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The latest episode of WWE Raw will take place in Columbus, Ohio on Monday.
One of the biggest storylines heading into the show surrounds the Universal Championship, which Roman Reigns will defend in a Hell In A Cell match against Braun Strowman on 16 September.
As of the time of writing, two matches have been announced for this week’s episode, with The Bella Twins returning to face The Riott Squad and The Revival getting another opportunity at the Raw Tag Team Championships against The B-Team.
Elsewhere this week, Shawn Michaels will make a special appearance to promote the upcoming match between The Undertaker and Triple H at Super Show-Down, while Ronda Rousey is advertised for the show ahead of her Raw Women’s Championship defence against Alexa Bliss at Hell In A Cell.
Further down the card, the rivalry between acting General Manager Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley looks set to continue, while Titus Worldwide are expected to feature after a split between Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews was teased again last week.
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In this article, let’s take a look at five last-minute predictions ahead of the episode.
#5 How will WWE manage the Kevin Owens situation?
Kevin Owens shocked the WWE Universe last week when, shortly after losing an Intercontinental Championship match against Seth Rollins, he told the Toronto crowd, “I quit” before walking to the back.
Of course, this is all a storyline – KO recently signed a long-term deal with WWE – but we still don’t know when he’ll next appear on our screens and if he’ll be back to team with Elias against John Cena and Bobby Lashley at Super Show-Down in October.
WWE has a habit of bringing people back quickly in situations like this – CM Punk (2011) and Dolph Ziggler (2018) being the most famous recent examples – so how will they handle his ‘exit’ on this week’s episode?
Let’s predict that Michael Cole & Co. will mention Owens on commentary during a match involving Rollins, and WWE will try to make us all forget about him over the next few weeks, making his inevitable return a bigger deal.
Prediction: Brief mention but no appearance
#4 What will Shawn Michaels have to say?
WWE has promoted the Triple H vs. The Undertaker match at Super Show-Down on the last two episodes of Raw. HHH cut an intense promo about their rivalry a fortnight ago, while several legends weighed in with their opinions last week.
It is being advertised that Shawn Michaels – another legend with more history with the two men than most – will address the match on this week’s episode of Raw.
WWE is speculating on its website that HBK could pick a side ahead of the upcoming encounter, but it seems much more likely that the Hall of Famer will be added to the match as a special guest referee, just like when HHH and ‘Taker last met at WrestleMania XXVIII.
Prediction: Shawn Michaels becomes the special referee
#3 How will Alexa Bliss address the Columbus fans?
It was announced last week that Alexa Bliss will receive a rematch against Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women’s Championship at Hell In A Cell.
With both women advertised for this week’s Raw, it’ll be interesting to see how WWE books their segment(s) in front of a hometown Columbus, Ohio crowd that is bound to be full of Alexa fans.
Bliss being Bliss, let’s predict that she’ll turn against her adoring supporters by telling them that she loves travelling the world with WWE because it means she no longer has to live in Columbus.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss turns against her own fans
#2 The Bella Twins vs. The Riott Squad
Despite Brie Bella recently being added to the SmackDown Live roster, she will receive a warm-up match ahead of Hell In A Cell, where she will team with Daniel Bryan against The Miz & Maryse, on this week’s episode of Raw.
Excluding the 2018 Royal Rumble, Nikki hasn’t competed in a televised match since WrestleMania 33 and this will be Brie’s first since WrestleMania 32, so can anybody really see The Bella Twins getting anything other than a victory against The Riott Squad?
Unless Ruby Riott & Co. cause a disqualification, this looks like it’ll be a clean win for the Bellas.
Prediction: The Bella Twins
#1 The B-Team vs. The Revival (Raw Tag Team Championships)
The B-Team will put their Raw Tag Team Championships on the line against The Revival on this week’s episode of Raw.
The two teams met at SummerSlam but the match ended somewhat controversially, with the referee failing to spot that Scott Dawson had Curtis Axel’s shoulders down for a 4-count, and Dawson and Dash Wilder have since picked up three non-title victories between them over both B-Team members.
Axel and Bo Dallas’ seven-week run as tag champs has been entertaining enough, but this will surely be the end of their comedy reign with the titles.
Prediction: The Revival
