After wrapping up their European tour, the WWE heads back home to the United States to Newark, New Jersey, for this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
We pick up where we left off with a number of storylines; Miz’s rivalry with the Intercontinental Champion, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns’ blood feud with Braun Strowman and the new found edge to the number one contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championships – Sheamus and Cesaro.
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How will the storylines develop this week? And with Kurt Angle back in the mix – after last week’s disastrous General Manager duty-sharing situation between Ambrose and Miz – will some measure of order be restored to the show?
For all this and more, read on as we preview this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
The perfect antitheses
Dean Ambrose and the Miz are polar opposites. One is an unhinged wrestler whose wrestling style is largely reflective of his gung-ho personality while the other’s carefully manicured appearance is only augmented by his safety first approach.
When you get the two together though, it makes for fireworks.
But last week, their animosity was taken one step further when the powers that be in the WWE announced that both men would share General Manager duties. Of course, it came as little surprise that they got in each other’s way and butted heads throughout the show.
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As a result, Dean Ambrose puts his Intercontinental Title on the line against the Miz on this week’s episode of Raw. Will the Lunatic Fringe manage to stave off the nefarious challenger or will the Miz get the IC Title strapped around his waist for the seventh time?
School of Hardy knocks
Sheamus and Cesaro earned themselves a shot at the Hardy Boyz’ Tag Team Titles yet again after they saw off the challenge of four other duos in the Tag Team Turmoil match last week in London.
Truth be told, there’s quite a rivalry brewing between them and the Champions, especially after Sheamus and Cesaro decided to ditch their ‘nice guy’ approach and reinvent themselves as the ‘Bar’ in the WWE.
How will the Champions respond to the new-found edge and vigour in the challengers? Will they stay classy and retain their titles as they’ve done so thus far, or are they in for a rude awakening at the hands of the hard-hitting challengers?
Bliss’ Best Buddy
What do they always say about picking your battles wisely?
Alexa Bliss did exactly that as she sounded off on all the other Women on Raw except the behemoth that is Nia Jax. As a result, however temporarily, she earned herself a best friend to watch over her back.
With Jax by her side, has Bliss found the perfect way to keep escaping the challenge of other Women with her Title intact? Or will her choice in friends come back to haunt her eventually?
For as much aid as Nia Jax can provide her in fending off the attentions of Bayley and co. she also very clearly mentioned that she wanted a crack at the belt next.
Stand and deliver!
Samoa Joe is an extremely hard man to keep down. If Seth Rollins thought that a flash victory at Payback was enough to put the Samoan monster in his rear-view mirror, he’s been made to think again after last week’s vicious attack.
Samoa Joe clearly doesn’t take kindly to losses and he’s out to prove that he deserves another shot at Rollins regardless of how many bruising encounters it takes. In the face of such unrestrained fury and mindless violence, the Kingslayer has little choice but to stand and fight.
As much as Rollins had his sights set on the WWE Universal Title after Payback, Samoa Joe made it clear that their feud is only over when he says it is.
War of the Titans
Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman are quite similar in a manner of speaking. Both of them are, arguably, the most hard-hitting Superstars on the roster today and have found a level of competition in one another that they couldn’t elsewhere.
Strowman’s vicious attack that hospitalised him seem to have pushed Roman over the edge, with the Big Dog only too happy to return the favour by repeatedly targeting the Monster’s injured arm last week.
Kurt Angle will be looking to return to Raw this week and simmer down the situation between the two powerhouses before it boils over even further, but can any man stand between them?
What started off as a one-off attack has well and truly turned into a full-blown war today...and it’s only a matter of time before innocent bystanders start paying the price too.
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