5 things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown

With Royal Rumble coming up this month, WWE will be looking to push several storylines on this week’s shows. Bobby Lashley defeated three other men to become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship again. He will look to get in the same ring as Brock Lesnar this week before their first-ever one-on-one match.

Doudrop, Bianca Belair, and Liv Morgan will compete to determine who will face Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship at Royal Rumble. WWE will also announce more participants for the Royal Rumble matches.

This week, AJ Styles will compete in his first singles match on WWE NXT 2.0. He will take on Grayson Waller in a blockbuster contest. Bron Breakker will also look to kick off his NXT Championship reign in style after defeating Tommaso Ciampa.

Roman Reigns was given a surprise by Adam Pearce on SmackDown last week. Seth Rollins was the man handpicked by Pearce to challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. How will The Tribal Chief react to the booking on this week’s show?

Take a look at the five things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.

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#5. Bobby Lashley must lock Brock Lesnar in the Hurt Lock on WWE RAW

WWE fans got a taste of what to expect in a contest between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar at Day 1. The two men came face to face in the ring for the first time during the Fatal-Five-Way Match for the WWE Championship.

Lashley was able to put down Lesnar a couple of times with massive Spears. He also locked in The Beast Incarnate in the Hurt Lock and nearly made him tap out. However, Lesnar won the contest with some F5s.

Lashley defeated Seth Rollins, Big E, and Kevin Owens a night later to become the #1 contender to Lesnar’s WWE Championship. It will be one of the biggest matches at this year’s Royal Rumble.

The Beast Incarnate will likely show up with Paul Heyman on this week’s RAW. Lesnar and his advocate must talk down Lashley before MVP interrupts them. This must lead to a war of words between the two sides, leading to a brawl.

The All-Mighty must get the better of Lesnar and lock him in the Hurt Lock once again to prove his dominance. The angle will help Lesnar look vulnerable for once while putting over Lashley.

Lesnar has his eyes firmly set on Roman Reigns. He hasn’t taken Lashley too seriously yet, and the angle will also help make their WWE Championship rivalry and match more interesting.

#4. RK-Bro must retain its WWE RAW Tag Team Championships

Riddle and Randy Orton have had a phenomenal run with the RAW Tag Team Championships. The two men have been involved in a rivalry with Otis & Chad Gable of The Alpha Academy for some time.

Otis & Gable will finally get a shot at the RAW Tag Team titles on this week’s show. The two superstars have been great in the ring, and WWE will hopefully give them enough time to prove their worth in the contest.

However, WWE must allow Riddle and Orton to retain and stay on top of the RAW tag team division. With WrestleMania coming up soon, the company must look to keep the titles on RK-Bro.

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#3. Grayson Waller must pick up a tainted win over AJ Styles on WWE NXT

Grayson Waller is arguably the luckiest man in WWE. He has a match scheduled against AJ Styles for the upcoming episode of NXT. Waller had a great start to his career and played a great role in his team’s win at TakeOver: WarGames.

NXT has given Waller a launching pad, and a match against Styles will make him one of the biggest names on the brand. With that in mind, WWE must allow Waller to cheat his way to a win over The Phenomenal One on Tuesday.

Waller is a heel who is hated by nearly everyone in WWE. A tainted win over Styles will put him on the map and further develop his character.

#2. Tony D’Angelo must defeat Pete Dunne on WWE NXT

WWE NXT will host its first even Crowbar on a Pole match on Tuesday night. Pete Dunne and Tony D’Angelo will look to outdo each other as they take their rivalry to the next level.

NXT has developed their rivalry slowly, but it’s good to see that the creative team is ready to do something new for their feud. While Dunne will be the experienced man in the match, WWE must allow D’Angelo to pick up the win.

D’Angelo needs to get a push similar to Carmelo Hayes, Bron Breakker, and Grayson Waller to become a big name in NXT. Putting down the former NXT UK Champion will help him come across as a major threat to the rest of the NXT roster.

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#1. Seth Rollins must come close to stomping down Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown

WWE SmackDown delivered a big surprise to end last week’s show. Seth Rollins was announced as the next challenger to Roman Reigns’ Universal Championship.

The two men will meet at the Royal Rumble for the title. Roman Reigns will likely come out to address the WWE Universe after the match was made official.

Rollins must interfere with Reigns during his promo before getting jumped by The Usos. The Visionary must fight off the heels and come close to delivering The Stomp to Reigns before he manages to roll out of the ring.

The angle will help quickly build a rivalry between the two superstars and give Rollins the upper hand. WWE won’t have too much time to build a great storyline for the massive contest.