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The year 2020 has not been a conventional one by any means for the world and it's been no different for WWE. Vince McMahon and co. have had to deal with some serious bottlenecks in their bid to bring regular programming to the WWE Universe week in and week out.
Irrespective of what's happened in the last few months, WWE has managed to churn some great storylines. The build-up to Edge vs. Randy Orton and the eventual match at WrestleMania 36 was brilliant. So was the crowning of Drew McIntyre as WWE Champion.
WWE gets 'creative'
For what it's worth, the prevalent situation has made the WWE thinktank bring their A-Game to the table and as a result, we've seen some brilliant cinematic matches such as the Boneyard Match come to life.
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Given that we're almost halfway through 2020, we're looking ahead and pondering about what WWE might have in store for us in the coming months. So without further ado, let's look at the five feuds that the company might be planning for the second half of this year.
#5 Otis vs AJ Styles
Let's start with a feud that I'm really sure will happen sometime this year because all the elements are simply in place.
If you watched the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match this year, you know that Otis winning the briefcase was just an instance of being in the right place at the right time. AJ Styles was the one who had actually retrieved the briefcase but fumbled it as it dropped into the hands of the Heavy Machinery member. That's a storyline for you right there.
Many viewers at the time, including some of the folks at Sportskeeda, had raised their eyebrows about the technicality of this win for Otis. So when the time is right, expect WWE to pit The Phenomenal One against Otis with the Money in the Bank contract on the line. The fact that Styles was traded to SmackDown from RAW makes this feud easier for WWE to put together.
Both men currently have their hands full. Otis is teaming with his peach Mandy Rose to deal with Dolph Ziggler and Sonya Deville while Styles is trying to win the Intercontinental Championship for the first time. This is why this angle seems more plausible a couple of months from now. Moreover, a feud with The Phenomenal will certainly improve Otis' stock.
#4 Andrade vs Kevin Owens
After missing over a month of WWE programming, Kevin Owens returned to RAW a couple of weeks ago and did so with an iteration of the Kevin Owens Show. The guests that night were Zelina Vega and her associates but there was a late addition to the party in the form of Apollo Crews.
KO teamed up with Crews later that night to take on Andrade and Angel Garza who they went on to beat. Apollo Crews would then challenge El Idolo successfully for his United States Championship. So there's a good chance Andrade might have a bone to pick with WWE's Prizefighter for putting the whole ordeal in motion.
KO is already dealing with another one of Zelina Vega's associates in Angel Garza, whom he surprisingly lost to on last week's RAW. There's a great chance that this win might just be to push the Lethal Lothario into the US title picture while Andrade moves up the card on WWE TV. Feuding with Owens would allow the latter to do just that.
#3 Asuka vs Shayna Baszler
Many members of the WWE Universe expected Shayna Baszler to claim the RAW Women's Championship from Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36 but that never materialized. Since The Man relinquished her title due to pregnancy, The Queen of Spades has been speaking harshly about her which I believe is WWE's way of establishing the latter as a ruthless heel.
While Baszler is not involved in the title picture as of now, we saw tensions between her and the current RAW Women's Champion Asuka in the build-up to Money in the Bank. At the same time, you know that The Queen of Spades will be involved in the title scene again sooner or later due to the dominant nature of her arrival on RAW.
Asuka squaring off with Shayna Baszler will actually be a huge match-up and WWE might want to save that for a bigger occasion, one of the ilk of SummerSlam perhaps. There's a great chance that Nia Jax – Asuka's challenger at Backlash – is just another bump in the road for The Empress of Tomorrow before she meets her real match in Baszler later this year.
#2 Seth Rollins vs Murphy
Seth Rollins finally seems to be getting a hold of things of RAW. The Monday Night Messiah has found himself another disciple in Austin Theory and will be hosting the retirement ceremony of WWE's Ultimate Underdog Rey Mysterio next week on the Red brand.
But if you've seen WWE programming for long enough, you know that sooner or later, Rollins' disciple will turn on him. The one more likely to do so at the time is Murphy.
The Best Kept Secret of WWE was amiss during The Messiah's match against Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank when he was expected to play a pivotal role. Perhaps that just wasn't some lazy booking by WWE Creative but a part of a storyline that the company is saving for the future.
We've already seen a few moments of miscommunication between Murphy and Rollins such as the tag team match the duo had against Mysterio and Aleister Black where the disciple had to take a lot of beating before The Messiah finally sprang into action. Similar incidents could cause things to reach a fever pitch with Murphy eventually betraying Rollins.
#1 Bobby Lashley vs Brock Lesnar
While this may come across as a case of me being hopeful, WWE has actually dropped hints as to why this dream match might finally come to fruition later this year.
After months of mediocre booking by WWE Creative, Bobby Lashley finally seems to have found his dominant self yet again on RAW. While I don't expect him to beat Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, I certainly expect him to put up a valiant effort, one that should be good enough to reinstate his credibility as a tough opponent.
Vince McMahon has already mentioned how WWE ratings are getting affected due to the absence of Brock Lesnar so there's a great chance the company might want to bring him back as soon as possible.
Now, the WWE Universe won't be too interested to see Lesnar in the title picture once again, so just how can Vince and co. bring back The Beast Incarnate? By putting him up against The All Mighty of course! Additionally, no title will be needed to set this clash of the heavyweights in motion.
