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With the Elimination Chamber event being just one week away, WWE has been building some big storylines to make the event a success.
Last week, WWE RAW kicked off with a huge announcement. Shane McMahon announced that Drew McIntyre would defend the WWE Championship inside the Elimination Chamber.
Apart from that, Lana managed to defeat Nia Jax once again, this time in a Tables Match. Lacey Evans also defeated Charlotte Flair to become the number one contender for the RAW Women’s Championship.
WWE NXT mostly built towards the TakeOver: Vengeance Day pay-per-view. Cameron Grimes returned during the show and announced that he had become rich during his time away from the ring. On the other hand, Scarlett pushed William Regal to book a match between Karrion Kross and Santos Escobar for this week’s NXT.
On WWE SmackDown, Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman corrected Adam Pearce and announced that the Universal Championship will not be defended inside the Elimination Chamber. Instead, the winner of SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber match will challenge Reigns for the title later in the night.
Let’s take a look at the five things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5 Keith Lee and Riddle must team up to defeat The Hurt Business on WWE RAW
Last week on WWE RAW, good friends Keith Lee and Riddle got an opportunity to become the next challenger for Bobby Lashley’s United States Championship. Riddle has been in a rivalry with Lashley for some time now, while RAW decided to throw Lee into the picture as well.
After a hard-fought match, Lee delivered a Spirit Bomb to Riddle inside the ring and pinned him to pick up the victory. While it looked like The Original Bro was out of the United States Championship picture, Lashley arrived to attack both men after their match.
This somehow prompted the higher-ups to add Riddle to the United States Championship bout at Elimination Chamber and make it a Triple Threat Match.
Riddle and Lee must team up on this week’s RAW and take on Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin from The Hurt Business ahead of Elimination Chamber. Both men will take on Lashley of The Hurt Business on Sunday, and they must show their worth once again against the RAW Tag Team Champions.
WWE must allow Riddle and The Limitless One to pick up the victory and cause a further divide between Alexander and Benjamin. It will also cause some problems for The All-Mighty before his big match on Sunday, where he could finally lose his United States Championship without getting pinned.
#4 Sheamus and Randy Orton must have a match on WWE RAW
The WWE Universe got yet another contest between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton on last week’s WWE RAW. The two men had several matches in 2020, but this non-title match was a way to build towards the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
McIntyre and Orton competed for some time before Sheamus came in to distract his former friend. Sheamus recently turned heel and will be one of the men who will challenge McIntyre inside the Elimination Chamber.
Late in the match, Sheamus entered the ring to try and Brogue Kick The Scottish Warrior. However, he accidentally attacked The Viper instead. This allowed McIntyre to Claymore Kick Sheamus at the end of the episode.
This week on RAW, WWE must book a match between The Celtic Warrior and The Viper. Both men will be part of the Elimination Chamber match, and it will be a good chance for Sheamus to pick up a victory before the event.
Sheamus seems to be one of the men who will have an extended rivalry with McIntyre. With that in mind, WWE must give him a match against The Viper and a chance to score a big victory.
#3 Karrion Kross must squash Santos Escobar on WWE NXT
The match between Karrion Kross and WWE NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar is one of the biggest matches scheduled for this week. Escobar fired some shots at the former NXT Champion and has been facing the wrath of The Herald of Doomsday ever since.
Scarlett asked William Regal to sanction the match between the two men last week, and the General Manager gladly did so. Kross then took out Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza to send one final warning to Escobar.
This week on NXT, WWE must allow Kross to throw Escobar with ease and not let him land a single punch on the former NXT Champion. WWE must book The Herald of Doomsday to showcase his most villainous side during the match and allow him to pick up the victory with ease.
Not only will this allow Kross to score a meaningful victory over a top Champion, but Escobar will also look vulnerable after a long NXT Cruiserweight Championship run.
NXT needs to include Kross in the top title picture sooner rather than later, and a big victory will allow him to push towards that scenario.
#2 Big E must give Apollo Crews a final shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Apollo Crews has been in the chase for the WWE Intercontinental Championship for some time now. The Superstar first got a title opportunity against Big E as his friend, but soon turned on him to get more shots at the title.
Last week on WWE SmackDown, Crews answered Big E’s open challenge once again. However, the Intercontinental Champion denied him a title shot and instead gave Shinsuke Nakamura a chance.
Nakamura and Big E had a good match on the show, and both men got a chance to display their strengths. Crews’ distractions continued to allow The Artist to gain the upper hand in the match.
While Big E came close to earning a victory on SmackDown, Crews attacked the Champion to cause a disqualification and leave Big E down on the mat. This week on SmackDown, WWE must allow Big E to offer Crews one final shot at the Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber.
Crews established himself as the primary antagonist to Big E on Friday Night SmackDown, and the aforementioned opportunity would allow him to work more aggressively. A big match between Big E and Crews at Elimination Chamber will benefit both the Superstars and the company.
#1 Cesaro must attack Kevin Owens ahead of WWE Elimination Chamber
Cesaro has been one of the Superstars whom fans want to see as a WWE World Champion sooner rather than later. WWE legends and fans have continuously praised The Swiss Superman, and he has finally earned an opportunity to get in contention for the Universal Championship.
On WWE SmackDown, Cesaro teamed up with Daniel Bryan to defeat Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. The victory allowed both men to earn their spots for SmackDown's Elimination Chamber match.
However, after the match, Kevin Owens arrived to deliver Stunners to everyone before sending Roman Reigns a message. KO’s arrival reminded fans that he will also be a part of the Chamber match, and will likely be a favorite to win.
On this week’s SmackDown, WWE must allow Cesaro to come out and take down KO either during a promo or after a match. This will catapult The Swiss Cyborg’s chances to win at Elimination Chamber. The targeted attack will also make him appear as prominent as KO in the upcoming multi-man contest.
WWE needs to build a couple of favorites in the match rather than only having KO as the clear favorite, and the aforementioned angle with Cesaro will make things more interesting for Elimination Chamber.
