now be bitter at what happened last week, and even more so after getting an opportunity on SmackDown Live to win the WWE Championship, but losing out on it.

Will Zayn try to exact revenge on Strowman by playing some mind-games or tricks over the Monster Among Men? Or will Zayn “Get These Hands” once again? If WWE goes down that route, things will surely get interesting for the two superstars in the weeks to come.

#4 Women dominate the wild-card rule

WWE will need to add more variety to the wild-card rule

Last week, Vince appeared to open Raw in an active effort to increase the flagship show’s falling ratings. Vince was joined by many top superstars from both SmackDown and Raw on the red brand, which led him to announce the very new wild-card rule.

The wild-card rule allows a few superstars to get invited to the other main brand and make matches and storylines more interesting. Last week we saw Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston, Lars Sullivan, and Daniel Bryan jump ship to Raw, while AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, and The Usos appear on SmackDown Live.

While the line-up was definitely strong, it was strange to see none of the female superstars get a chance to appear on the other brand.

With a few major matches for the females lined up for Money in the Bank, will we see the women dominate the wild-card rule this week? We sure hope that many deserving women of WWE get a chance to get a spotlight on both brands to increase their value.

#3 A new stipulation is added to Roman Reigns vs. Elias

Shane would like to stack the odds against The Big Dog

Let’s go back to the start of this feud. Vince McMahon appeared on SmackDown on the second day of the Superstar Shake-up after WrestleMania 35 to announce SmackDown’s biggest acquisition.

Fans were all geared up to watch him announce the name of Roman Reigns. He instead announced Elias as SmackDown’s biggest acquisition yet. This didn’t gel well with The Big Dog who appeared and flattened both Elias and Vince McMahon to announce his move to the blue brand.

The week after that we watched Shane McMahon call out Roman Reigns for his actions, and later Elias and Shane beat down Reigns. Elias went on to challenge Roman Reigns to a match at Money in the Bank, which Reigns happily accepted.

Now, we’ve seen Shane try to get the better of Roman Reigns more than once since the match was set, and we could expect him to deliver one final blow to reduce Reigns’ chances of winning at MITB.

Will the match be turned into a handicap match? Or will Elias be allowed to use his guitar as a weapon during the bout? Or maybe Shane will make it is “loser leaves SmackDown Live” match?

We will have to wait for Tuesday to see what happens, but WWE must really do something to make this match more exciting.

#2 John Cena returns

Cena could help Raw's falling ratings

John Cena has made more returns than one can remember, and the superstar has always been available for the company whenever they have wanted him to be.

With Raw’s ratings suffering at the moment, WWE could rely on him once again to make an appearance or two to help increase the viewership of the show.

With Saudi Arabia having a special kind of love for stars of yesterday, WWE will surely want John Cena to appear at the event and fight in a match, even though he didn’t compete at WrestleMania 35.

Will John Cena appear on Monday night this week to find himself a challenger for the big event in The Kingdom, just a few weeks before the big event? It could turn out to be a special moment, especially if the Doctor of Thuganomics comes out to challenge The Undertaker for a rematch, or Goldberg.

#1 Kevin Owens takes out Big E

Will Owens deliver the final blow this week?

Even though Kevin Owens’ heel turn was always on the cards, the manner and the timing surprised many more than it should have.

Since Kevin Owens had temporarily replaced Big E in The New Day, and Big E had warned his brothers against teaming up with the superstar, we could see WWE already set up an individual rivalry between the two superstars before Big E makes a full return from injury.

KO has attacked both Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in the past couple of weeks, and we could see Big E come out this week to call out the heelish superstar. With Big E’s promo getting interrupted by KO, followed by an attack on the superstar, the heat between Kofi and Owens will surely overboil before a well-storied clash between the two men.

If the booking will have Owens lose the match or be unable to win the championship somehow, WWE could well have a branched out rivalry between KO and Big E before they once again bring him back to the title picture.