5 Surprises WWE could be planning for this week’s Raw & SmackDown

The Money in the Bank pay-per-view was a gamechanger in many ways and led to us getting a brand new SmackDown Women’s Champion and a first-time men’s Money in the Bank winner.

While the former decision was seen as a welcome move by most of the WWE Uniserve, the latter wasn’t greatly appreciated as it seems like WWE will not stop from turning back on Brock Lesnar time and time again to help them progress.

Last week, Mick Foley revealed the new 24/7 Championship, on Raw which has already switched hands thrice and can be defended on all brands of WWE including NXT and NXT UK.

With so many changes taking place, WWE is now open to a lot of creativity if the creatives put their heads together and think ahead, especially with the younger superstars in mind.

In this article, we will look at the 5 surprises which the creatives could be planning for this week’s episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live.

#5 Sasha Banks returns to television

WWE took the titles away from these two superstars too soon

Sasha Banks has been away from television screens for some time now, and rumors had circulated that she has even asked for her release from the company after WrestleMania 35.

Banks is an extremely talented wrestler who has won a few championships on the main roster but has never really gotten a long title run. This could be the reason behind her demotivation, and WWE could strike a deal to bring the popular superstar back for the fans.

Bayley won the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a shocking turn of events at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and could do with a friend by her side to continue her reign.

WWE could bring Sasha Banks back on SmackDown instead of Raw to surprise the fans and continue the friendship between the two women, before turning Sasha in her quest to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Alternatively, we could also see her make visits to Raw and become a possible challenger to Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship.

#4 Stephanie gets in the line of fire

Before WrestleMania 35, we were introduced to a renewed and extremely aggressive rivalry between Triple H and Batista. Batista first began by attacking his own mentor Ric Flair, who is also Triple H’s greatest friend, and got The Hunter’s attention.

WWE needs to inject a similar type of aggression in the scheduled match between Randy Orton and Triple H. Being two of the best talkers and heels in WWE’s history, their services will help take this rivalry to new heights.

With the wild-card rule in effect, what if Randy Orton surprises us by appearing on Raw and taking out the woman Triple H loves the most, Stephanie McMahon. We’ve seen the Triple H and Stephanie against Orton rivalry in the past, and we could witness it again before this major clash at Super Showdown.

After the attack, SmackDown could be the next place where the build of the rivalry can continue on the next night.

It would give rise to some great promos and an even better build up before the Saudi Arabia event and get the catch of the WWE Universe.

#3 Daniel Bryan and Rowan find new challengers

SmackDown's tag team division could use some new entrants

With the SmackDown Live tag team roster a dismantled and shaken up after the Superstar Shake-up last month, we’ve seen Daniel Bryan and Rowan enjoy their time at the top of the roster.

The only real threat they have faced since has been at the hands of The Usos who themselves have been moved to the Raw roster, and appear on SmackDown thanks to the wild-card rule.

Now is the time for WWE to step up and reintroduce The Authors of Pain, this time on the SmackDown Live roster. The two men had their main roster debut on Raw, but their progress was halted due to an injury suffered by Akam.

Akam may now be ready for his return as in a video posted last month, Cathy Kelley and Kayla Braxton teased the WWE Universe, claiming that there had been rumors that Akam was returning to TV soon.

With the experience of holding the NXT Tag Team Championships and the Raw Tag Team titles, the two men have the potential to make a surprise return and take over the SmackDown tag division and give Bryan and Rowan a run for their money.

#2 Lesnar attacks Kofi and cashes in his briefcase

With the Money in the Bank briefcase in one hand and the services of Paul Heyman in the other, Lesnar is arguably the most powerful man on the WWE Network today.

Even without holding any titles, we’ve seen the top men of both the brands trying their best to get a match against The Beast to defend their titles and prove themselves to the WWE Universe.

Lesnar is set to show up on Monday Night Raw and announce when and against whom he will cash in his briefcase against. While he has beaten Kofi in the past, Rollins was the man who beat him to take his title away from him.

Expect a surprise or two from the man who loves destruction, as he could show up on SmackDown/RAW and attack Kofi Kingston during or after a match and tease a cash in. Afterward, he could swerve and challenge Rollins to a rematch at Super Showdown for the title to end the night.

#1 Goldberg returns

A build up for this match is absolutely necessary!

AEW Double or Nothing shook up the world of wrestling by giving fans a taste of an amazing event outside of WWE and Impact. In the final moments of the pay-per-view, Jon Moxley aka Dean Ambrose emerged from the crowd and attacked Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega to end the event in an even greater fashion.

This would have certainly hurt the higher-ups in WWE, who would want to do something to bring the viewership from AEW back on to WWE and show them why WWE is the premier product.

Goldberg’s return could very well do that and increase Raw’s ratings in the process. Goldberg is set to take on The Undertaker at the Super Showdown, but nothing has really been done to build up the match on screen yet.

Goldberg could make a surprise visit to the red brand this week and issue a warning to The Deadman before Taker returns the favor next week.