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After Clash of Champions, we've seen WWE dive right into the build towards Hell in a Cell, which is now only a few weeks away. WWE is coming fresh off a successful NXT TakeOver 31 event where we saw many big Championship matches and a couple of surprising returns.
Last week on RAW, Zelina Vega got another shot at Asuka's Women's Championship, while Robert Roode returned to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. The show closed with Randy Orton laying out the legends who had attacked him during Clash of Champions and helped McIntyre win the match.
WWE NXT had a fantastic TakeOver event where Finn Balor and Kyle O'Reilly stole the night with one of the best matches of the year. All the Champions of the brand managed to retain their titles at the event, while the Undisputed ERA was in for a surprise at the end of it all.
Last week's SmackDown saw Kevin Owens appear to host the KO Show with Alexa Bliss as his guest. However, an uninvited friend of Bliss appeared to lay out KO, and he will appear during this week's episode of the KO Show on RAW.
Jey Uso accepted Roman Reigns' challenge for a match at Hell in a Cell, while Sami Zayn defeated Jeff Hardy to retain his Intercontinental Championship.
In this article, we will look at the five things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5 Mustafa Ali demands a shot at WWE United States Championship on RAW
Mustafa Ali started very well on the main roster on WWE SmackDown, but he has become an afterthought on RAW in recent weeks. At times, he's been part of big tag team matches with Ricochet and Apollo Crews, while he's been competing on WWE Main Event in other weeks.
Last week on WWE RAW, The Hurt Business took on the team of Ricochet, Ali, and Crews. While The Hurt Business had the upper hand for most of the match, Ali was able to put MVP away to pick up the victory for his team.
After we saw Crews rise on RAW, maybe WWE should start investing in Ali as many fans seem to be behind the former Cruiserweight Superstar.
This week, WWE could book Ali in a match against like MVP, Cedric Alexander, or Shelton Benjamin from The Hurt Business, where he could emerge victorious.
Following his victory, he could challenge Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship as he would've pinned at least two Superstars from Lashley's faction.
This would allow WWE to build a storyline for the weeks leading up to Hell in a Cell where Ali could challenge Lashley for the US Championship.
#4 Seth Rollins tries to get Murphy and Aalyah Mysterio closer on WWE RAW
WWE has been looking to take the rivalry between Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio in a completely new direction. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen Murphy, Dominik, and even Aalyah Mysterio become a huge part of it.
Last week on WWE RAW, Rollins revealed a few texts that were exchanged between Murphy and Aalyah. Later in the night, Dominik competed against Murphy in a match, but Aalyah appeared to protect Murphy, which allowed the heel to pick up the victory over Dominik.
Aalyah later slapped Dominik, showing that she is slowly getting closer towards Murphy and drifting further from her family. On this week’s show, Rollins should continue to drive a wedge between Aalyah and the rest of the Mysterio family. This could bring her closer to Murphy, who seems to be having his own problems with Rollins.
Ultimately, it could allow Rollins to use Aalyah and Murphy to his advantage in his battle against Rey and his family, and give fans something interesting to look forward to with WWE Hell in a Cell on the horizon.
#3 Adam Cole demands answers from Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong on WWE NXT
At TakeOver 31, fans got to witness one of the best matches of the year in WWE as Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly put on a stellar performance with the NXT Championship on the line.
KOR did not want help from his brothers in the Undisputed ERA, and they respected his decision by not interfering in the match.
However, after the match, the NXT Universe was stunned when Ridge Holland appeared with a lifeless Adam Cole over his shoulders and dumped him at ringside before Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish rushed out to tend to their leader.
While it’s unclear what Fish and Strong were doing when Cole was getting beaten up by Holland, it will be interesting to see what their answer will be when The Panama City Playboy questions them.
This week on NXT, WWE must tease a rift between the Undisputed ERA as Cole comes out to address Holland’s actions and his teammates’ absence.
This will allow WWE to build a new story involving Holland and Cole, with the other members of UE being unhappy with Cole’s suspicion.
#2 Roman Reigns reveals the "big stakes" on WWE SmackDown for his match against Jey Uso
WWE Universe has seen a 180-degree change in Roman Reigns character since his return at SummerSlam in August, and it seems like he is very comfortable in his new role as a heel. With Paul Heyman by his side, we've seen The Tribal Chief not only defeat Braun Strowman and 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt to win the Universal Championship but also decimate his brother Jey Uso.
After defeating Jey at WWE Clash of Champions, Reigns offered his cousin another shot at the title for Hell in a Cell but recommended Jey not to accept the challenge. However, Jey did not waste much time and accepted the challenge, knowing that the stakes will be high for this one.
This week on SmackDown, WWE must allow Reigns to open the show once again and reveal that Jey will have to join him if he fails to defeat him during their match at Hell in a Cell. He must then ask Jey to reconsider his decision to accept the challenge, telling him that he'd have to do everything the Tribal Chief tells him to do upon joining him if he loses at Hell in a Cell.
This would create an interesting dilemma for Jey and give WWE a chance to further build on the story between the two cousins in the weeks leading up to Hell in a Cell.
#1 Alexa Bliss reveals what her equation with The Fiend is on WWE SmackDown
What has gotten into Alexa Bliss? Well, it seems like the WWE Superstar is under 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt's spell, and it seems like there is nothing that can snap her out of it. We've seen Bliss hit Wyatt's signature Sister Abigail maneuver on Nikki Cross and Lacey Evans in the past few weeks.
On the Kevin Owens Show last week, KO wanted to know what had gotten into Bliss, and she revealed that The Fiend had cleansed her mind and helped her see other people's lies. The Fiend then appeared to apply the Mandible Claw to KO while Bliss watched on.
While it's clear that Bliss is very close to The Fiend now, WWE will need to have a segment where they can get The Goddess to clarify what she is up to and what her equation is with The Fiend.
WWE must allow Bliss to host her own show this week with Bray Wyatt as her guest, and the two must talk about The Fiend as a third person with Bliss revealing her closeness to him.
This will allow the story to get more intense and interesting, with Wyatt and Bliss posing as The Fiend's followers.
