SmackDown Live has a world title and tag team title on the line, but there are still plenty of reasons to make sure to tune into WWE Raw tonight.
The Miz is scheduled to face Baron Corbin at Survivor Series 2017, but WWE Raw has been teasing a potential title change before then. So far, we have a couple of heel vs. heel matchups on the docket, since the WWE is promoting champion vs. champion matches at Survivor Series in the battle for supremacy. Women’s champions Alexa Bliss and Natalya are both heels, and the same can be said for the brand’s two mid-card champions – Corbin and Miz.
At TLC, Braun Strowman seemed to turn babyface after his teammates, led by The Miz, tossed him into a garbage truck to leave him for dead. But as expected, Strowman re-emerged, and he did so sooner than the Miztourage anticipated. Strowman ambushed them with the garbage truck after sending them gifts of garbage.
Will Strowman continue to pursue The Miz? And what will happen to the women’s championship picture after last week’s awful finish to the Raw main event? Oh, and will Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar have a message for Jinder Mahal as he prepares to defend his WWE Championship against AJ Styles on SmackDown Live tomorrow?
Here are five predictions for tonight’s episode of Raw.
5. There Will Be A Title Change
Tonight’s episode of Raw is in Manchester, England and will be taped, so all of the events of the show will be leaked online before the show actually airs at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network. As such, a title change may seem unlikely to some, since the WWE wouldn’t want a title change to be revealed before the show actually airs. However, if the title change is popular, fans will tune in anyway, and the two possible title changes would indeed be popular, given that a babyface would win.
Last week, Alexa Bliss successfully defended her Raw Women’s Championship against Mickie James for the second consecutive time, confirming her win over James at TLC. This win was even more sketchy, since Bliss simply took the victory with a slap in the main event of Raw. It was a laughable finish to the match, and it reminded me of that strange finish we saw at Battleground in a match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens for the United States Championship.
That finish to Styles vs. Owens was changed at the last second, and I wonder if Vince McMahon made the same call with the match between Bliss and James. I have a feeling James was initially booked to win the match to finish Raw, especially since she received a random rematch after losing the title at TLC. Furthermore, the WWE was busy teasing a title change on Raw.
I think the WWE backed out of putting the title on James, but they are still interested in changing one of their heel vs. heel matches into a heel vs. babyface encounter. Maybe that title change happens next week, but I expect something to transpire.
4. Braun Strowman Goes For The IC Title
Following up on the last slide, if any title on Raw changes hands before Survivor Series, I think it is the Intercontinental Championship. Unless if the WWE decides to go back to the James vs. Bliss feud and have James save some face by winning the title in her third attempt, I think the WWE will move the Intercontinental Championship to Braun Strowman to give the elite performer something more to work with, especially now that he’s a big-time babyface on Raw.
It would hurt to see The Miz drop the Intercontinental Championship, because he is the performer who brings the most prestige to it among the current crop of superstars. However, the WWE doesn’t like to wear out Miz’s welcome when it comes to his title reigns.
What gives me pause is the fact that a Natalya vs. James match would be easier to book than a Strowman vs. Corbin match. Corbin has been taking losses or no-contests to the rising Sin Cara, so he could afford to take a loss to the beastly Strowman. There’s never any shame to losing to Strowman, and that fact even holds true for another “big man” in Corbin.
I find it interesting how often Corbin is able to take strange or fluky losses, so a loss to Strowman would be the least of The Lone Wolf’s concerns. He’d still be the United States Champion, and that alone is what will give him the most prestige as the WWE looks to try to build him into a potential main event player.
3. Raw Women’s Team Takes Shape
Alicia Fox added Nia Jax to her team after the Force of Greatness defeated Bayley in a match that was apparently for a spot on the Raw Women’s Survivor Series team. Fox still has three more spots to fill, and she has several credible choices.
It’s unclear if the WWE will have Asuka wrestling with the team, because it would be weird for her to be added to the team, only for her to be on the losing side of the five-on-five match. Asuka also doesn’t seem like a team player, though she is being booked as a babyface during the initial period of her run on the main roster.
Sasha Banks is an obvious pick for the team, and I’m sure Bayley will find her place in the mix as well. Since Bliss is the champion and can’t partake in the match, that leaves a couple of options for the last spot. The WWE could give James the spotlight, or they could try to throw Dana Brooke. Asuka is by far the biggest name of the bunch, but, again, will the WWE have her compete in a five-on-five match?
I think two members of the Raw Women’s Survivor Series team will be chosen tonight, and the final member will be selected next week. My gut feeling is that Banks and someone like James or even Asuka will be selected tonight, and then Bayley will have to fight for her spot at the last minute next week.
2. Jason Jordan Won’t Lose
Although the promo was heavily scripted and didn’t seem wholeheartedly believable, Jason Jordan showed more fire and passion in a backstage promo that previewed tonight’s “Guitar On A Pole” match against Elias Samson.
Thanks to the commentary team, these two have been destined to feud, and they really started to hate each other on the TLC pre-show when Elias interrupted an exchange between Jordan and his father, Kurt Angle, to ask for a performance during the show. Angle accepted Elias’s request, but the expert guitarist and singer was rudely interrupted by a grocery-throwing Jordan.
This “Guitar On A Pole” match is surely another rib direct towards Vince Russo, who always had ridiculous stipulation matches of this sort during his time as the head booker of WCW. These contests only end in disaster, but hopefully this match between Elias and Jordan is “so bad it’s good” and not a “character-killing disaster”, since the latter was the end result of the “Kendo Stick On A Pole” match between Alexa Bliss and Bayley at Extreme Rules.
There’s no way Jordan loses this match. Although the WWE likes Elias, he has a defined character and can afford to take losses as a meddling heel who gets over with the crowd via the smartest cheap heat you’ll see. Meanwhile, Jordan struggles to get over when he isn’t putting on clinics in the ring against the likes of John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Finn Balor. Jordan needs to show another edge to his character, and this is a chance to do that despite the otherwise ludicrous name of this match.
1. Angle Gets Physical With Miz
Kurt Angle and The Miz have had their issues ever since the Olympic gold medalist first joined Monday Night Raw as its general manager. The two of them fought in the ring together at TLC, with Angle delivering the final pin to the Miz for the win. The A-Lister has taken umbrage with Angle’s booking, his alleged lack of respect for the Intercontinental Championship, and his apparent desire to want to be at the center of attention.
Last week, Angle showed just how fed up he is with The Miz, admonishing the IC Champ for arriving late and trying to leave early. He’s taken a no-nonsense attitude to managing The Miz’s ego, and he clearly doesn’t appreciate the fact that Miz is a polar opposite of Angle. Whereas Angle strives to settle all differences inside of the ring, Miz does his best to make sure he doesn’t have to compete in matches without cheating.
The Miz will begin Raw with a Miz TV segment, and his special guest will be Angle of all people. Miz has met with Angle’s son, Jason Jordan, before, so it will be interesting to see if Hollywood’s finest actor decides to bring Jordan’s name up.
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Maybe it’s wistful thinking on my part, but I think Angle gets physical with Miz. As Finn Balor said at Payback, every episode of Miz TV ends with the host of the show getting his ass kicked. Angle is upset with Miz, and he’s a determined man with a lot to prove. His job is on the line after Stephanie McMahon tore him down a size last week, so he won’t be taking any crap from The Miz. So who knows, maybe we’ll see Angle put Miz in the “Ankle Lock” tonight? And maybe Angle will set up a match between Miz and Strowman for the IC Championship.