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Damian Priest pinned Drew McIntyre on WWE RAW to pick up one of the biggest victories of his career. Priest’s Open Challenge for the United States Championship was answered by Sheamus and McIntyre, and The Archer of Infamy retained his title on the show.
Later, on RAW, Randy Orton and Riddle defeated MVP and Bobby Lashley in a RAW Tag Team Championship match. Orton ended the WWE Champion’s night with an RKO.
Ilja Dragunov made his first appearance on WWE NXT following his victory over WALTER at TakeOver 36. Dragunov announced that the era of The Ring General was over, and it was the time of the Czar.
Meanwhile, Tommaso Ciampa pinned Ridge Holland clean to pick up a big win. After the match, MSK helped Ciampa take out Pete Dunne and his men to close the show. MSK will defend their NXT Tag Team Championships against Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch on Tuesday night.
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Becky Lynch refused to face Bianca Belair for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship on Friday. Sonya Deville later informed The Man that she will have to defend her title against Belair at Extreme Rules.
Meanwhile, The Usos weakened Finn Balor before his match against Roman Reigns. After a hard-fought battle, Reigns choked out Balor to retain his Universal Championship. Will the result of the match bring out The Demon King in Finn Balor?
Take a look at the five things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5. AJ Styles and Omos must win the Tag Team Battle Royal on WWE RAW
Seven tag teams will collide on WWE RAW with an opportunity to challenge RK-Bro for the tag titles. RAW’s tag team roster was somewhat thin not too long ago, but the brand has forged together a few big names to make formidable tag teams.
Mustafa Ali and Mansoor have been doing a decent job on RAW as a team. While they have not been on the same page for some time, it looks like they’ve found a formula to work together.
Meanwhile, The Viking Raiders were once the most dominant tag teams on RAW. Erik and Ivar have defeated some of the biggest names in the business, and they will have an edge in this contest.
The New Day stands a good chance at winning the Battle Royal and getting yet another shot at the RAW Tag Team Championships. T-Bar and Mace could also turn their fortunes around and finally get to the top of the division.
However, WWE must let AJ Styles and Omos eliminate the other six teams and challenge RK-Bro for the titles again. Even though the two teams have already competed, it looks like WWE can afford to book another big match between them for Extreme Rules before ending the rivalry.
Styles and Omos currently have no other assignments, and it will be a good way to keep the two top superstars busy for an upcoming pay-per-view.
#4. Shayna Baszler must cost Nia Jax her championship match on WWE RAW
Last week on RAW, Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax competed in a rather odd contest. The two women started the match regularly, but things got pretty messy by the end. Jax surprised the WWE Universe by defeating Flair clean after a decent contest.
The outcome of last week’s match has forced WWE officials to give The Irresistible Force a RAW Women’s Championship match on Monday. Shayna Baszler will likely accompany Jax to the ring for her big match on RAW.
The two women will put on a good show, but things must end a little differently this time. WWE must allow Baszler to distract or attack Jax during the contest and cost her the RAW Women’s Championship opportunity.
WWE has been teasing a divide between the former Women’s Tag Team Champions for a long time now, and it would be the perfect way to turn their friendship into a rivalry.
The outcome will protect Jax from a clean loss and give WWE a chance to build towards a big singles match between The Irresistible Force and Baszler at Extreme Rules.
#3. Santos Escobar must defeat Carmelo Hayes with the help of Legado del Fantasma on WWE NXT
WWE NXT Breakout Tournament winner Carmelo Hayes was pumped up on last week’s show. Hayes was asked which championship he wanted to target after winning the contract.
When he mentioned the NXT North American Championship, Santos Escobar came along to challenge Hayes to a match on this week’s show. Escobar has had his eyes on Isaiah “Swerve” Scott’s championship for some time, and he is not ready to let the newcomer jump the line.
On this week’s NXT, Escobar and Hayes will likely put on one of the best matches of the night. WWE must allow Hayes to come close to victory before Legado del Fantasma can help their leader pick up a tainted win.
The angle will protect Hayes while giving Escobar a chance to challenge Scott at an upcoming show. Hayes should not be allowed to pick up a victory over the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion since his rivalry with Scott is red-hot at the moment.
Hayes could hold back for some time and challenge Escobar for the title once he wins it from Swerve.
#2. MSK must retain their WWE NXT Tag Team Championships after defeating Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch
MSK has held the WWE NXT Tag Team Championships for some time now. However, Wes Lee and Nash Carter have not featured on NXT as regularly as most fans would like them to.
The duo will defend their titles against Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch on the upcoming episode of NXT. Lorcan and Burch were previous champions but were forced to relinquish their titles after Burch suffered an injury at the hands of Karrion Kross.
Pete Dunne is looking to make his faction stronger and better, and he will likely accompany Lorcan and Burch out for the match along with Ridge Holland. This could provide Lorcan and Burch the unfair advantage they might need to win back the titles.
However, WWE must allow MSK to overcome the odds and stay in the game to pick up the win and retain their titles. Fans could watch Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher come out to attack Dunne and Holland during the contest.
The segment could help build a massive eight-man tag team contest that could light up NXT on a big stage.
#1. Seth Rollins must defeat Edge on WWE SmackDown
Seth Rollins has gone down an even darker route following his loss to Edge at WWE SummerSlam. The superstar seems to have added another layer to his character and it will likely help him going forward.
On last week’s SmackDown, Rollins and Cesaro competed in a big match. Late in the match, The Drip King attacked Cesaro with a steel chair and then applied a crossface with a part of the chair.
Edge ran down to make the save and send Rollins running. The two men will meet at Madison Square Garden for a rematch on Friday.
The Rated-R Superstar has already defeated Rollins clean once, but it looks like he will not stay down for long. WWE must allow The Drip King to use some unlawful tactics to defeat Edge on SmackDown this week.
Rollins must continue to punish the Hall of Famer following the contest, drawing out Big E to make the save. This could end Rollins’ recent string of losses in big matches and give him a new rivalry to look forward to.
The angle will keep Big E and Rollins busy in a top rivalry and away from the Universal Championship picture for some time.
