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WWE RAW had a few interesting matches this week. Braun Strowman made history by competing in three different matches on the same night.
Strowman competed against T-Bar and Mace in a handicap match. He then teamed up with Drew McIntyre to compete against T-Bar and Mace. Later, The Monster Among Men took on McIntyre in the main event and found his way into the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash. Will Strowman win his first WWE Championship at the pay-per-view?
Sonya Deville reinstated Charlotte Flair on RAW after The Queen was suspended a week ago. Who will Flair target now after her return to the ring?
Bronson Reed defeated Austin Theory to find his way into the WWE NXT North American Championship picture again. Dakota Kai and Mercedes Martinez competed in a good match on the Black and Gold brand.
Indi Hartwell had her heart broken by Dexter Lumis. Hartwell and Candice LeRae also attacked the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. Has NXT managed to create the best women’s division in the industry?
WWE SmackDown hosted arguably the biggest match of the week. Roman Reigns put his Universal Championship on the line in an attempt to end Daniel Bryan’s career on SmackDown.
Reigns was able to do as he wished, and delivered a con-chair-to at the end of the night. Will Cesaro avenge his friend by going after The Tribal Chief on SmackDown?
Let's take a look at the five biggest questions from this week's WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown.
#5 Is WWE planning to use Braun Strowman as the scapegoat once again?
Braun Strowman has been one of the biggest names in WWE for some time now. The Monster Among Men isn’t your average giant with a limited move-set. Strowman won his first world title in WWE when he defeated Goldberg for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36.
However, Strowman wasn’t supposed to be part of the match and was only called in as a last-minute replacement. He held the title for over four months before losing it to 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt. Wyatt had a short reign and lost the title after Roman Reigns pinned Strowman in a triple threat match at WWE Payback 2020.
Strowman has been used in several championship matches as the person who takes the pinfall to allow one of the other superstars to win the title.
Keeping in mind Braun Strowman’s history in World Championship matches, has he been added to the WWE title match at WrestleMania Backlash to take the fall once again?
Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley are both doing extremely well on RAW. Their rivalry has been the highlight of the Red brand, and Strowman’s addition to the mix is quite interesting, to say the least.
WWE's creative team may try to protect McIntyre and Lashley's momentum in the match and use Strowman as the weak link to take the fall.
#4 Will Riddle and Randy Orton take the WWE RAW tag team division by storm?
Riddle surprised the WWE Universe by picking up a victory over Randy Orton on last week's RAW. This week, The Viper confronted Riddle backstage and praised The Original Bro. Orton seemed impressed with Riddle and decided to team up with him for a match against Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander.
"R-K-Bro" did surprisingly well together and worked like a well-oiled machine. Orton seemed to play along with Riddle, and the two superstars picked up the victory.
It looks like the WWE creative is turning Orton into a babyface again, and he could end up working with Riddle for quite some time. Their alliance has shades of Riddle’s partnership with Pete Dunne in WWE NXT.
Will the two men strengthen RAW’s fragile tag team division? Is WWE looking to keep both men out of the singles title picture for a while?
AJ Styles and Omos won the RAW Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 37, but haven’t shown up on the Red brand ever since.
Riddle and Orton could end up challenging Styles and Omos for the titles in a couple of months.
#3 Will Imperium force Killian Dain to join them on WWE NXT?
Imperium returned to WWE NXT earlier this year to try and recruit an old ally of WALTER. Imperium targeted Timothy Thatcher, but Tommaso Ciampa tried to protect his new partner.
Ciampa competed against WALTER at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, but failed to defeat The Ring General. Imperium had the perfect chance to recruit Thatcher after the match, but they did not go after him again.
It now looks like Imperium is trying to recruit Alexander Wolfe’s old partner, Killian Dain. Imperium attacked Dain a couple of weeks ago and defeated him along with Drake Maverick this week.
Dain could end up becoming a major star as a member of Imperium, which would help him catapult his career. The Beast of Belfast is currently working with Maverick. Will WALTER’s men target Maverick in an attempt to lure Dain to their faction?
Surprisingly, WWE let go of a potential top storyline involving Imperium and Thatcher.
But will Imperium’s new storyline continue to give The Beast of Belfast a push? In the long run, this could end up being a good development for Imperium and Dain.
#2 Does NXT have the strongest women’s roster in WWE?
WWE NXT has been much more prominent over the past couple of years. The Black and Gold brand's weekly shows recently moved to Tuesdays after the first-ever two-night TakeOver event.
The men’s roster is stacked with big names such as Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Finn Balor, WALTER, and Karrion Kross. However, it’s the women’s roster that seems to be even more stacked at the moment.
With big names such as Toni Storm, Io Shirai, Dakota Kai, Sarray, Raquel Gonzalez, and Ember Moon performing on NXT, one wonders whether the brand has the strongest women’s roster in the company.
WWE RAW is struggling to keep the RAW Women’s Championship scenario on top. Only after Rhea Ripley’s move from NXT to RAW, the title picture has gotten better.
This week on NXT, Kai had a great match against Mercedes Martinez. The NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship scene has also been more entertaining than the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship storylines on RAW and SmackDown.
Is NXT's women’s roster the strongest roster of them all in WWE? With so many top contenders waiting to challenge the NXT Women’s Champion, the entire roster's potential speaks for itself.
#1 Will Daniel Bryan join WWE NXT?
Daniel Bryan has been one of the biggest names in WWE for over a decade now. The Planet’s Champion is a top underdog who has proven himself to be an elite in-ring competitor.
Bryan recently competed against Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship on WWE SmackDown. If Bryan lost the match, The Tribal Chief wanted him gone from the Blue brand.
The Leader of the Yes Movement put his body on the line to fight for the Universal title, but he failed to defeat Reigns. As a result, Bryan won't be able to appear or compete on SmackDown again.
Daniel Bryan has been looking for a lighter schedule for some time, and this might be his opening to become a part-timer. The former WWE Champion could move to RAW following his loss against Reigns. However, there is another brand that would greatly benefit from The Yes Man's presence.
Will WWE send Daniel Bryan to NXT instead of RAW? Bryan could give up-and-coming stars a chance to compete against him and gain a lot of experience before moving to the main roster.
Finn Balor has been doing an incredible job in NXT.
Bryan could do something similar and enjoy a lighter schedule at the same time. His potential move to NXT might end up being a win-win situation for both parties.
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