The Road to WrestleMania has filled up our wrestling calenders as we are getting some nonstop action. The build is huge, and with Elimination Chamber the last pay-per-view before the big event, all three brands will look to stream roll towards the Show of Shows.
The biggest segment we are looking forward to this week will see the return of The Rated-R Superstar Edge on RAW, as we can’t wait to see how he will reply to Randy Orton.
Apart from that, NXT will look to build towards their next TakeOver event in Tampa Bay, while NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley has her eyes fixed on her big WrestleMania 36 match against ‘The Queen’ Charlotte Flair.
SmackDown will also have some fun segments, and it will be interesting to see how the brand builds towards the next SmackDown Women’s Championship feud after Bayley’s title defense against Naomi at Super ShowDown.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things that must happen on WWE’s three brands this week as the build towards WrestleMania picks up the pace.
#5 Ricochet must suffer another setback
Ricochet was once on the top of the mountain as he was pushed into some top rivalries over the past few months. His time to shine came when he was booked in a match against Brock Lesnar for Super ShowDown, and fans expected him to perform as well as many other smaller more agile athletes have done in the past against The Beast.
However, they were gravely mistaken as Lesnar squashed Ricochet in under two minutes, causing a lot of embarrassment to the young Superstar. The following week on RAW, Ricochet took on Riddick Moss for the 24/7 Championship, but he was unable to defeat the lesser-known Superstar which was an even bigger embarrassment to him.
This week, the creative booked him in another match with a mid-carder which Ricochet should lose, causing him to turn bitter.
This could lead to a perfect heel turn from the Superstar and possibly give him a reason to join The Monday Night Messiah, Seth Rollins.
Since Ricochet is without any storylines or feuds at the moment, joining the heelish faction of Rollins could work wonders for him as he can work alongside Buddy Murphy and the Authors of Pain.
#4 The Rated-R Superstar states that he’ll fight through the injury
Randy Orton shocked the entire WWE Universe when he attacked the returning Edge on the episode of RAW after the Royal Rumble. It didn’t just end there, as not only did Orton almost cost Edge his career once again, but he also beat down and almost ended the career of his close friend Matt Hardy in the weeks that followed.
Last week, Orton went too far after he attacked Edge’s wife Beth Pheonix, and once again became the biggest heel in the history of sports entertainment.
This week, we will watch The Rated-R Superstar return to Monday Night RAW and address the WWE Universe. Creative must book an emotional segment where Edge talks about how the doctors claim his career is over once again and he can’t get in the ring to fight. He should then announce that he won’t pay any attention to them but will end The Apex Predator’s career.
With WrestleMania less than a month away, Edge must challenge Orton to a match with special stipulations such as a Steel Chairs Match or Career vs Career Match. Not only will this allow the fans to get behind the Superstar and the match, but it also raises the stakes, making it one of the most anticipated matches of the year.
#3 The Grizzled Young Veterans cause havoc again
Last week on NXT, The Undisputed Era returned to action and picked up a victory, after which they decided to challenge The BroserWeights for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle came out to respond to the challenge, but they were attacked by The Grizzled Young Veterans who are out to make a statement of their own.
This week, we will see The BroserWeights defend their title against the two men they won the title from in the first place. This will surely be an exciting clash for the fans, as both teams are the best in the company at the moment.
However, the brand should allow The Grizzled Young Veterans to make an appearance and possibly even interfere to influence the outcome of the match. We must see them either cause disqualification or better yet, cause the Undisputed Era to lose the clash.
This would lead to a clash between them and the Undisputed Era to crown the #1 contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championships, as it seems like the company is ready to invest in The Grizzled Young Veterans again.
#2 Keith Lee and Cameron Grimes ends without a result
Cameron Grimes and Dominik Dijakovic battled in a high stakes match on NXT a couple of weeks ago. While Dijakovic seemed worn out from his battle with Keith Lee earlier, he still gave a good fight to the heel.
An interference and attack from Damian Priest were enough to knock the big man down and allow Grimes to pick up a tainted victory.
Last week on NXT, Grimes was brave enough to stand face to face with an even bigger man, Keith Lee. The NXT North American Champion accepted Grimes’ challenge for a Championship match, and the two will battle against each other this week.
The Limitless One will be battling Grimes in this match, but his mind will be fixed on Damian Priest who also wants to get his hands on his Championship.
With that in mind, creative must not make Grimes lose quickly in this rivalry but instead allow Priest to attack both men to draw a no-contest.
This will let them build towards a bigger match, possibly a Triple Threat, where they can sacrifice Grimes to Lee once again to protect Priest and let the rivalry between The Limitless One and Priest continue to TakeOver: Tampa Bay.
#1 Cracks begin to form between the heels
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve watched Bayley and Sasha Banks take on Naomi and Lacey Evans in several matches.
While Naomi and Evans were able to triumph in the first encounter, the SmackDown Women’s Champion and The Boss stole the second match and were extremely proud of themselves.
With WrestleMania 36 approaching, Bayley seems to be without a storyline or clear challenger for her most prized possession. With that in mind, the company must begin the build for her big match starting from the coming SmackDown.
We should watch The Lady confront Bayley and Banks backstage and demand a SmackDown Women’s Championship match against The Hugger. Instead, Bayley must laugh her off and then offer her to fight Banks first and if she can defeat The Boss then she can come for her title.
This could make Banks feel bad about Bayley’s statement and make it seem like The Hugger thinks of her as a weaker competitor. The cracks could then begin to form between them as WrestleMania draws nearer, as a clash between Bayley and Banks at The Show of Shows will be far greater than a match between Bayley and Evans.