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WWE has upped its game since the beginning of 2021 and has delivered some good shows. WWE RAW is still in the building phase, but NXT and SmackDown have been knocking it out of the park week after week.
Last week’s WWE RAW saw Keith Lee and Sheamus team up before locking horns in the ring. The two men will likely continue their love-hate relationship this week. Randy Orton, on the other hand, challenged Triple H to a match and ended up paying the price late in the show.
The Dusty Rhodes Classic kicked off on WWE NXT, and fans watched six top teams compete for a chance to progress in the tournament. However, it was the newfound friendship between NXT Champion Finn Balor and The Undisputed ERA that caught the eye of the WWE Universe.
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WWE SmackDown had some big moments, where Roman Reigns shined with his villainous character once again. He wasn’t the only Superstar who impressed during the night, as Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Apollo Crews were the other big names who had a good show.
Will Crews bag the Intercontinental Championship this week? And who will progress in the Dusty Rhodes Classic? Let’s look at the 5 things that must happen on WWE RAW, SmackDown, and NXT this week.
#5 WWE must push Keith Lee and Sheamus as a tag team on RAW
Keith Lee and Sheamus got into a tag team match against The Miz and John Morrison on last week’s WWE RAW. Lee and Sheamus have made their differences apparent on a few occasions over the past few months, and it was interesting watching the two men compete together again.
The Celtic Warrior and The Limitless One were dominant throughout the match but had a fallout when Sheamus stole the tag to take down Morrison and pin him. While the two men celebrated their victory together, the honeymoon period did not last too long. Their celebration turned bitter and led to a match between the two men right away.
After a physical contest, Lee came out on top and was embraced by Sheamus once again following the match. The company seems to be building towards a tag team between the two men, and WWE RAW must continue to build them this week.
On this week’s show, WWE must give the pair another tag team match against a team like RETRIBUTION or Elias & Jaxson Ryker. Lee and Sheamus must be allowed to come out on top once again and show that they are ready to work together going forward on WWE RAW.
This will allow WWE RAW to build a massive makeshift tag team to strengthen the tag team division, with The New Day out of contention for some time. The two Superstars could earn RAW Tag Team Championships matches against The Hurt Business in the future, and stay out of the WWE Championship picture at the same time.
#4 Imperium must defeat The Lucha House Party on WWE NXT this week
The Dusty Rhodes Classic kicked off on WWE NXT last week, and The Grizzled Young Veterans managed to draw first blood. The debuting MSK made an impact in the tournament, while The Undisputed ERA managed to hold their own against Breezango.
This week, one of the biggest matches scheduled for the tournament will see NXT UK’s Imperium take on WWE RAW’s The Lucha House Party.
While The Lucha House Party hasn’t won any gold in WWE yet, the team of Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik has been impressive in recent weeks. Even though that has been the case, WWE must allow the former NXT Tag Team Champions to dominate and pick up the victory during the show.
Imperium has been impressive over the past year and is one of the favorites to win the tournament. Dorado and Metalik belong to RAW, and WWE must push the team on the brand as it has been doing well over there.
On the other hand, building Imperium by allowing them a victory over a RAW tag team will give them a boost on NXT.
#3 Finn Balor and The Undisputed ERA must take down Pete Dunne and the WWE NXT Tag Team Champions
The Undisputed ERA likes to remain at the top of WWE NXT, but it seems like they have some competition now that Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan have gotten close together. Last week on NXT, Dunne and his partners arrived to attack the NXT Champion, Finn Balor.
The Undisputed ERA helped Balor survive the attack, and The Prince returned the favor later on in the night. Since Dunne and his men managed to do some damage to Kyle O’Reilly and Balor, they must get ready for some payback this week.
On this week’s NXT, WWE must allow Balor and The Undisputed ERA to orchestrate an attack on Dunne and his men. While the rivalry between Dunne and Balor is already shaping up, it seems like WWE is planning to build rivalries between the NXT Tag Team Champions and The Undisputed ERA.
With the Dusty Rhodes Classic going on, WWE can build this storyline until the finals of the tournament when The Undisputed ERA can come out on top and challenge the Champions for the NXT Tag Team titles.
#2 WWE SmackDown must tease a divide between Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso stole Shinsuke Nakamura’s opportunity a couple of weeks ago when they beat him down on WWE SmackDown. Nakamura was left helpless, and many fans questioned as to where Cesaro was when his tag team partner was getting robbed of a big opportunity.
Last week on SmackDown, Nakamura arrived alone to compete against Uso. However, Cesaro entered the arena a little while later to join the commentary team and also show some support to The King of Strong Style.
The Swiss Cyborg furnished an excuse that the arena was too big for him to come out to help Nakamura in time. While Cesaro might be telling the truth, it’s also possible that he’s jealous of The Artist’s recent rise.
While Nakamura fought a heel on SmackDown last week, Cesaro competed against a pure babyface in the form of Daniel Bryan. Keeping in mind how the two men carried themselves on SmackDown last week, WWE must tease a divide between them on this week’s show.
The creatives could show the difference in the two men’s characters to cause a rift between them backstage as Nakamura seems to have turned face, while Cesaro is still playing a heel.
This could allow WWE to build a big rivalry between them sooner than later on SmackDown before Nakamura is allowed to compete for the Universal Championship.
#1 Jey Uso must interfere in the match between Apollo Crews and Big E on WWE SmackDown
One of the biggest segments on last week’s WWE SmackDown saw Apollo Crews join Roman Reigns in his locker room. It seemed like Crews had approached The Tribal Chief to gain some knowledge and also get in his good books.
Later in the night, Crews defeated Sami Zayn and then got in the face of the WWE Intercontinental Champion, Big E. The two Superstars will collide on the upcoming episode of SmackDown with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.
Sparks flew the last time these two men met in the ring, and after their first match finished in a draw, Big E easily defeated Crews in a rematch right after. This week on SmackDown, WWE must allow Crews to have a better showing against Big E during their match.
WWE must also tease an alliance between Crews and Reigns by allowing Jey Uso to appear and try to help Crews win the match. Even if Big E is allowed to retain the title, the angle will help fuel the fire for a future rivalry between the former member of The New Day and The Tribal Chief.
