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Royal Rumble is upon us, and the big pay-per-view is now just a week away with a lot of hopes and expectations attached. The event is one of the most exciting ones for the fans as it hosts two huge Royal Rumble matches with 30 men and 30 women battling for a chance to remain in the ring and winning the match for a Championship opportunity at WrestleMania.
Apart from that, NXT will also see their Worlds Collide event take place just a day before the Royal Rumble, and the Survivor Series-esque event will watch the best of NXT and NXT UK battle it out to be crowned the top brand.
With so much action set to take place next weekend, the shows this week will need to deliver more than they usually do in order to build the hype and fans’ interest in both the events.
In this article, we will look a the 5 things that must happen on RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week to allow all three brands to build towards the next two events.
#5 Rusev and Liv get one over
Rusev and Bobby Lashley decided to settle things in the ring once again last week after Rusev and Liv Morgan destroyed their wedding ceremony at the turn of the year.
While the two men were having a decent match, Lana tried to cause a few distractions which brought Morgan to Rusev’s side. However, the two women got into a fight which allowed Lashley to take advantage and take down Rusev to pick up the victory.
After the match, Lana challenged Rusev and Morgan to a Mixed Tag Team match for this week. While Lana and Morgan haven’t competed in the ring for some time, it’s good to watch WWE bring back the mixed tag team matches.
As Lashley has already pulled off two victories in two matches against The Bulgarian Brute, the company must allow Rusev and Morgan to come out strong in the Mixed Tag Team match as it will allow the rivalry to continue.
WWE could use the match to set up a bigger angle between Morgan and Lana, or go one step further and get her involved with Lashley to make things more complicated and interesting.
#4 Humberto Carrillo joins the babyface team
One of the biggest surprises last week came late during the main event of RAW. Buddy Murphy was upset over his loss against Aleister Black and remain seated in the arena against the guardrail.
As Seth Rollins and the Authors of Pain (AOP) battled Big Show, Kevin Owens, and Samoa Joe, Rollins asked for Murphy to help them out.
At a time when it looked like it was all over for Rollins, Murphy entered the ring and low-blowed Big Show after which he and Rollins threw him into a table.
This allowed the heels to pick up the victory and increase the odds against the babyfaces once again.
Now that Show, Samoa Joe, and Owens are outnumbered again, they will look for someone backstage who could help them out. This could result in them approaching Humberto Carrillo who has been missing from the ring since Andrade attacked him a few weeks ago.
Since Andrade is busy defending his United States Championship against Rey Mysterio, we must watch Carrillo get some prominence again and join Show, KO, and Joe as this will help him boost his career.
#3 Relentless Lee takes down UE
Last week’s NXT was filled with some great segments and action. The night was kicked off by none-other-than NXT’s fastest rising star, Keith Lee.
The Limitless One took to the ring to tell Undisputed Era that their Era was over and that he would take away Roderick Strong’s NXT North American Championship next week.
While Lee seemed full of confidence, he was attacked by Undisputed Era to take advantage. The Undisputed ERA committed a 4-on-1 assault and stomped on Lee’s ankle which was wrapped with a steel chair.
This week, we must watch Lee take down not just Strong, but also brave the attack which will likely take place from all four members of the faction.
Lee should be the one to defeat Strong for the North American Championship from him, and he should do so by not falling for the distractions on the outside. Instead, we should see Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano or an unexpected aide come to Lee’s aide and help him pick up the victory and the title.
It’ll be interesting to watch the gold-standard Undisputed Era walk into Worlds Collide with one title short.
#2 Imperium hits
Carrying on from the previous point, there is no doubt in my mind that the rest of the Undisputed Era will try to play havoc while Keith Lee tries to win the North American Championship.
While Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano could help Lee even out the odds, it should be the faction that Undisputed Era attacked at NXT TakeOver: Blackpool II who should arrive and exact revenge to send a return statement.
Imperium is arguably the hardest hitting faction in WWE today, and they need to get one over the Undisputed Era, especially after what happened on January 12.
NXT must allow Imperium to attack UE at a time when they are trying to help Strong pick up the victory over Lee, or after the match, and leave all four men of the faction laid out to make a big statement in front of the NXT Universe.
With Worlds Collide creeping up, NXT needs to build up even more towards this clash as it is arguably the biggest one we will see all week. With Royal Rumble taking place the next day, it will be the perfect way to build up hype for Worlds Collide as we could watch several Superstars taking part in the event make an appearance during the two Royal Rumbles the next day.
#1 Miz & Morrison challenge The New Day
n the January 10 edition of SmackDown John Morrison returned to the ring during The Miz TV. After the segment, The Miz took on Kofi Kingston in a match where Morrison provided the distraction at ringside to help his friend pick up the victory.
Last week, Morrison competed for the first time in years on SmackDown and took on the second member of New Day, Big E. After a few distractions, The Miz was able to help Morrison pick up the victory over Big E and bag a return win.
This week, we should watch Miz & Morrison come out and challenge The New Day to a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match for Royal Rumble.
Since both Miz and Morrison have bagged individual victories over Kingston and Big E, this could be the perfect time for them to push for a Championship match.
Not only will this allow New Day to defend their titles at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but also allow Morrison to pick up a Championship belt early on in his return.
Miz too has had several losses to his name in recent months, and WWE could be looking to reward him for his efforts with a SmackDown Tag Team Championship reign along with his longtime friend.
