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Last week’s episodes of WWE’s three biggest shows were great as fans got to see a lot of matches and drama in the center of the WWE ring. With Backlash and NXT TakeOver: In Your House closing in, the Superstars of RAW, NXT, and SmackDown have a lot more to look forward to as we head into the second half of the year.
RAW was great last week as we saw one heel faction disband, only for its member to join another bigger heel faction. New RAW Women’s Champion Asuka also seems to have found a new enemy on the Red brand for her title.
NXT provided fans with some great matches as Roderick Strong defeated Dexter Lumis, but ended up being choked out by the up and coming Superstar to end the night. NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte also spoiled a great contest between Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai to set up a big match for NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
SmackDown’s Universal Champion Braun Strowman found out who he’d be defending his title against at Backlash, while the WWE Universe received a massive update as AJ Styles made a full return to the Blue brand.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE must do this week to keep all three brands at the top of their game heading into the next half.
#5 Drew McIntyre gets a pleasant surprise during the VIP Lounge on RAW
Drew McIntyre has been running through his opponents since winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania and proving to be the biggest force on RAW, if not in the entire WWE.
While no man has been able to match his power and strength in the ring, WWE Creative finally seems to have a match for The Scottish Psychopath. Bobby Lashley has emerged as a big threat to McIntyre, and the former Intercontinental Champion has been running through his opponents too to make a point and earn a big match down the line.
Last week after McIntyre defeated King Corbin of SmackDown, Lashley appeared with MVP to stare down the Champion and possibly lay down a challenge for him and his title.
Will WWE Creative give McIntyre a surprise on RAW?
This week, McIntyre will be the guest on MVP’s VIP Lounge on RAW and will be looking to address MVP’s new client Lashley and the entire WWE Universe.
However, WWE Creative must allow a Superstar to finally dominate McIntyre and make him look like an underdog for once. WWE must allow Lashley to emerge during the segment and beat down McIntyre after which he should flatten him out with a Spear.
This will allow the company to build The All Mighty as a legitimate threat to the WWE Champion and make him seem as powerful as McIntyre so that the WWE Universe gets more invested in their match set for Backlash.
#4 Apollo Crews wins his first major title on WWE RAW
Apollo Crews is one of WWE’s most underutilized Superstars. While the competitor has everything required to make a great wrestler, his character and mic-work have let him down in WWE and led to his below-average booking so far.
However, WWE Creative has taken a special interest in the Superstar recently, and we’ve seen him get some big matches and opportunities recently.
Apollo got a match against United States Champion Andrade on the April 27 edition of RAW, but could not finish the match due to an injury. However, he returned last week and teamed up with Kevin Owens to defeat Andrade and Angel Garza in a tag team match.
Is RAW going to award Apollo with his first Championship on WWE?
This week, Apollo will get a big opportunity once again as he will compete against Andrade in another United States Championship match. While there are many deserving Superstars on RAW, Apollo deserves a chance to win a title after all his hard work and efforts.
WWE must allow KO to help Apollo pick up the victory and win his first major title on RAW after a great match. It could also lead to Andrade and Angel Garza splitting up in the process and giving Seth Rollins a chance to recruit another disciple.
#3 Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher ends in a no contest
Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher were working well together until a couple of weeks ago when their team imploded during an NXT Tag Team Championship defense. The two men were defending their title against Imperium's Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner before Thatcher walked out on Riddle, leaving him to lose the titles to the heelish faction.
Later on in the night, the two men did battle against one another leading to Riddle picking up a surprise victory. However, Thatcher made him pay for his actions after the match.
This week, the two men are set to compete against each other inside a steel cage. While cages strike fear in the hearts of the most ruthless performers, these two men are used to fighting inside cages and could use the steel structure to their advantage.
While we expect them to deliver one of the best matches of the year as both the hard-hitting Superstars are beyond extraordinary, NXT must allow the match to end in a no-contest.
The WWE Universe needs to see the potential of the NXT Superstars
WWE is looking to build some future stars, and Riddle and Thatcher have what it takes to take their careers to the top themselves. With that in mind, NXT must allow the two men to compete till they can’t fight anymore, leading to the two men getting another shot at each other at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. The big event could certainly settle a big rivalry between these two big men of WWE.
#2 Finn Balor flattens out Damian Priest, accepts his challenge
Damian Priest has been looking to get to the top of NXT, and he has targeted The Prince to make his task easier. Priest first took out Finn Balor in a backstage attack. He then attacked Balor during and after a match with Cameron Grimes a couple of weeks ago.
Last week, Priest came out during NXT to lay down the challenge for The Prince for a match between the two men at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. Balor is no stranger to laying down heels on NXT while playing a villainous character in WWE, and he could end up doing the same at the major event.
WWE needs to build this rivalry further
WWE must book The Archer of Infamy in a match against an enhancement talent next week. Following his squash victory over the lesser-known Superstar, Balor must arrive to attack The Priest and lay him down with a Coup de Grace or 1916 DDT to make a statement before accepting the challenge for NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
This will allow WWE to once again show that The Prince of NXT does not back down from a challenge and walks into one with the upper hand even though he’s the smaller man in most matches.
#1 Sheamus costs Jeff Hardy his match on SmackDown
Last week on WWE SmackDown, Jeff Hardy competed against Sheamus in a match to determine who’d progress in the WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament.
While Sheamus dominated Hardy for most of the clash, Hardy was able to pull off a surprise victory over The Celtic Warrior after he missed a few of his signature moves. This will allow Hardy to compete against Daniel Bryan in the semi-finals of the tournament and bring him one step closer to the Intercontinental Championship.
While we expect the match between the two babyfaces to be a show-stealer, the threat of Sheamus interfering in the match will be extremely high.
Will the former WWE Champion be forced to continue his ongoing rivalry?
This week, WWE must allow Sheamus to interfere in the match between Hardy and Bryan and lead to The Charismatic Enigma’s loss. While Hardy is a great candidate for the Intercontinental Championship, he has a lot more to do on SmackDown before aiming for a title.
This will allow the company to protect both the babyfaces while giving Sheamus a chance to get back at Hardy. It would also allow the two men to build towards a much bigger match against each other at Backlash.
