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WWE will be looking to make 2021 a memorable year and could kick things off in grand fashion starting this week. With many legends scheduled to appear during this week’s WWE RAW, a lot could happen on the show.
Keith Lee defeated Sheamus on last week’s RAW and will challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship this week. Randy Orton once again showed us how twister he is and could take things further this week.
The Black and Gold brand will host a special ‘New Year’s Evil’ episode where the NXT Championship and the North American Championship will be defended. The Fight Pit match will return this week as Tommaso Ciampa will take on Timothy Thatcher in the steel structure.
On WWE SmackDown, Kevin Owens continued his rivalry with Roman Reigns and paid for his actions. Big E competed in his first match after winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship and seems to have met his first challenger already.
This article will look at the five things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5 Randy Orton claims he’s ended Bray Wyatt and his midgames on WWE RAW
Randy Orton and ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt headlined the WWE Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view in 2020. Both men had a decent match, and it was The Viper who came out on top after he burned The Fiend alive on television.
Orton seemed to be extremely proud of his actions and addressed the WWE Universe the following night. However, Alexa Bliss returned to send a warning to The Apex Predator, who did not seem too shaken by The Goddess’ threats.
Last week, the two Superstars had yet another encounter, but this time Orton came out on top by destroying The Firefly Fun House. Later in the night, Bliss and Orton were booked for a match, but Bliss gave The Viper an opportunity to burn her alive just like he did with The Fiend.
This week on RAW, WWE could continue this great storyline by bringing out The Viper to the ring, claiming that he burned Bliss just like he burned The Fiend. He could then state that he’s ended Wyatt and everything that he loved, only for the lights to go out.
This could be the perfect way to make this rivalry even more entertaining with WWE Royal Rumble approaching. The Fiend and Orton could end up having a show-stealing match at the event, and WWE must continue to use this storyline to retain the fans’ interest.
#4 Sheamus costs Keith Lee the WWE Championship match on RAW
Sheamus and Keith Lee did not get along during a tag team match a couple of weeks ago on WWE RAW. While Lee picked the victory for his team, Sheamus hit him with the Brogue Kick after the match.
Last week, the two mammoth Superstars locked horns on RAW, and while Sheamus tried to take an early advantage before the match, Lee got the win. The Limitless One will now challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship on this week’s RAW.
Keith Lee is a former double champion and will look to win his first gold on the main roster. It may be too early to win the WWE Championship right now, but a clean loss will hurt whatever little momentum he has gathered in the last few weeks.
Keeping that in mind, Sheamus could run interfere during the WWE Championship match on RAW and cost Lee an opportunity to win the title. This would help Lee stay away from the title picture and rebuild himself on RAW by kickstarting a full-blown feud with The Celtic Warrior.
#3 Karrion Kross destroys Damian Priest on WWE NXT New Year’s Evil
Karrion Kross has been dominant ever since he debuted on WWE NXT. Kross has ripped through several Superstars to win the NXT Championship from Keith Lee at TakeOver: XXX. However, an injury forced him to relinquish the title soon after.
Kross is back now and is yet to be defeated on NXT. On the other hand, Damian Priest has been a victim of mixed booking in 2020.
The two men will compete in a big match at New Year’s Evil and will possibly give us a hint on who could be the next challenger for the NXT Championship.
Keeping in mind how NXT has built Kross since his debut, he could defeat Priest at New Year’s Evil to make a huge statement once again. In order to make a statement, Kross could dominate the match and even squash Priest on a special episode of NXT.
A dominant win will possibly put Kross in line for an NXT Championship opportunity and work on the plans WWE had for him before his injury.
#2 Timothy Thatcher knocks out Tommaso Ciampa on WWE NXT New Year’s Evil
Timothy Thatcher is one of the rising stars in WWE NXT. Thatcher arrived on the Black and Gold brand to partner up with NXT Tag Team Champion Riddle, who’d been left without his partner Pete Dunne due to travel restrictions.
Thatcher has since had a great rivalry with Riddle, who he knocked out in a Fight Pit. Thatcher has won a few matches in WWE, but Tommaso Ciampa is a completely different competitor in the ring.
The Blackheart’s experience has already helped him take down Thatcher once, and he will be looking to do just that in the Fight Pit once again at NXT New Year’s Evil.
While Ciampa has the upper hand in the rivalry, Thatcher has to pick up the victory in the Fight Pit to leave a lasting impact. Thatcher has already won once in the steel structure, and WWE must allow him to continue his dominance in the Fight Pit.
This will allow them to make Fight Pit a Thatcher special, where we could watch him win a few big matches in the future as well.
#1 Roman Reigns must make Adam Pearce bow down on WWE SmackDown
Adam Pearce has become an integral part of RAW and SmackDown in WWE's pandemic era. Pearce has been seen on television several times acting as an authority figure on both brands.
When someone is in a position of power like Pearce, they are bound to get into a bit of trouble with the Superstars. While Randy Orton simply threatened Pearce on an episode of RAW a couple of months ago, Roman Reigns must make him pay on this week’s WWE SmackDown.
Pearce made the match between Jey Uso and Kevin Owens official last week, and Reigns was obviously not too happy with the decision. Fans have already seen The Tribal Chief show his unhappiness towards Pearce on SmackDown since winning the Universal title.
On this week’s SmackDown, Reigns could come open the show to give Pearce till the end of the night to apologize to him for booking the match. Since Reigns calls himself The Head of the Table, fans must be shown an even more authoritative side to him where he sees Pearce as someone below him.
This will lead to an interesting storyline where Reigns could be seen as the top authority in WWE and give fans something entertaining to follow in the weeks to come.
