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With WWE Clash of Champions and the 31st edition of NXT TakeOver coming up next month, WWE has been working hard to develop the rivalries that will unfold during the two events.
Last week, the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions, The Street Profits, defeated the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. Seth Rollins put down Dominik Mysterio in a Steel Cage match, while the match between Keith Lee and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre was ruined by RETRIBUTION.
WWE NXT started with a great match between Shotzi Blackheart and WWE NXT Women’s Champion, Io Shirai. Afterward, William Regal announced a Battle Royal to determine the next challenger for Shirai.
Regal also announced a Gauntlet Eliminator Match to choose the number one contender for Finn Balor’s NXT Championship. Meanwhile, Damian Priest defeated Timothy Thatcher to retain his NXT North American Championship.
Alexa Bliss entered a trance once again on WWE SmackDown after she delivered Bray Wyatt's finisher, Sister Abigail, to Lacey Evans. Jeff Hardy announced a big Triple Threat Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship at WWE Clash of Champions. Also, Cesaro and Nakamura found the next challengers for their titles.
In this article, we will look at the five things that must happen on WWE's three brands this week to build towards Clash of Champions and NXT TakeOver.
#5. Seth Rollins and Murphy become the No.1 Contenders to the WWE RAW Tag Team Championship
Last week on WWE RAW, Seth Rollins and Dominik Mysterio competed in a Steel Cage match. Even though Rollins asked his disciple to remain backstage, Murphy appeared and tried to help The Monday Night Messiah win the match.
After the match, Rollins took out his frustration on Murphy by attacking him and slamming the steel cage door in his face.
This week, the two men will have to team up to face the teams of Andrade and Angel Garza, and Dominik Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo. Andrade and Garza also seem to be on the verge of a break-up but Dominik and Humberto will be a new pairing.
With that in mind, WWE must allow the Monday Nigh Messiah and his disciple to win the contest and go on to challenge The Street Profits. Aaliyah Mysterio showed some concern for Murphy’s well-being on last week’s show. WWE could slowly pull her into the heel group if Rollins and Murphy stay united and aim for the tag title.
#4. Randy Orton returns to Punt Kick Keith Lee on WWE RAW
A few weeks ago on WWE RAW, Randy Orton delivered three vicious Punt Kicks to Drew McIntyre. The attacks fractured the WWE Champion’s jaw, but he managed to return after a couple of weeks to take revenge. McIntyre delivered three thunderous Claymore Kicks to Orton to repay the favor and send him to the hospital.
Orton’s current condition will give Keith Lee another chance to face McIntyre this week after RETRIBUTION interrupted their match last week. If The Limitless One manages to defeat the WWE Champion, then he could replace The Viper in the WWE title match at Clash of Champions.
While Lee is getting a massive push on the main roster, WWE must allow The Viper to return this week and attack Lee. Orton must wreak havoc during the big match, and take the big man out with a Punt Kick to ensure that he remains a part of the WWE Championship match.
This will allow WWE to take Lee out of the equation, and give him a chance to return and challenge for the WWE title once Orton vs. McIntyre is over.
#3. KUSHIDA impresses during the Gauntlet Eliminator Match on WWE NXT
While The Velveteen Dream took out KUSHIDA with a vicious attack during the North American Championship tournament, the Japanese WWE Superstar returned with a more aggressive attitude.
He showed the NXT Universe that he is ready to take challenges head-on, and attacked Dream in return to show that he’s found himself.
The former Time Splitter needed the extra push, and it seems like he’s gotten just that. He was seen as a top Superstar when he first arrived and locked horns with WALTER, but an injury briefly hindered him.
Now that KUSHIDA is back in focus, WWE must allow him to shine during this week’s Gauntlet Eliminator Match on NXT. The brand is in search of a new number one contender to Finn Balor’s WWE NXT Championship, and KUSHIDA will be the first entrant in the match.
Even though NXT may not plan to give KUSHIDA a title shot, they must allow him to score some eliminations. He should stay in the match for long enough to come across as the iron man. This will ensure that he becomes one of the top Superstars for the months to come.
#2. Finn Balor appears to attack the winner of the Gauntlet Eliminator Match on WWE NXT
Finn Balor defeated Adam Cole to win the vacant WWE NXT Championship a couple of weeks ago. With the newly announced NXT TakeOver event coming up in two weeks, WWE plans to crown a worthy first challenger for the title.
A Gauntlet Eliminator Match will crown the number one contender to Balor’s title, and we will see several WWE Superstars compete in this first-time match.
We could see someone like KUSHIDA, Roderick Strong, or Ridge Holland come out as the victor of the match, giving Balor a whole new challenger to face for the title. While WWE NXT will try to look for the best possible contender for Balor, The Prince should appear after the match to attack the winner.
With TakeOver around the corner, NXT will need to build a storyline. More importantly, WWE needs to generate some heat between Balor and his challenger rather than just booking a match between them without any story.
Allowing The Prince to attack the eventual winner of the Gauntlet Eliminator Match will reestablish the champion as a heel and allow him to gain the upper hand. WWE can then develop the feud on the final episode of NXT before TakeOver.
#1. Big E takes down Sheamus on WWE SmackDown
Earlier this month, WWE SmackDown hosted a Fatal Four-Way match to determine who would challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at Clash of Champions.
Initially, Sheamus, King Cobrin, Big E, and Matt Riddle were announced as the participants of the match, but Sheamus took out Big E before the match to try and increase his chances of winning the match. However, SmackDown replaced Big E with Jey Uso who ultimately went on to win the match and become his cousin’s next challenger.
Big E returned to SmackDown last week and delivered a brutal beating to the guard who’d helped The Celtic Warrior trick Big E to believe that Xavier Woods had arrived into the arena.
After he beat down the guard, he shoved him in a car trunk before Adam Pearce warned him to leave. However, Big E had a warning of his own for Sheamus that will undoubtedly reignite their rivalry.
This week on SmackDown, WWE must allow Big E to take down Sheamus backstage and make a statement to The Celtic Warrior. WWE has already teased a more intense and serious side of Big E, and this could allow him to have a slight change in character.
WWE could then go on to book a match between the two men on the pre-show for WWE Clash of Champions to give the event another big match to host.
