What were the biggest questions the superstars of WWE Raw and SmackDown Live left behind this week?
The WWE gave us a mixed bag of shows this week. Raw, on Monday night had too much going for it that it was hard to make sense of the happenings. Regardless, the first hour of the show, which saw the return of Stephanie McMahon and a potential new angle for Reigns, including some solid in-ring action was good. Stephanie would once again do a good job of putting over Rousey Vs. Nia Jax, regardless of the lack of mic skills from both competitors.
SmackDown however, more than made up for it with a packed show. The show has returned to its good old days once again and let’s hope it stays that way. The matches were great and the action never stopped. Even the heels were made to look sensible and had a point. You know how good the show was when the Usos and the Club had a rather aggressive tag match. It made Gallows and Anderson look like a million bucks.
The main event from Tuesday nights was on a whole different level though. Daniel Bryan really brought out the best in Jeff Hardy ever since his return. Moreover, having both Bryan and Styles on the roster really does make SmackDown the wrestling-centric show. Speaking of Styles, he will face Nakamura in a Last Man Standing match, pretty much like how we discussed the last week.
What were the biggest questions from the week though? Let’s move on to the first burning question without any more delay.
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5. Are we back to Reigns Vs. Authority again?
It’s okay that some storylines pan out repetitively in the WWE. It makes sense because such kind of angles worked well and is being done by a different superstar most of the time. The most common instance of this is when a babyface tag team of some sorts breaks up due to someone turning on their partner. It happened way back when the Rockers were kicking ass and now it has breathed new life into NXT.
But you know what’s the most repetitive storyline in recent times though? Roman Reigns Vs. The Authority. Over the last three years, we have been seeing this feud start and stop and restart countless number of times. He defeated Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania to win the WWE title. That should have been the end of it. But here we are, yet again on the verge of another Reigns Vs. Authority angle.
The Big Dog confronted Stephanie McMahon this week and unless this is the beginning of a character shift for Roman, I don’t want to see more of this. When a heel breaks it to you that Reigns had a fair shot at qualifying for the Money in the Bank ladder match, but failed, there is nothing else to do.
It’s high time to stop portraying Reigns as this whining complaining piece of mess and start presenting him as a legitimate threat to people. He lost to Brock Lesnar cleanly on more than one occasion. Do something else now. Turn on Seth Rollins for all I care.
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4. What’s next for Elias?
Elias had been feuding with Bobby Roode for quite some time now. After multiple clean wins over the former United States Champion, one can safely assume this feud is over. Hopefully. This brings out the next question. What’s next for the Drifter?
Elias has really took off after being moved up to the main roster. The fans love it when he comes out and despite their best attempts to cheer for him, Elias always comes out with inventive ways to ensure he is booed. His concerts are becoming more and more solid and as a performer, he has it act perfected. Elias need to be doing more meaningful things on the main roster now.
He could potentially be pushed to chase the Intercontinental title had Seth Rollins not been setting the place on fire with it every week. The IC title needs to stay with Rollins at this point. As such, Elias feuding with him to no avail will not be beneficial for the Drifter. What else can he do at this point then?
He can’t possibly be thinking about going after the Universal title. What can creative bring up then? A face turn? That sounds like a neat idea considering how popular he is becoming. But sooner or later, creative will have to ensure he stays focused on a goal rather than feuding with someone without purpose or direction.
Time for creative to do some magic and bring out a meaningful feud for Elias even without any gold on the line.
Source: WWE.com
3. Will Samoa Joe win the Money in the Bank contract?
Samoa Joe was originally supposed to face Big Cass in a qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match. However, a knee injury to Cass has forced the WWE to change plans. Creative responded with giving Daniel Bryan a second chance match, wherein he defeated Jeff Hardy in the main event this Tuesday.
He will now face Samoa Joe next week, in what will be a thrilling encounter and the winner will go on to compete at Money in the Bank. On one side it is easy to think that Big Cass might interfere in the match and either cost Bryan his shot at the briefcase or even draw a disqualification finish, taking out both men, in the midst of a great match.
This would place further heat on Cass. Moreover, creative can further milk things out by having a Triple Threat match the next week to decide once and for all who will go through to Money in the Bank. The problem with all this, however, is that Samoa Joe’s odds of winning the briefcase are getting slimmer and slimmer.
Joe is a top contender for this. His heel ways and predatory nature can make him an excellent prospect to hold the contract. But so can the Miz. The same can be said about Rusev as well. Then there are the likes of Finn Balor and Braun Strowman and even Bobby Roode who is clearly the least over superstar in the field.
With so many different variables at play, the match will be phenomenal this year and honestly, everyone except Roode has a real shot of winning the contract. That just makes it harder to predict the outcome and to see if Joe manages to go all the way.
Credit: WWE.com
2. What will Jason Jordan do upon his return?
It has been rumored that Jason Jordan will appear at Raw taping next week. He was also said to have been present backstage a couple of weeks ago as well. It seems more and more like Jason Jordan is being cleared for a return at this point time. What will Kurt Angle’s storyline son do upon his return?
Over the past few weeks, or to put more correctly, ever since Chad Gable was drafted to Raw, I’ve been hoping he would cross paths with Jordan. When Gable was assaulted by Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh, I thought Jordan would come out to make the save. But that didn’t happen. Then, this week when he was once again attacked by Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre I thought may be American Alpha might reunite this time. But didn’t happen this time either.
In all honesty, after all the trouble they went through, I don’t think creative will put those two back together as a tag team just like that. Creative had invested too much time and effort into Jordan to build him up as a singles performer. It would be ideal if he turned heel once he returns. There are multiple options for creative to book his return as well.
He can either return as a surprise challenger to Seth Rollins. Boy do they have history. An aggressive and heelish Jordan would be a perfect foe for Rollins until Dean Ambrose shows up. Or, Jordan can make his return boastfully and issue a challenge, only to be confronted and defeated by Chad Gable. This could upset him and result in a heel turn and an entertaining feud between the former tag champions.
Whatever happens, Jordan’s return to the ring has given way for more questions than answers at this point in time.
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1. Will the New Day continue to coexist?
One member of the New Day will go on to compete for the opportunity to hold the Money in the Bank contract. Just like the Miz, we all want to know who? At this point I’d like you to do the ‘Who’ chants the New Day made famous. Just kidding. Am sure they are already echoing inside your head.
The popular trio has so far kept this as a mystery. But at some point, they will need to decide who will enter the match. The Miz tried to stir up some tension among the happy trio by addressing Kofi’s lack of success in the match itself, Big E not being serious about himself and Xavier Woods being really ambitious.
Though his plans did not pan out the way he intended to, the Miz made some solid points there. Solid enough to create some tension too perhaps. Big E seems like the ideal man to enter the match. But even if they collectively come together with a unanimous decision, will the group continue to coexist from hereon?
Something is definitely brewing with creative. Some tension following the Money in the Bank and a subsequent loss to the Bar might just stir up controversy within the group. I can imagine Woods and Kofi continuing to work as a tag team while Big E moves on to bigger and better things.
Next: WWE SmackDown Live: Can Daniel Bryan Go All The Way?
Will that be the case? Or will they continue to play to the crowd and throw out pan cakes? That wraps up this week’s five burning questions however. Do you have other questions you’d like to address? Where was Mojo Rawley following his superb performance against Rollins a few weeks ago? If you have other questions like that, then do let us know in the comments section.