WWE Raw after SummerSlam 2018: 5 possible scenarios

The first episode of WWE Raw since SummerSlam 2018 will take place in Brooklyn, New York on Monday.

One of the biggest storylines heading into the show surrounds Roman Reigns, who became the Universal Championship for the first time in his career on Sunday. With Brock Lesnar advertised for Raw and Braun Strowman desperate to cash in his Money In The Bank contract, there’s a chance that “The Big Dog” could have an immediate challenger for his title.

No matches have been announced for the show, as of the time of writing, but possible encounters include The B-Team vs. The Revival in a rematch from SummerSlam and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias – a rivalry which still hasn’t resulted in a one-on-one match yet.

Elsewhere on the show, Ronda Rousey is set to make an appearance following her Raw Women’s Championship victory over Alexa Bliss, while Seth Rollins is certain to feature following his Intercontinental Championship triumph against Dolph Ziggler.

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In this article, let’s take a look at five possible scenarios we could see on the episode.

#5 Will Finn Balor unleash the “Demon” again?

One of the least anticipated matches on the SummerSlam card, Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin, suddenly got the interest of fans when the Irishman appeared in his full “Demon” attire and quickly defeated the Raw Constable in a 95-second match.

WWE is questioning on its website if Balor will face any repercussions from the Raw authority figure, who claimed that the SummerSlam match was unfair because he never agreed to face the “Demon”, while the company has also teased that we could see another appearance from Finn’s alter-ego on Monday’s episode.

While it would be interesting to see the “Demon” more often, let’s predict that Balor will play mind games with Corbin by claiming to have no recollection of their SummerSlam match – not too dissimilar to the Corporate Kane and Demon Kane characters from 2015 – leading to a rematch between the Constable and 'normal' Balor on Raw.

Prediction: Finn Balor defeats Baron Corbin

#4 Will The Revival receive a rematch?

The SummerSlam match ended in controversy

The B-Team retained their Raw Tag Team Championships on the SummerSlam kickoff show when Dash Wilder accidentally pushed Bo Dallas into Scott Dawson, who had rolled Curtis Axel up for a pinfall, and Axel was able to reverse the pin to pick up the 1-2-3 over Dawson.

The referee had his back turned moments before the finish, meaning he missed a clear 4-count pinfall that Dawson had on Axel, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising if The Revival received a rematch for the titles on this week’s episode of Raw.

Dash & Dawson have gone into two title matches in the last week as favourites and failed to win on both occasions, so will it be third time lucky for them if this match takes place again on Monday?

Prediction: The Revival win the tag titles

#3 What next for Elias?

Elias' SummerSlam concert didn't go as planned

Elias teased all week long heading into SummerSlam that he was going to perform his greatest song to date at “The Biggest Party of the Summer”. However, after insulting the Brooklyn crowd, he attempted to play his guitar at the start of his performance… but it broke in half.

Given that WWE’s resident singing sensation has been involved in a rivalry with Bobby Lashley over the last few weeks and it hasn’t yet led to a match, it’s safe to expect that the two men will finally go one-on-one on this week’s episode of Raw.

If that is the case, the winner will surely be Lashley, who looked at one point like he could be in the main event of SummerSlam but, in the end, he didn’t appear for a single second anywhere on the card.

Prediction: Bobby Lashley defeats Elias

#2 Will there be any NXT call-ups?

Velveteen Dream sent a message to Vince McMahon at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV

WWE has been known to call-up the best of the next generation on episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live after SummerSlam in the past, with Braun Strowman (2015) and Bobby Roode (2017) being the standout examples.

This year, the likeliest candidate for a post-SummerSlam call-up to the main roster would have been Aleister Black, but his injury ruled him out of the NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV main event and ruined his chances of joining Raw or SmackDown Live this weekend.

Realistically, that only really leaves Velveteen Dream as a major possible call-up. However, there has been speculation that he has upset the wrong people backstage with his “Call Me Up Vince” message on his tights on Saturday, so let’s assume that WWE will delay the next batch of call-ups for a later date.

Prediction: No NXT call-ups

#1 Will Roman Reigns lose the Universal Championship?

After Roman Reigns’ shocking victory in the SummerSlam main event, WWE is teasing on its website that Brock Lesnar and/or Braun Strowman could attempt to win the Universal Championship from “The Big Dog” sooner rather than later.

Lesnar is advertised for the Raw after SummerSlam, so there’s an outside chance that he could invoke his rematch clause and appear in a rare match on the red brand, while Strowman seems keen to cash-in his Money In The Bank contract at the earliest opportunity.

It's difficult to see Roman's title reign lasting just one day, especially after Lesnar just held the same championship for 504 days, so let's assume Strowman doesn't cash-in just yet.

As for "The Beast", does he really have a motive to pursue the Universal Championship again? Let's predict that tonight is the night that he breaks from his beastly character somewhat and bids farewell to the WWE Universe once and for all ahead of his return to UFC.

Prediction: No title match; Brock Lesnar leaves WWE