5 things that must happen on RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week

WWE is off to a great start in 2020 and it looks like the creatives know where to take each brand right from the beginning of the year. With major events such as Worlds Collide and Royal Rumble just weeks away, all three brands of the company are doing well to build up their respective rivalries.

RAW seems to be steaming up thanks to Seth Rollins and the Authors of Pain, while Andrade is enjoying his first Championship on the brand.

NXT is looking at some top stars like Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, and Tommaso Ciampa to start making a big impact, while Keith Lee is patiently waiting for his North American Championship shot.

SmackDown has had some great returns in the past two weeks, and John Morrison and The Usos will be looking to make a major impact on the Blue brand.

In this article, we will look at the 5 things that must happen this week in order to amp up the storylines on all three brands.

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#5 Liv Morgan and Lana have a full out brawl

Things could get ugly between these two women once again!

One of the biggest matches announced for this week's RAW episode is between Rusev and Bobby Lashley. While Rusev, Lashley, and Lana have had a rather lengthy storyline, the inclusion of Liv Morgan to the mix has spiced things up!

While Lana will be in her new husband’s corner for the clash, Morgan has made herself available for The Bulgarian Brute and will be cheering for him at ringside.

While the action will be hot inside the ring, the creatives must book the angle such that the action outside the ring is much more interesting.

The storyline seems to be more of a drama than a battle, and therefore Morgan and Lana should play an equal role during the segment by ending up brawling outside the ring, bringing the match to a no-contest as the men try to separate them.

This will allow the brand to go deeper into the storyline and give Morgan and Lana a chance to enter the ring to compete once again, either one-on-one or in tag teams with Rusev and Lashley.

#4 The Monday Night Messiah gets one over

Rollins and his henchmen need to get one over the fan favorites

Last week’s RAW episode delivered fans the biggest surprise possible as Big Show returned to the Red brand after two years to team up with Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. The three big men took on Seth Rollins and Authors of Pain in a massive six-man tag team match.

The match ended in a disqualification as Rollins attacked Show with a steel chair, allowing Show, Owens, and Joe to pick up the win. Soon after, WWE announced that this week fans will be treated to the first-ever 'fistfight' in WWE history involving the two teams.

While we aren’t too sure how a fistfight will unfold on RAW, but things will likely get extremely physical.

Keeping that in mind, the company should book the heels to go over in this match in order to give Rollins an ego boost and keep the storyline rolling.

While AOP and Rollins seem to be working well together, it will take time for the Red brand to build them enough to become the premier faction of RAW.

Show’s KO Punch is a sight to behold in WWE, while Owens and Joe are two of the hardest hitting men in the industry today. Winning a 'fistfight' against these three men will help Rollins and AOP get over big time and get in the zone.

#3 Ciampa gets his old life back

Ciampa will be looking to get his hands on Goldie and Cole

Daddy’s home, and he’s looking to get his old life back.

Last week’s NXT was filled with some top quality promos, segments, and matches. One particular segment which was extremely impactful was the one involving former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa.

Ciampa made it clear that he wants his old life back, which clearly means that he wants Goldie back in his arms.

Ciampa could not defeat Finn Balor to get a shot at the title last month due to the interference by current NXT Champion Adam Cole. Balor competed against Cole for the title on December 18, 2019, but failed to win it.

Now that the field is open again, NXT should give Ciampa a shot at Cole and his title sooner than later.

With NXT TakeOver: Portland not too far away, the brand should start rebuilding the storyline between these two men starting this week. Ciampa should once again come out to face Cole and a brawl between the two men could ignite the feud once again, which could lead to another Championship run for Ciampa.

With Balor and Johnny Gargano already building up for a match at TakeOver: Portland, Cole and Ciampa should enter the picture as soon as possible.

#2 Io Shirai wins the Battle Royal

Shirai needs to get over sooner than later

NXT is ready to have a rollercoaster night as Rhea Ripley will find out who will be the first challenger to her NXT Women’s Championship.

While five women came out last week to stake their claim for Ripley’s title, the brand has decided to give eleven top NXT women a chance to get in the race for the NXT Women’s Championship.

With Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, and Io Shirai already in the mix, we will also watch Chelsea Green, Dakota Kai, Vanessa Borne, Kayden Carter, Mia Yim, Santana Garrett, Shotzi Blackheart, and Xia Li enter a Battle Royal with the winner getting their hands on Ripley.

While many names deserve to get a shot at the title, Shirai seems like the woman who should be getting the first rivalry with Ripley for the title considering that she is the premier heel Superstar on the brand.

The Genius of the Sky deserves a push right about now, and a title opportunity against The Nightmare will do her a world of good. Even if the two women trade the title amongst themselves, fans will not be bothered as everyone knows how good these two women are inside the ring.

#1 John Morrison scores his first victory

Morrison needs to go big or go home

John Morrison returned to SmackDown in an episode of The Miz TV last Friday. Miz & Morrison have been reunited on the Blue brand again and The Awesome One seems to be going back to his previous character after his encounters with ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt.

Morrison will be going to battle right away as he is scheduled to take on Big E in his first match in WWE after his return and will be looking to make an instant impression.

Last week, he helped Miz defeat Kofi Kingston by distracting him and taking out Big E outside the ring, allowing his former partner to score a major win after a long time.

Now that The Guru of Greatness will be stepping into the ring with a man who should have won the WWE Championship at least once in his career already, it will be a big match with a lot at stake.

While both men feel like equals in this clash, the creatives should book Morrison to score a huge victory upon his return to the ring.

Not only will this help boost the Superstar’s value right away, but it will also help Miz and Morrison to build their case towards getting a shot at the New Day’s SmackDown Tag Team Championship belts.