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WWE SummerSlam and NXT TakeOver XXX are scheduled for later this month, and WWE is doing a great job at building towards the two high-profile events.
During last week’s WWE RAW, Apollo Crews was able to defeat MVP to be recognized as the true United States Champion. However, MVP did not waste any time in challenging Crews to another title match at SummerSlam.
A match between RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Shayna Baszler ended without a result, while Shane McMahon announced the new RAW Underground segment. The biggest news from the night was Kevin Owens’ challenge to Randy Orton for a match this week, while a new faction tried to wreak havoc on RAW and SmackDown.
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WWE NXT carried on the momentum as NXT Champion Keith Lee defeated Cameron Grimes with ease but was warned by Karrion Kross again. Imperium was able to defend their NXT Tag Team Championships against Undisputed Era as Pat McAfee took down former NXT Champion Adam Cole, leading to a match being set between the two men at NXT TakeOver XXX.
WWE SmackDown was full of chaos as Shorty G interfered in a match between Sheamus and Matt Riddle, while The Celtic Warrior returned the favor by interfering in a match between Jeff Hardy and King Corbin.
RETRIBUTION ended the night in chaos as they ripped through the SmackDown brand and vandalized it completely.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things that must happen on this week’s episodes of WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown.
#5 Drew McIntyre saves Kevin Owens from The Punt on WWE RAW
WWE RAW has been under the control of Randy Orton for some time now, and The Legend Killer has been doing some spring cleaning to ensure that the legends keep away for as long as possible.
During last week’s show, Ric Flair confronted Kevin Owens and told him to try being more like Orton. While Owens has been a great heel in the past himself, he decided to stick to his babyface character and did the unthinkable by challenging The Viper himself to a match this Monday Night RAW.
The way Orton is going at the moment, KO’s challenge seems nothing less than a death wish as The Viper has recently dropped and taken out Edge, Christian, The Big Show, and seems to have his eyes set on the WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre.
This week on RAW, WWE must allow the two men to put on a great performance before Orton’s heelish antics lead to the referee calling off the match. After the referee’s decision, The Viper must set up towards The Punt on KO before the WWE Champion arrives to save The Prizefighter and send a message to The Legend Killer.
Orton has already gotten the better of McIntyre earlier, and WWE must give their Champion a chance to even the score with Orton before the two set their sights on their match at WWE SummerSlam later this month.
#4 Dominik Dijakovic is revealed as the leader of RETRIBUTION on WWE RAW
Last week on WWE RAW, we saw some people set fire to one of the power generators outside the arena causing some production issues during the show. While fans were unsure of who the group was, WWE later revealed that the faction that disrupted RAW called themselves RETRIBUTION.
This was a pleasant surprise for the WWE Universe who is always looking for something fresh and new on the show. They got just that with this segment, and we will likely meet the new faction during this week’s show.
While several WWE Superstars can appear as RETRIBUTION on this week’s show, WWE should allow some NXT talent to make their way onto RAW using this storyline.
During a chat on the latest edition of the Dropkick DiSKussions, Tom Colohue noted that plans for the faction had been building up for quite some time and this didn’t just come out of nowhere.
He further noted that several WWE NXT Superstars could be introduced to RAW using this storyline.
"The WWE do know. There is an actual plan for these particular individuals. The idea of a new faction was something that was written at the last minute. From what I can tell, this was essentially the NXT call-ups who were coming up soon, who were sitting by the sidelines waiting for the opportunity, for example, Dominik Dijakovic and Chelsea Green are people that have been mentioned, maybe Vanessa Borne as well. There is a plan, and they did have the people they wanted in those outfits, but it sure doesn't feel like it sometimes, does it? When you consider that's really all we got. To be fair, they didn't hype this one up initially. The news got out by a different wrestling journalist, and then they decided to hype it up in addition."
With that in mind, Dominik Dijakovic should be revealed as the leader of the faction as the Superstar has already done great work on NXT and deserves to get a push out of it. The gigantic Superstar would fit perfectly on WWE RAW, and he could lead several men and women from NXT into the Red brand.
Dijakovic has recently deleted his entire Twitter history after posting several photos of Seth Rollins and his rivalry with Rey Mysterio, and this could be his time to move onto the main roster.
#3 WWE NXT Champion Keith Lee tries to take out Karrion Kross
While Karrion Kross is still quite new to WWE NXT, the big man has managed to get everyone’s attention thanks to his antics. After running through Tommaso Ciampa, Bronson Reed, and Dominik Dijakovic, The Herald of Doomsday has his eyes set on the NXT Champion, Keith Lee.
Lee is not one to back down from any challenge, and he wasted no time in agreeing to fight Kross for his title a couple of weeks ago. However, William Regal wasn’t too happy with how the two men set up a match themselves and reminded them that opportunities need to be earned.
Last week, Kross once again called out Lee and told him to prepare for the worse. This week on NXT, Kross is set to take on Danny Burch in a one-on-one match. While Burch is an outstanding competitor, we will likely see the newest heel on WWE run through him too to make another statement.
After the match, WWE must allow Lee to try and get in Kross’s face before attempting to take him out. Instead, Kross must counter Lee’s attack and take him down to leave a mark on WWE and show William Regal that he is ready for the challenge.
#2 Tommaso Ciampa arrives as the mystery opponent on WWE NXT
Former WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa has been away for quite some time now. In fact, the last we saw The Psycho Killer was when he was torn apart by Karrion Kross as NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
Ciampa had shown his frustration at not having any storyline on WWE NXT, and this could be his chance to make a grand return just in time for NXT TakeOver XXX. This week, KUSHIDA and Cameron Grimes will compete in a Triple Threat Match against a mystery opponent for a place in the NXT North American Championship Ladder match at NXT TakeOver XXX.
Grimes hasn’t been too lucky in recent weeks, and his progression to the ladder match will likely result in him not going all the way. KUSHIDA is an excellent choice, and the dynamic WWE Superstar could turn out to be a gem in the Ladder match.
However, if Ciampa is inserted into the match, the WWE must allow him to win the match as he will add a lot more excitement to the entire thing. Ciampa is already a former NXT Champion and NXT Tag Team Champion, and he needs now is the NXT North American Championship to become a Grand Slam Champion!
#1 Rhea Ripley wins the Triple Brand Battle Royal on WWE SmackDown
After Bayley attacked Kairi Sane backstage during a match between Asuka and Sasha Banks for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship a couple of weeks ago, Stephanie McMahon wasn’t too thrilled.
Last week on WWE SmackDown, Stephanie dropped a bomb on The Golden Role Models’ parade as she told Bayley that an Triple Brand Battle Royal will be held on SmackDown to determine who’ll face her at SummerSlam for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
While WWE could have picked someone from SmackDown to face The Role Model, it seems like they are interested in giving a Superstar from another brand a chance to face the SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Looking at the current women’s division of WWE, many deserving women could get a big opportunity at SummerSlam. However, Rhea Ripley of NXT is one woman who could benefit from the opportunity. The young Australian Superstar won the NXT Women’s Championship earlier and defended it against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36.
With a lot of big stage experience, she could get a chance to compete against Bayley at SummerSlam and could well defeat her to win another big title in WWE while moving to the SmackDown brand in the process.
