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

The year’s coming to an end, but the rivalries on RAW, NXT, and SmackDown are just getting warmed up for next year. While SmackDown already had its final episode of the year last week, RAW and NXT still have one chance to end the year on a high.

WWE crowned a new United States Champion for the RAW brand at a Live Event in Madison Square Garden, and we could witness some new challengers emerge for the title in the coming year.

Apart from that, the Universal Championship match for the Royal Rumble is set in stone, and now it will be up to the Blue brand to build more hype around it this week.

NXT has been continuing its streak of great shows, and we could witness the new NXT Women’s Champion have her first title defense this week. In this article, we'll look at the 5 things that must happen on the three brands of WWE this week.

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#5 Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio take on Authors of Pain

Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio will be seeking retribution

Some weeks ago, Seth Rollins showed his heel colors to the WWE Universe once again, as he beat down a helpless Rey Mysterio along with his allies, Akam and Rezar. Before that, the trio had already beat up Kevin Owens and did so again last week on RAW to send a message to The Prizefighter.

Last week, Rollins was close to losing against Mysterio in a United States Championship match, but Authors of Pain intervened to end the match. This week, we should watch Mysterio and Owens team up to issue a challenge to the Authors of Pain.

This could help build the storyline while protecting a match between Rollins and the two men. During the match, WWE should allow Rollins to interfere, stopping it without a result and the three heels beating up the faces.

To end the segment, Samoa Joe should intervene to even out the odds, helping Owens and Mysterio send the heels packing. This will not only allow Joe to fully turn babyface, but it would also help him set up a grand storyline, returning in a big rivalry.

#4 Humberto Carrillo challenges Andrade

Andrade won the United States Championship after defeating Rey Mysterio

A couple of weeks ago, Andrade attacked Humberto Carrillo during the end of a Gauntlet Match, ending the encounter in a no-contest. The match was scheduled to pick the #1 contender to Rey Mysterio’s United States Championship. The attack left Carrillo unconscious, and he had to be stretchered out of the arena.

On December 26, at a WWE Live Event in Madison Square Garden, Andrade defeated Rey Mysterio to win the United States Championship.

Carrillo won’t be too happy with the result and Andrade’s success, so he'll be looking to get revenge sooner than later. This week, he should attack Andrade and challenge him to a United States Championship match either on the same night or next week.

This will not only allow Andrade to get his first challenger right away, but it'll also help build Carrillo into a formidable title contender. They could carry on their rivalry throughout January and have their final match for the title at the Royal Rumble.

#3 Austin Theory scores his first victory

Austin Theory made an excellent TV debut last week

On the Christmas Special of NXT last week, the NXT Universe was in for a treat as Roderick Strong was scheduled for a North American Championship match.

Even though fans were sure that a strong challenger would walk in to face the Champion, it was a surprise to watch Austin Theory walk in to accept the challenge. We were treated to a superb match between Strong and Theory on the episode, and the Champion managed to make Theory tap out.

This week, we should watch NXT continue with Theory and bring him in to issue an open challenge of his own. This will allow a challenger to step up to the young man and give him another chance to shine on the NXT stage.

NXT will be looking to build Theory, considering that his first match for the brand was against a top Champion, and it will be great to watch him face a few of the heels on NXT.

This will enable Theory to go up the ranks quickly and remain in the eyes of the NXT Universe. The Black & Gold brand did an amazing job at giving him a good first match and a loss to ensure he doesn’t get caught up in a winning streak, and now they can give him a good run to ensure that he becomes a big star for the future.

#2 Rhea Ripley finds her first challenger

Who will step up to the new NXT Women's Champion?

On the December 18 episode of NXT, Rhea Ripley took on the woman with one of the best win records in WWE, Shayna Baszler. The two competed in an NXT Women’s Championship match which saw a few interferences from Baszler’s allies.

Ripley was able to brave all the distractions and attacks before pinning Baszler clean in the middle of the ring to pick up her first NXT Women’s Championship.

Now that Baszler seems to be free to move on to other assignments, Ripley will have the tough task of carrying the NXT women’s division on her broad shoulders. With that in mind, the Black & Gold brand should get her to work straight away and prove that she is a fighting Champion by allowing her to issue an Open Challenge on NXT this week.

They should allow a fresher heel to answer the challenge so that not only do they get some spotlight, but The Nightmare also continues her winning ways by defeating the Superstar quickly and beginning her reign on a high.

WWE has built Ripley as the ultimate competitor in recent months, and they need to keep her at the forefront of the women’s roster to ensure that fans stay interested in her work and her character. Soon enough Ripley will find worthy competition in Io Shirai, Dakota Kai, and Bianca Belair.

#1 The Fiend threatens another family

Will another family fall victim to the evil Fiend?

In the build-up of the storyline consisting of ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt and The Miz, we watched Wyatt bring Miz’s family into the picture, haunting them on his way to TLC. Similarly, Wyatt should do something similar to Daniel Bryan and his family, but this time as The Fiend.

Wyatt battled against The A-lister as his regular Firefly Fun House self and built up to the match in the same manner. However, he will most likely take on Bryan with the Universal Championship on the line as The Fiend, and therefore he should build-up to the match with the same gimmick.

We could watch The Fiend haunt Bryan’s wife and daughter at their house, just like he did with Miz. Bryan could then call out Wyatt on SmackDown, with The Eater of Worlds appearing on screen in the Firefly Fun House and claiming that he tried to stop 'him' but that 'he' wouldn’t listen.

This would allow the storyline to become more interesting and keep the fans invested in it until Royal Rumble, with Bryan putting everything on the line. Since Wyatt ended last week’s SmackDown with the iconic statement 'Let Me In', we could watch a new version of Bryan emerge after his clash with The Fiend at the Rumble.