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This week has been somewhat of a whirlwind for WWE television, as the company wrapped its 2019 SummerSlam PPV and subsequent Raw and SmackDown Live TV tapings in Toronto, and now looks ahead to Clash of Champions next month.
The Clash of Champions PPV typically features a card filled with title matches, as the event used to be called Night of Champions, but has been replaced in name with the old WCW classic event.
With Clash of Champions likely featuring an all-title match lineup, certain talents such as Shinsuke Nakamura, The New Day, and The OC might get a chance to defend their titles after being left off the SummerSlam card.
Let's take a look at five things we learned from WWE TV this week as the company heads into Raw tomorrow night.
#5 One more match for Edge?
WWE Hall of Famer Edge made a surprise appearance at SummerSlam this past Sunday night, and the bigger surprise was when the former Tag-Team star got physical, hitting Elias with a thunderous spear.
The spear from Edge led to speculation that the Rated-R Superstar might be cleared to compete, as his career was cut short years ago due to injury.
Following his return at SummerSlam, Edge fueled the rumor mill even more, when on an episode of his podcast he revealed he could have another match tomorrow if he wanted to.
“To be perfectly honest, I think I could do a match tomorrow. I might be blown up but I’d be okay. It’s just from what I know with the WWE medical staff, they won’t allow. It is what it is, right?"
Given the above comments from Edge, it looks like while the former WWE Champion might want to return to the ring and feels capable of doing so. The WWE medical team will, however, not clear Edge for a return, making one last match highly unlikely.
#4 WWE Superstar set for a big push
WWE announced on television last week that the King of the Ring tournament will be returning on Raw and SmackDown Live this week, with the following Superstars set to compete in first-round tournament matches:
WWE Raw first-round matches:
- Cesaro vs Samoa Joe
- Ricochet vs Drew McIntyre
- Cedric Alexander vs Sami Zayn
- The Miz vs Baron Corbin
WWE SmackDown Live first-round matches:
- Kevin Owens vs Elias
- Ali vs Buddy Murphy
- Chad Gable vs Shelton Benjamin
- Apollo Crews vs Andrade
In addition to the reveal that the tournament is returning, the most recent edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that WWE has decided to bring back the KOTR tournament in order to push one specific Superstar, however, that name has yet to be revealed.
In recent years, winning the King of the Ring tournament was not always a guarantee that the winning Superstar would receive a big push in WWE, as evidenced by Wade Barrett floundering around the mid-card despite his tournament win.
This year, however, it looks like things might be different, and the tournament might be designed to highlight a specific talent. My pick? Ali.
#3 The Boss is back
Prior to this week, Sasha Banks' future in WWE was very much in question, after The Boss left television following WrestleMania 35 due to creative frustration as a result of dropping the WWE Women's Tag Team titles to The IIconics at 'Mania.
All of the questions surrounding The Boss' status were answered this week when she made a surprise return to TV on Raw and attacked the Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch.
Following the attack, it seems almost certain that Banks vs Lynch will be taking place in the very near future, likely at Clash of Champions, after The Boss made an emphatic statement upon returning to WWE TV.
The challenger field has not been very deep for Becky Lynch since winning the Raw Women's title at WrestleMania 35, with The Man facing opponents such as Lacey Evans and Natalya in feuds which garnered a mixed reaction from wrestling fans and pundits.
With Sasha Banks back in the WWE fold, the Raw Women's title picture has been given an instant burst of new life, as Banks and Lynch should have a fierce feud in the coming weeks which should culminate in a great match between the two "Horsewomen" of WWE.
#2 The Fiend will be a special character in WWE
The long-awaited in-ring debut of The Fiend took place at WWE SummerSlam this past Sunday night, as Bray Wyatt made pretty quick work of Finn Balor, who is expected to be taking some time off WWE following his loss at SummerSlam.
More impressive than The Fiend's quick defeat of Finn Balor, however, was The Fiend's ring entrance, which was complete with new music and a psychotically tweaked version of the famous lantern he used during his traditional Wyatt Family entrances.
Despite making a huge impact at WWE SummerSlam this past Sunday night, The Fiend was nowhere to be found on Raw or SmackDown Live this week, leaving fans puzzled as to why WWE would not have him make some type of appearance on TV to follow-up on his widely acclaimed debut at the PPV.
According to Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin, WWE officials reportedly want to limit The Fiend's appearances on TV in order to make the new character feel “special”. The company likely does not want to overexpose The Fiend on TV, and too quickly dry up the creative well, so it's more likely that The Fiend will make sporadic appearances on TV to create more of a surprise feel when he does appear.
#1 205 Live is about to get very exciting
On this past Tuesday night's episode of WWE 205 Live, it was announced that this coming Tuesday's show will feature a 10-man Captain's Challenge match, featuring team Oney Lorcan facing Team Drew Gulak.
Set for action in the match will be Mike Kanellis, Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari and a partner to be announced. Rounding out Gulak's team will be Angel Garza, who will be making his WWE main roster debut in the match on 205 Live.
Garza made his WWE TV debut in the recent NXT Breakout Tournament, during which he was defeated in the semifinals by Jordan Myles who went on to win the tournament.
As for team Lorcan, Oney has chosen Jack Gallagher and Akira Tozawa to join him in combat, and rounding out his team will be two newcomers in Humberto Carrillo and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott. Lorcan noted on Twitter that he chose Scott to compete on his team as Scott has a past with Drew Gulak, and Scott might want another "crack" at the current WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
The match announcement has certainly added a nice momentum boost to the 205 Live brand and two of its top talents, Drew Gulak and Oney Lorcan.
What was your favourite WWE moment of the week? Let us know in the comment section!
