WWE officially embarked on the journey towards Clash of Champions last week on Raw. Roman Reigns had the chance to get a main event spot at the pay-per-view but a returning Rusev had other plans. The squash party of Bo Dallas and Nia Jax also continued last week but in the larger context, it had no impact whatsoever but the win of Sasha Banks was something completely opposite.
Despite Raw being just an above average show in comparison to SmackDown last week, the fans have a string of reasons to tune in this time around. Here is a look at them.
1- Midcard shenanigans
The mid card of Monday Night Raw is something that deserves some attention. Few interesting storylines are being built up by the company. New Day vs. The Club is booked for Clash of Champions and a new entertaining segment from these two teams would be thrown out. Similarly, it would be interesting to see whether WWE would continue to stick with Bo Dallas’s push now that his match with Bin Wang is over.
The sixth match of the Cesaro – Sheamus series is bound to happen this week and with the score now in favor of Sheamus at 3-2, it is a must win match for Cesaro if he needs to keep the series going.
2- Sorting the Women’s division
The Women’s division of Monday Night Raw saw a huge shift last week around when Sasha Banks was crowned the new number one contender. Sasha defeated Dana Brooke and Bayley in a triple threat to get the spot and she is bound to go head to head with Charlotte once again. This week on Raw, we could expect Sasha and Charlotte to start off their new feud.
The most logical decision for the creative team would be to pair up Bayley and Dana Brooke for a programme. But at the same time, they have a storyline going on between Nia Jax and Alicia Fox. Emma seems to be returning as well, so WWE needs to sort out their Women’s division.
3- Roman back in the United States Championship scene
As mentioned in the introduction slide, Roman Reigns lost his opportunity to be on the Clash of Champions main event due to interference from Rusev. The Bulgarian Brute made his return in a triumphant manner and has redrawn the battle lines with The Samoan Superman. With Roman now out of the WWE Universal championship picture, a storyline for the United States Championship is likely in place for him.
The Reigns vs. Rusev match which was planned for SummerSlam never happened and WWE could be looking to cash in on the same at Clash of Champions. No matter what they are coming up with, the fans will appreciate a fresh approach rather than using the same tactics deployed last time around.
4- Seth Rollins to be punished?
Last week’s Monday Night Raw main event was affected by a lot of things and one among this list was the interference of Seth Rollins. The former WWE champion came out and attacked Kevin Owens during the match and this forced Mick Foley to restart the match. Foley seemed furious with what Rollins did and he promised to take action against the Architect during the exchange.
A Rusev vs. Seth Rollins match was booked as a result. Rollins had already started showing signs of a babyface run and putting him together with Rusev in a match once again underlines WWE’s intentions to turn Rollins face.
5- The Cruiserweight division kicks off
An exclusive cruiserweight division for Monday Night Raw was announced during the brand split time but as WWE was busy with the Cruiserweight classic tournament, the debut of the cruiserweights were delayed. Now that the tournament is wrapped up, WWE will be bringing out some fast-paced cruiserweight action on Raw.
TJ Perkins was crowned as the Cruiserweight champion and apart from him; WWE is also advertising six other names for the tournament: Brian Kendrick, Rich Swann, Gran Metalik, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado and Noam Dar.
The combinations and permutations of these cruiserweights are still unknown and irrespective of what WWE comes up with, the fans will be treated with some great action from these guys.
