'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
With the ongoing NXT Great American Bash and the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules: The Horror Show, WWE has been building some great matches and rivalries that are keeping the fans indulged in the product.
WWE RAW has seen the return of Dolph Ziggler on the brand who has aimed for the top straight away and challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. On the other hand, SmackDown’s Sasha Banks has her eyes on Asuka’s RAW Women’s Championship.
Randy Orton seems to have become The Legend Killer once again, while Bobby Lashley is leaving no stone unturned to make a huge impact in WWE.
WWE NXT hosted its first night of the Great American Bash where Io Shirai had a great match with Banks while Tegan Nox, Dexter Lumis, and Timothy Thatcher managed to make an impact. All eyes will be on the main event of night 2 of the Great American Bash where NXT Champion Adam Cole and NXT North American Champion Keith Lee will compete in a Winner Takes All match.
WWE SmackDown saw a good match between Drew Gulak and AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Championship, while Matt Riddle defeated John Morrison before getting into a couple of new feuds.
Bayley was able to overcome Alexa Bliss thanks to a disqualification, while Shinsuke Nakamura defeated one-half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, Kofi Kingston. However, the night was sort of ruined by Sheamus's "toast " of Jeff Hardy which fell flat on its face.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things that must happen on the three brands of WWE this week.
#5 Apollo Crews forms a new faction on WWE RAW
Apollo Crews has been getting a lot of screen time since returning to RAW and becoming the United States Champion. The uber-athletic Superstar is enjoying his time on RAW with his first Championship belt, but it seems like Bobby Lashley won’t let him stay the Champion for much longer.
Last week on RAW, Lashley’s associate MVP was able to pull off a big upset as he managed to defeat Apollo in a non-title match. On the other hand, Ricochet felt the wrath of Lashley who not only defeated the high-flyer but knocked him out with the Full Nelson hold before locking his partner Cedric Alexander in the same hold.
This week on RAW, WWE must book a handicap match between Lashley and the team of Ricochet and Alexander. Lashley must win the match, after which MVP and Lashley must beat down the two babyfaces before Apollo comes out to make the save.
This will allow WWE to make a new mid-card babyface faction with Apollo as its leader and give Lashley a chance to go after Apollo and his United States Championship. Even if Apollo goes on to lose his title, he could still maintain some value on RAW as the leader of the faction.
#4 Big Show challenges Randy Orton to an Extreme Rules match at WWE Extreme Rules
WWE Extreme Rules: The Horror Show is just a couple of weeks away and both RAW and SmackDown are working hard to build some great storylines for the event.
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen tensions rise between Big Show and Randy Orton especially after Orton took out Christian on RAW. Big Show has recently returned to RAW as a babyface and we don’t expect him to stick around too long, but he could be in for a big match this month.
With this week’s RAW coming up, WWE must allow Show to lay down a challenge to Orton for a match at the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Orton is already laying down legends and seems to be back in his zone as The Legend Killer, and the heel could accept the challenge only if Show agrees to fight under Extreme Rules stipulations.
This will allow Orton to have another long fight with an active legend and give him the chance to sacrifice another one of the fan-favorites to earn even more heat as he seems to be on a path that could lead him to the top of WWE again.
#3 Legado del Fantasma lay waste to the babyfaces of WWE NXT
Last week on WWE NXT, Santos Escobar walked out to the ring with Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde and spoke about his victory during the NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament, after which the new Superstar was all praise for himself.
While he thought no one would dare stop him from what he was doing, Drake Maverick made a surprise return after he’d been beaten down by the three heels a few weeks ago. Maverick once again tried to take down the heels all by himself, but the numbers game got too much for him.
This brought out Tyler Breeze and Fandango who helped save Maverick and took out Mendoza and Wilde from the ring before sending the heels back. This week, the six men will compete in a tag team match where Breezango will team up with Maverick to compete against Legado del Fantasma.
Breezango’s inclusion in this storyline is a bit odd and seems rushed, and the heels seem more focused and powerful at this time. WWE must allow Escobar and his men to defeat the babyfaces to gain more heat and come out on top, pushing Maverick further down in this battle.
It will allow Maverick to grow even more once he gets more focused and tries to take out the heels and come for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
#2 Keith Lee becomes the first WWE NXT Double Champion
This coming Wednesday, WWE NXT will witness one of its biggest matches of all time. NXT Champion Adam Cole will take on NXT North American Champion Keith Lee in the first-ever Winner Takes All match for the brand.
Cole has been the longest-reigning NXT Champion of all time and has defeated every single man he has faced for the Championship. Lee, on the other hand, is on the rise in WWE and has won some great matches against Superstars such as Roderick Strong, Dominik Dijakovic, and Johnny Gargano.
Even though the odds will be in the experienced Panama City Playboy’s favor for this one, WWE must pull the trigger this week and crown The Limitless One as the first double champion of the brand.
Cole has already won the NXT North American Championship in the past and has nothing left to prove in NXT as he has been the most successful Superstar on the brand. As for Lee, his career is just taking off and a huge victory over Cole will definitely allow him to become one of the hottest Superstars in WWE after just one match.
WWE must let Cole move onto other feuds, and with competitors running out on NXT, there can be no one better than Lee to defeat him and take his title.
#1 Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro become the new WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions
While Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro had been down and out for some time, it’s been great to see both the WWE Superstars back with some good bookings again. Few will argue the fact that they are among the best international wrestlers in the industry today, and they deserve much better booking than they were stuck in.
Last week, Nakamura defeated Kofi Kingston clean on SmackDown after delivering a Kinshasa that put him to sleep. Nakamura’s knee to the face has allowed both men to challenge for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, something that the duo should have held together long ago.
It’s never too late to push certain stars forward, and WWE must allow Cesaro and Nakamura to deliver a great performance against The New Day on SmackDown this week and win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
While New Day is undoubtedly the best tag team we’ve seen in WWE for a long time, Cesaro and Nakamura are two men who deserve titles around their waist for the hard work they put in and the talent they possess. Their victory could help the two stars gain some spotlight and pus forward before going on their singles run again.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
