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The RAW after WWE SummerSlam 2019 turned out to be quite interesting in many ways. For many fans, it felt like it was truly the beginning of the Heyman era but from what we have seen, we are indeed headed for a relatively fresh start in the direction.
Also read: 5 things you missed at WWE SummerSlam 2019
It's going to be interesting to see how things change and tonight, we only saw around 3 SmackDown superstars on RAW. Hopefully this means that the Wild Card rule will be slowly phasing out, but either way, we were treated to quite an excellent show on WWE RAW.
It was all topped off by a champion vs champion match when Seth Rollins took on AJ Styles - but since it wasn't a big PPV match, they clearly held back and it ended in a dusty finish. However, out of all of that, we now know the upcoming championship contenders and what lies ahead of us. Here is what WWE subtly told us on the RAW after SummerSlam!
Also read: 7 things WWE subtly told us at SummerSlam 2019
#5. King of the Ring is likely one of Paul Heyman's big ideas
The legendary King of the Ring tournament returns after four full years on RAW next week. We're going to have 16 competitiors in the tournament, including the likes of Andrade, Chad Gable, Ali, Ricochet, Cesaro, Samoa Joe, etc.
It's an absolutely stacked tournament with only the best of the full-time superstars and it's evident that this idea was 100% Paul Heyman. WWE didn't seem to like the idea of bringing it back, but Heyman seems to love an old school approach alongside utilizing current talent.
It's going to be really interesting to see how this plays out and hopefully the superstar who wins from this can really benefit from it like superstars of the past have before them.
See WWE RAW Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE RAW Results page
#4. The Women's Tag Team titles are finally going to get screen time
While Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross' successful title defence against The Kabuki Warriors certainly wasn't clean, it also wasn't as dirty and dusty as a lot of Alexa Bliss' past wins.
In just one week of holding the titles, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross already have the same number of title defences as The IIconics did in four months and they also hold one more legitimate defence than the former champions.
Now that Alexa Bliss is seemingly healthy again and her alliance with Nikki Cross has been working out quite well, it seems as though we're going to see them hold those titles for a while to come.
Since those titles in particular will be defended on both brands, they may be one of the rare cases of superstars jumping brands once the Wild Card rule allegedly comes to a close prior to October.
Either way, the Women's Tag Titles are going to get far more screentime now than they did with The IIconics or they would if The Kabuki Warriors held the titles. It's just the reality of it and expect the titlles to be featured regularly and defended constantly.
#3. Becky Lynch finally gets a legitimate challenger
It feels as though Becky Lynch had really lost some steam in between after having the greatest run of any woman in the last year or so. Similar to Seth Rollins, the issue with her title reign was the fact that there weren't any challengers that fans believed would legitimately be able to beat her.
With all due respect to Lacey Evans, who is a future champion and Natalya, who is a veteran, they simply weren't on the level of Becky Lynch after she came off rivalries against the likes of Charlotte Flair, Asuka and Ronda Rousey. We mentioned yesterday that the Women's division required a much-needed boost in Banks and that's exactly what they got on the RAW after SummerSlam when The Boss returned, attacked Natalya and took off her wig - revealing a new blue hair colour.
She also attacked Becky Lynch when she came out, making it clear that she's next in line for the title. We're finally getting a heel Banks after over 3 and a half years and it's long overdue. Sasha Banks is known to be a better heel and this could be the edgy kind of fued that the RAW Women's division has desperately needed.
#2. Brock Lesnar is not 100% done with the Universal title...yet
It seems as though everytime Brock Lesnar loses the Universal Championship, we're almost 100% certain that he's never going to go back for it again. We thought that at first after WrestleMania 35 because the general consensus and assumption was that he was going to UFC to fight Daniel Cormier and would thus be away from WWE.
Given that the Heavyweight title fight didn't work out, Lesnar was given a token MITB win and a 3rd Universal title win as well - one that lasted less than 30 days. Heyman tweeted that Lesnar wouldn't be receiving a title shot and protested it to be unfair and on RAW, made a crisp and clear statement that Brock Lesnar won't be getting a rematch.
And that's exactly what they say...when Brock Lesnar is actually getting a rematch. While we'd all love for him to be completely done with the Universal title, it seems as though he will be in the picture at some point in the near future. It's very likely that we'll either see him return later this year or early next year and that is when he'll be #1 contender again.
Speaking of the next #1 contender...
#1. Braun Strowman will be Seth Rollins' next opponent
Braun Strowman hasn't exactly had the best 2019. He is nowhere as hot as he was in 2017-early 2018 and creative seemingly hasn't been in favour of him or hasn't given him that much time.
Sure, he did have that rivalry with Bobby Lashley but that ended somewhat abruptly and overall, Strowman hasn't had much to do - even in the big 4 PPVs. However, after the champion vs champion match between AJ Styles & Seth Rollins went to a DQ, it was The Monster Among Men who made his presence known and took out Styles and The OC, handing Seth Rollins the Universal Championship.
Since he did go out of his way to get the title and hand it to Rollins, it seems clear that Braun Strowman will be the next contender for Seth Rollins - likely at Clash of Champions. We absolutely love this idea and think that Strowman presents a great, legitimate challenger for Rollins.
Since Strowman is still a babyface, it's likely going to be one of those "faces who don't get along" type of rivalries. However, it's good to see him back in contention and hopefully he gets a good amount of screentime in the feud.
