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WWE Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) was as big as expected. The final pay-per-view of the year delivered, and we will be looking at the after-effects from the event heading into this week. RAW and SmackDown will look to rebuild heading into the new year, while NXT will work on the New Year’s Evil show.
WWE TLC saw the RAW Tag Team Championships change hands after The Hurt Business defeated The New Day. However, no other titles changed hands at the event, as Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, and Drew McIntyre managed to overcome their rivals on Sunday Night.
This will likely lead to some rematches between the Champions and their challengers, and we could also watch Bray Wyatt return this week after The Fiend was set on fire by Randy Orton.
On WWE NXT, Karrion Kross made his return to the ring and ripped through his opponent before laying out a challenge for Damian Priest. Bronson Reed was teased to return to NXT next week, while Dexter Lumis was announced as the special host for NXT New Year’s Evil.
This week, we will likely watch The Undisputed ERA celebrate Kyle O’Reilly’s victory over Pete Dunne, while Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez will build towards a match for the upcoming show.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things that must happen on the three brands of WWE this week.
#5 Riddle gets taken out by Bobby Lashley on WWE RAW
Bobby Lashley helped The Hurt Business pick up the victory in a six-man tag team match last week on WWE RAW. Lashley made Jeff Hardy suffer once more by locking in the Hurt Lock on The Charismatic Enigma to pick up the victory.
Later in the night, Riddle competed against MVP in a one-on-one match. While fans expected MVP to show his technical side once again, he was completely outdone by Riddle during the match.
This week, WWE must book another match between Riddle and MVP on RAW. We must watch MVP put up a better fight this time around, before coming close to a loss. WWE must then give Lashley the chance to jump in and cause a disqualification by locking Riddle in the Hurt Lock.
This will allow RAW to build towards a new United States Championship rivalry on the brand. Lashley’s last two title defenses came in late October and early November against Slapjack and Titus O’Neil respectively, and he hasn’t had a proper rivalry for the title since September.
While it seems like Hardy is getting in line for a title shot, Riddle could prove to be the better opponent. RAW needs to build a believable rivalry for Lashley as his reign has been rather ordinary to this point.
#4 AJ Styles asks for another shot at the WWE Champion on WWE RAW
AJ Styles has made a good heel on WWE RAW, and he has managed to give the WWE Champion a tough time in recent weeks. The two men finally got their singles match at WWE TLC, while the WWE Championship hung high above the ring.
While it seemed like both men had an equal chance at winning the title, The Miz appeared to cash in his Money in the Bank contract to make it a Triple Threat affair. Although The Miz showed up halfway through the match, he still played a major role in the outcome.
Drew McIntyre retained the title at the event, and Styles won’t be too happy with that. With this in mind, WWE must allow Styles to appear on RAW this week and demand a one-on-one rematch for the title. Fans deserve a traditional match between McIntyre and Styles for the WWE Championship, and they should get just that very soon.
WWE should then given McIntyre the chance to accept the challenge and book a huge match between the two men, possibly at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
#3 Rhea Ripley challenges Raquel Gonzalez to a match at WWE NXT New Year’s Evil
The final match of last week’s WWE NXT saw former NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm compete against each other. The two women have a lot of history, therefore this match was pretty special.
While The Nightmare kept control for most of the match, Storm managed to get some offense in later in the showdown. However, Raquel Gonzalez arrived to attack Ripley and sent her shoulder-first into the steel post. The attack allowed Storm to pick up the victory over Ripley.
After the match, Gonzalez and Ripley had an intense staredown which will likely lead to a match between the two women down the line. Ripley and Gonzalez have been matched in a rivalry earlier this year, but Gonzalez wasn’t as experienced then as she is now.
Keeping that in mind, WWE must allow The Nightmare to attack Gonzalez this week and then challenge her to a match for NXT New Year’s Evil. Ripley doesn’t have a solid feud in NXT right now, and giving Gonzalez a chance to grow in a rivalry against her will benefit WWE.
#2 KUSHIDA demands a WWE NXT North American Championship shot
KUSHIDA stepped in to team up with Leon Ruff on last week’s WWE NXT after Damian Priest suffered an injury at the hands of Karrion Kross. The two faces took on Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory in a tag team match.
Gargano was as good as usual, while Theory and KUSHIDA were the outstanding performers during the match. Ruff’s immaturity cost his team the match as Theory hit a new finisher on his opponent.
Since KUSHIDA was not pinned and was pulled off the ring apron by Gargano at the end of the match, we could watch the two men engage in a rivalry. This week, WWE must allow KUSHIDA and Theory to compete in a singles match.
KUSHIDA should be allowed to go over Theory, even with The Rebel Heart’s interference, paving the way to an NXT North American Championship match between him and Gargano.
The Japanese Superstar is one of the most gifted athletes in all of WWE, and he must be allowed to challenge Gargano for an NXT North American title match at New Year’s Evil.
#1 Big E defeats Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship on WWE SmackDown
Daniel Bryan seemed to be getting in a rivalry with Sami Zayn for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, but it seems like SmackDown is looking at Big E as the next Champion instead.
The two men kicked off their rivalry a few weeks ago, and Big E has been doing a phenomenal job at taunting the Intercontinental Champion every week. Last week, Zayn hosted the Sami Awards which were interrupted by Big E. He even went on to pin the Intercontinental Champion on the pre-show of WWE TLC.
This week on SmackDown, Big E will get an Intercontinental Championship match against Zayn. WWE must allow Big E to finally defeat The Great Liberator for the title to make his current singles run more exciting.
Zayn has had a good reign as a heel Champion, but Big E is someone who deserves a run with the secondary title before WWE can plan to push him into the top title picture.
While a few top Superstars, including Big E, have lost to Zayn via countout, WWE must take this match between these two talented Superstars more seriously. While Zayn should get a couple of rematches for the title, Big E should be allowed to walk into the Royal Rumble with the Intercontinental Championship in hand.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
