There is plenty going on in the crazy world of WWE right now.
With the brand split on July 19th, which looks set to shake up the entire company, Smackdown going live and the upcoming Cruiserweight Classic have also added to the buzz.
Not to mention next week’s huge NXT match between Finn Bálor and Shinsuke Nakamura, which is widely expected to be Bálor’s last match in NXT before coming up to the main roster.
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It’s safe to say there is a lot for the fans to take in currently, maybe too much. Therefore this article will look at the 5 highlights from this week from across the entire WWE, including some things you may have missed.
#5 #BeatUpJohnCena
The AJ Styles vs John Cena feud continued on this week’s Monday Night Raw with a promo between The Club and ‘the Face that runs the Place’.
In what was probably the most entertaining segment of this week’s lacklustre Independence Day edition of Raw, Styles and The Club talked about how much fun it is to beat up John Cena.
So much fun in fact that they plan on doing it week after week after week, they want to beat him up on Halloween and Christmas and for many more months to come.
This was a fun segment which led to a brilliant hashtag, that was trending on Twitter at one point, which was #BeatUpJohnCena.
It also resulted in Enzo & Cass coming to Cena’s aid and a six-man tag match between them and The Club being made for Battleground.
#4 Rollins proves that he is ‘The Man’
Another great promo from this week’s Raw came courtesy of Seth Rollins. After defeating Dolph Ziggler, Rollins grabbed a mic, hopped up on the announce table, where Dean Ambrose was sat after being a guest commentator on the match, and cut an excellent heel promo on Ambrose, Roman Reigns and the WWE Championship.
Seth Rollins was his usual whiny, arrogant self but made some great points which are hard for anyone to argue with. He is still demanding that Roman Reigns be removed from the Triple Threat match at Battleground due to his Wellness Policy violation and who can say he shouldn’t?
Fair play to WWE for allowing Reigns’ suspension to be a factor in the build to this match as it would have been stupid to ignore it, it also blurs the line between fiction and reality which makes for great television that will hopefully continue in the following weeks.
#3 Will The New Day survive?
The Wyatt Family vs The New Day feud looked like an odd pairing on paper at first but the story of Xavier Woods in this rivalry has made for some interesting television, that was highlighted more than ever on this week’s Raw.
The New Day’s ‘power of positivity’ message should have been mismatched against the dark realities of The Wyatt Family and many would have expected all three members to fear Bray Wyatt’s men.
However, that has not been the case and Kofi & Big E have been their usual selves by mocking The Wyatts, whereas Xavier Woods has been a little more reluctant in provoking them.
After Bray Wyatt invited them to The Wyatt Family’s compound next week and Kofi & Big E accepted without a moment’s hesitation, Woods went against his allies and warned them that they don’t understand the danger they are in and unless they start taking this seriously he is unsure whether The New Day can survive.
This is the first time there has been any kind of dissension between The New Day members and now that their Tag Team Title reign legitimately seems under threat, it will be interesting to see how this story plays out in the lead up to Battleground.
#2 2 out of 3 falls match
Arguably the match of the week came from WWE’s NXT brand in a 2 out of 3 falls match between The Revival and American Alpha for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
The Tag Team division has been thriving on this brand for a while and these two teams are the best they have to offer, playing off each other perfectly. The Revival’s old school heel tactics matched up against American Alpha’s contagious energy has lead to some classic bouts between the two rival teams and this week’s match was no different.
The match had a big-time feel and lived up to the billing and is certainly worth checking out for those of you who haven’t seen it.
#1 Lesnar’s SummerSlam opponent
Big news coming out of WWE this week was the announcement of Brock Lesnar’s opponent at this year’s Summerslam event.
And the man he will be facing will be none other than the returning Randy Orton.
This is certainly a big match on paper but question mark’s remain on how they will be able to build to this match with neither man currently appearing on WWE television. Recent reports have suggested that Lesnar has very few dates remaining on his current contract and is unlikely to be seen in a WWE ring until his bout against the Viper on August 21st.
Presumably, Randy Orton will be back sooner rather than later and it will probably be left to him and Paul Heyman to build to their blockbuster match, which isn’t a terrible idea and could lead to some intense and intriguing promos between the pair of them.
It’s certainly a gamble for WWE to announce this match prior to Lesnar’s UFC return this weekend and they will be desperately hoping that ‘The Beast Incarnate’ doesn’t pick up any injury that will rule him out of this Summer’s big event.
