5 things that must happen on RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week

Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2019 (TLC 2019) will go down as one PPV that pulled off some great matches and performances.

Even though none of the titles that were on the line changed hands at the event, we saw some great non-title matches, like the ones between Andrade and Humberto Carrillo, and Buddy Murphy and Aleister Black.

Apart from that, even though the WWE women's division got just a single match at the event, the company did allow Asuka, Kairi Sane, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch to headline the PPV for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

Now that the dust has settled, and the tables and chairs are back to where they belong, the company will be looking to develop some more rivalries heading into the new year with the Royal Rumble on the horizon.

With that in mind, there are some major things that the company must do on all three brands -- RAW, SmackDown, and NXT -- this week, in order to give the fans what they’re looking for.

In this article, we will look at the five things that WWE must do on the three brands this week.

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#5 Drew McIntyre enters the United States Championship scene

The Scottish Psychopath deserves to be next in line for the US Championship

Drew McIntyre has been waiting for his turn to get to the top of the RAW roster for far too long now, and it's time the company brings him back to prominence before all hope is lost.

Rey Mysterio won the United States Championship a couple of weeks ago and then successfully defended it against AJ Styles last week.

Now that the door is open for a new challenger to enter the picture, the company should give McIntyre the chance to outdo The Master of the 619.

Mysterio has an odd ability to put up great matches against big men, and we’ve seen him deliver stellar performances against Kane, The Big Show, and Brock Lesnar in the past.

Focusing on that, the company could build a great rivalry between the fan-favorite babyface Mysterio and the unforgiving heel McIntyre, which can surely get the fans’ attention.

With Styles now out of the US Championship picture, and Randy Orton seemingly turning face, it’ll be up to The Scottish Psychopath to lead the mid-card heels (and hopefully win the title) to rise on RAW and make a name for himself.

#4 Authors of Pain answer The Viking Raiders’ challenge

Authors of Pain need to gain more heat by taking down fan favorites

The Viking Raiders have been doing a great job at keeping the RAW Tag Team Championships firmly around their waists.

While they’ve only run through regular tag teams (and a bunch of jobbers) on the Red brand, they showed their true powers at Survivor Series, securing the only victory for RAW.

Now that the pair is out offering open challenges on RAW, we should see the challenge get answered by none other than the Authors of Pain (AoP). Last week, The Street Profits gave the Raiders their first tough match on RAW, and AoP have the potential to do one better.

Having aligned with Seth Rollins recently, the pair is set to make a huge impact on the Red brand going forward.

The former RAW Tag Team Champions should answer the challenge with Seth Rollins by their side, and give the Raiders a tough time until Kevin Owens shows up to attack Rollins and distract AoP to allow the current champions to retain their titles via disqualification or count-out.

This will help steam up the challenges on the Red brand, and also give the Raiders a real threat to look forward to in the weeks to come.

#3 Rhea Ripley wins the NXT Women’s Championship

The Nightmare's reign at the top should begin this week

Rhea Ripley has become a major part of NXT’s women’s division now. The former NXT UK Women’s Champion is now a front runner for the Black and Gold brand's Women’s Championship and is getting her shot at the title next week.

Shayna Baszler is the meanest woman in WWE today, and it will be tough for Ripley to overcome Baszler in the match. However, Ripley’s recent momentum could help her during the match.

She pinned Baszler at NXT TakeOver: WarGames to pick up the victory for her team, and then won the Survivor Series match for Team NXT the following night.

Since she is riding high on momentum, it seems like the perfect time for NXT to pull the trigger and allow her to take the title away from the two-time Champion.

Baszler is ready to move to RAW or SmackDown in 2020 and already seems to have a rivalry with Becky Lynch in the works.

Keeping that in mind, the company should not let either story go waste and allow Ripley to win the title to continue her current dream run and rise in the company while sending Baszler off to face Lynch early next year.

#2 Johnny Gargano’s return

Balor needs to repay for what he did to Johnny Wrestling

While Finn Balor may have overcome Tommaso Ciampa and Keith Lee last week, he has a mountain to climb this week.

The Prince of NXT will get his fourth match back in the Black & Gold brand against the defending Champion Adam Cole with the title on the line. This is sure to be a match that will rock Full Sail University to its core.

Keeping that in mind, there is another man who still has a score to settle with Balor. And that man is none other than Johnny Gargano. Balor attacked Gargano weeks after his return and that set up a massive rivalry between two of WWE’s best Superstars.

However, their match at TakeOver: WarGames could not take place due to the injuries the latter had received at the hands of the former.

If Johnny Wrestling is back to a full 100%, he must return this week to spoil the return party for Balor and attack him so he either loses his match or is unable to win the title.

Gargano’s return will pull Balor away from the NXT Championship scene while allowing him to have a huge match with the Superstar soon.

He needs to come back soon to work on the storyline that was laid between him and Balor, and this week feels like the perfect time for his return.

#1 Daniel Bryan lays down a challenge

Will Bryan take down The Fiend at Royal Rumble?

Daniel Bryan was 'missing' from SmackDown last week after ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt attacked him the week before and dragged him down the ring.

At TLC 2019, Bryan reemerged after Bray Wyatt defeated The Miz and tried to beat down The A-Lister with an oversized mallet.

Bryan returned with the same old look with which he’d started the decade, and attacked Wyatt, completely taking him out, which gave the fans some hope that the leader of the 'Yes! Movement' could end The Fiend’s reign of terror.

This week, we should watch Bryan take to the SmackDown ring on Friday Night along with The Miz and call out Wyatt.

This would allow WWE a chance to give the bearded underdog the power to direct the storyline and end it on his own terms. A match between the two men could then be scheduled for Royal Rumble, which will surely be a show-stealer.

The company had kept Bryan away from competing at TLC for a reason, and put in The Miz instead, and now they should focus on the remaining few weeks to Royal Rumble by restarting the Wyatt and Bryan storyline.