5 biggest surprises from WWE this week (18, 19, & 20 February)

After the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view on Sunday, WWE put the pedal to the metal and went on full throttle to give us an exciting week filled with surprises.

Even though the two main brands enjoy the longest runtimes and usually deliver the best spots, NXT did not fall behind at all and delivered a punch throughout the week itself.

From surprising debuts, titles changing hands, to The Miz’s public apology, and Ruby Riott’s second chance at defeating Ronda Rousey to win the Raw Women’s Champion, there was not a moment that went by on this week’s shows that was not entertaining and gave fans their money’s worth in entertainment.

After watching all three shows, we have compiled a list of the 5 biggest surprises from WWE this week. Take a look below and share your favorite moments from this week in the comments below!

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#5 The Women’s Tag Team Champions show up on NXT

Sasha and Bayley returned home this week

After much fanfare, WWE had an Elimination Chamber tag team match to crown the inaugural WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. The titles were won by Sasha Banks and Bayley after a long and tiring match.

Unlike the men’s tag team titles, which are separate for each brand, the women’s tag team title will be the same for all the brands.

While we believed that the titles would be defended on the two main brands Raw and SmackDown Live, WWE surprised us all by having the newly crowned champions make an appearance on NXT and announcing that the titles will be defended on all three brands.

This is a great step, as the titles will most likely become the first to be defended on all three brands of WWE. The step also makes us believe that NXT is even closer now to become the third main brand of WWE soon.

#4 Mandy Rose defeated Asuka

Asuka has had a rocky time since she moved to the main roster. After a superb time in NXT, she was destined to great things on the main roster but fell victim to Charlotte’s push, and then got lost in the mid-card during the rise of Becky Lynch.

Finally, after winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2018, Asuka was thought to regain the ground she lost.

However, she was surprisingly defeated by Mandy Rose on SmackDown which could be seen as a good move to give mid-card wrestlers a better chance, but it puts a question mark on the Empress of Tomorrow’s dominance in the past.

Even though Lacey Evans proved as a distraction which caused Asuka to lose the match, it does not make her loss any less surprising as WWE has kept her hidden even after she won the title due to the feud between Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and a loss to a mid-card superstar will surely dent her image.

#3 Kofi Kingston finally gets his chance

A lot has happened on SmackDown in the past month, and one of the major points have been the newcomer Mustafa Ali’s injury, which has led to the rise of the veteran Kofi Kingston.

Kofi replaced Ali in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship, and prior to the event, put on a crazy performance in a gauntlet match which made the WWE Universe believe in him.

After being unsuccessful in the Elimination Chamber match and just falling short, Kofi pinned Daniel Bryan on this week’s episode of SmackDown during a six-man tag team match which included Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton.

After the match, Shane McMahon announced Kingston will challenge Bryan for the WWE title at Fastlane much to the excitement of the fans.

The announcement that, after 11 years in WWE, Kingston will headline a pay-per-view event in a singles title match ended the show on a high, and have given fans a reason to believe in the WWE management once again.

#2 NXT superstars dominated the main roster

NXT dominated Raw and SmackDown this week

After Elimination Chamber, one of the biggest surprises we received was the introduction of four top male NXT superstars on the main roster. These four debuting NXT superstars took the main roster by storm and left little doubt that NXT has turned into the third parallel brand for WWE.

Ricochet teamed up with Finn Balor to defeat Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa defeated Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival, while Aleister Black made Elias fade to Black on Raw to clean sweep the results on the show.

The next night, the four men appeared on SmackDown Live and took the blue brand by storm too. Ricochet defeated the forgotten Eric Young, while Ciampa and Gargano once again emerged victorious by defeating former tag team champions The Bar. To round up the results, Black defeated Andrade in an epic match to completely take over the main roster!

The emergence of the NXT superstars and their victories definitely took the WWE Universe by surprise and the move was a welcome one.

#1 Velveteen Dream became the NXT North American Champion

Johnny Gargano competed in his third consecutive televised match for the week when he took on Velveteen Dream to defend his NXT North American Championship.

Velveteen Dream had cashed in the title opportunity he’d earned by way of his victory in the Worlds Collide tournament The timing seemed perfect as Velveteen was able to work on the champion and emerge victorious at the end of the night, winning his first championship with the WWE.

There is no Superstar in WWE more capable of going to the ring and delivering a show-stealing match on any given night than Johnny Gargano. However, Velveteen Dream comes in at a close second and the surprise victory for the young superstar will prove to be a great move in the long term for the company.

It could also result in Gargano being free of any titles as WWE may be planning to move the superstar to the main roster sooner than later.

Edited by Gabby Duran