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WWE RAW opened up with a message from Randy Orton to ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt. Orton was attacked by Alexa Bliss last week and was left with serious burns to his face. WWE is doing well to build on the rivalry between Orton and Wyatt while keeping the two men apart, leading to the Royal Rumble.
Ricochet suffered a loss during last week’s WWE RAW, and fans could see WWE give The One and Only another shot at entering the Men’s Rumble match. That’s not all, as the new and more twisted side to Alexa Bliss could be further tuned during this week’s WWE RAW in time for the Women’s Rumble match.
Karrion Kross squashed another Superstar on WWE NXT, while Finn Balor found a partner in The Undisputed ERA’s Kyle O’Reilly. Fans also got to watch a couple of big victories for The Lucha House Party and the team of Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro.
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WWE SmackDown picked up the action right from where it left off from last week as Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman opened the show. Heyman got himself into a match against Adam Pearce, and The Tribal Chief managed to get back at the WWE Official. Billie Kay, on the other hand, tried to become a part of The Riott Squad once again.
Let’s look at the five things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.
#5 WWE RAW - Ricochet must get another opportunity to enter the 2021 WWE Royal Rumble
WWE Superstars have been declaring their entry into the 2021 Royal Rumble since the turn of the year. A few Superstars did so after strong showings during matches, while others did in backstage segments, interviews, or through social media.
A couple of weeks ago on WWE RAW, Drew Gulak, who is an incredible wrestler, was denied entry into the Royal Rumble match after he lost a match against AJ Styles, who has already made his way into the Rumble match. Last week, Ricochet suffered a similar fate after he delivered a great performance against Styles, but lost the match.
While Gulak’s exclusion from the Rumble will be surprising, Ricochet’s absence will truly be shocking. Ricochet was instrumental in Brock Lesnar’s elimination from the Royal Rumble match last year.
On this week’s show, WWE must right the wrong and allow Ricochet another chance to qualify for the 2021 Royal Rumble match. WWE must book Ricochet in a match against Styles or some other Superstar on WWE RAW to give him a chance to qualify, and The One and Only must deliver.
Ricochet is a former United States Champion who can give fans some memorable spots during the Rumble match. Keeping that in mind, his inclusion into the 30-man match can help the company build a better show.
#4 WWE RAW - Alexa Bliss must build on her character en route to the 2021 WWE Royal Rumble
Alexa Bliss returned to compete in the WWE ring for the first time last week since November 2020. While fans expected Bliss to show some ring rust, she was able to overcome the WWE RAW Women’s Champion once ‘The Fiend’ possessed her mid-match.
The Goddess was able to take down Asuka with ease and leave a big mark on the RAW brand. Bliss is doing incredibly well to carry the RAW brand and the rivalry between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt in the absence of ‘The Fiend’.
This week on WWE RAW, the company must further build on the new, dark side of Bliss. Last week, the lights went out mid-match and a transformed Bliss emerged once the lights came back on. However, even though Bliss has announced her entry into the Royal Rumble, she is not a favorite to win the Women’s Rumble match.
WWE could fine-tune Bliss’ new character just before the Royal Rumble so that The Goddess can use her mid-match transformation to possibly win the Women’s Rumble match and challenge Asuka at WrestleMania 37.
#3 Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan must defeat Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly on WWE NXT
One of the biggest segments on WWE NXT last week saw Finn Balor barge into William Regal’s office and demand a match against the NXT Tag Team Champions. Regal accepted Balor’s demand on the condition that he’d find a partner to compete with him.
Balor later approached The Undisputed ERA in the locker room and offered Kyle O’Reilly an olive branch. He asked his former challenger to team up with him to compete against Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
On next week’s NXT, the WWE Universe will watch the dream team of Balor and KOR compete against the Tag Team Champions. While The Prince and KOR will have the upper hand in the match, keeping in mind their recent performances, WWE must allow Lorcan and Burch to pick up the victory.
WWE could have Pete Dunne interfere in the match and cause the newly formed alliance to lose, leading to a bigger match between Balor and Dunne on the upcoming TakeOver event. On the other hand, a victory for the NXT Tag Team Champions will allow the duo to come across as a dominant team.
#2 The Grizzled Young Veterans must get ahead in the WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Classic
The Dusty Rhodes Classic has been the highlight of WWE NXT for a few weeks now. After the men’s tournament kicked off, the first-ever Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic got started last week.
The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Ever Rise a couple of weeks ago to progress in the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Leon Ruff and KUSHIDA, on the other hand, defeated The Way’s Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory on last week’s NXT.
While Ruff and KUSHIDA have formed a new alliance in WWE, the two are doing fairly well in the ring together. They will compete against the formidable Grizzled Young Veterans in the Dusty Rhodes Classic on this week’s NXT.
WWE must allow The GYV to get ahead in the tournament as they are the more established team. The duo could have won last year’s tournament had it not been for the makeshift team of Riddle and Pete Dunne.
Allowing The GYV to win and progress will give NXT a chance to build a better tag team division while freeing up KUSHIDA to target Gargano for the NXT North American Championship.
#1 Sami Zayn must demand an Intercontinental Title match on WWE SmackDown this week
Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens were the bright stars of last week’s WWE SmackDown. However, Sami Zayn also had a great performance that helped lift the entire mood of the show. The Conspiracy Theorist protested on the stage for some time on SmackDown, as he believed he was robbed of the IC title.
Later on, during the WWE Intercontinental Championship match between Big E and Apollo Crews, Zayn interfered and attacked both men to cause a no-contest. While fans were looking forward to a great match between Big E and Crews, Zayn did not allow the two men to compete for long.
Zayn has been doing a phenomenal job in the mid-card, and WWE must allow him to enter the Intercontinental Championship scene once again. The Conspiracy Theorist must be allowed to confront Big E and Crews this week and ask the Champion to give him a shot at the title first.
This will allow an entertaining character to get in the rivalry and possibly make an interesting Triple Threat Match at the WWE Royal Rumble.
