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WWE Raw is full steam ahead on the way to Extreme Rules. What could be in store this Monday?
There’s a lot of things that could be happening on WWE Raw this week. We’ve made it through the fallout from Money in the Bank already. And last week’s episode of Raw was, dare I say, pretty good?
Look at everything that went down a week ago. Seth Rollins had his Intercontinental Championship open challenge answered by Dolph Ziggler — and The Show Off took the title in a thriller. But there’s no time for Ziggler to rest — the only match announced for this week’s Raw as of this writing was the Kingslayer’s rematch.
How about the announcement of a “multi-man” match to determine a challenger for Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship? Both Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley were under the impression they should just be the challenger, which has caused some friction. Hey, at least it got us to a good match with The Revival for the first time in a long time.
But the biggest news comes from the women’s division. SASHA BANKS AND BAYLEY ARE NOT REALLY FRIENDS ANYMORE. Oh, wait, sorry… that’s the secondary news from the division. There’s a new Raw Women’s Champion — Alexa Bliss — and she’s run afoul of The Baddest Woman on the Planet, Ronda Rousey. Ronda has been suspended for 30 days, thanks to the brutal punishment she handed out to Bliss and WWE officials.
So let’s get right into five predictions for this week’s episode of WWE Raw.
Nia Jax Picks a Lame Stipulation
Lost in the shuffle with all the attention on Ronda Rousey’s rampage was why she was so mad. Alexa Bliss cashed in her MITB contract mere hours after winning it, preventing Rousey from possibly defeating Nia Jax and taking the glory for herself.
We found out last week that Jax would get her rematch against Bliss at Extreme Rules. Alexa may not be happy about it, but thats not a consideration for making a match. Nia has been mostly quiet since MITB, other than some really unwise social media posts.
As both the former champion and the apparent babyface in the match, it wouldn’t be surprising in the least for Kurt Angle to allow Nia to choose a stipulation for her rematch. After all, the show is called “Extreme Rules,” and historically most of the matches on the card have some stipulation or another.
Maybe Jax will have to win a match to earn the right to choose the stip, but I’m fully expecting her to have the opportunity. And when she makes her choice, it’s going to be a letdown. After all the animosity and vitriol during the build to their WrestleMania match, and now the underhanded cash-in, this match deserves something big (even if it may be getting rushed a bit). Instead, it’ll probably be a No Disqualification match or something.
Hug It Out? Not For The Boss
For at least the past six months, tension has been brewing between Sasha Banks and Bayley. First there was Sasha eliminating Bayley from the first Women’s Royal Rumble. Then Sasha contibuted to Bayley’s elimination from the first Women’s Elimination Chamber. Bayley returned the favor in the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, eliminating The Boss.
Then… well, not too much, honestly. It’s been a very slow burn to this point, which would usually be a good thing. But that’s a story for a different day. We’re trying to figure out what’s happening this week on Raw.
Last week ended with a reconciliation, a misunderstanding, a shoving match, and complete blowup, and a water bottle thrown at a moving car. All in the same night. Under most circumstances, you’d probably expect a mending of the fences, even if just temporary.
Instead, the most likely way to keep this going until SummerSlam in Brooklyn (which is the most logical endpoint because of the great match these two superstars put on in Barclays Center at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in 2015) is for Sasha to admit her mistake last week. Remember, the whole big blowup came when Sasha said she was done with Bayley after their tag team loss. Having a week to look at the video and realize her error, Sasha can apologize in a realistic way — she’s not a monster.
But Bayley should be in no mood to accept the apology, and the split should remain in place. Let the two cost each other a few matches between now and SummerSlam to really fan the flames. It should be a tremendous match with enough drama in the story to propel it to huge heights.
Baron Corbin Wears a Newsboy Cap, Skanks to the Ring
Well, not really. But in pretty much every way, he’s taking over Sami Zayn’s role as Kevin Owens’s best friend. With Zayn sidelined until early 2019 as he recovers from multiple injuries, Owens is going to need new backup. And Raw‘s constable is the perfect superstar to fit the bill.
The pair got off to a good start last week, teaming up to defeat Braun Strowman and Finn Balor. And they didn’t need to break a single rule to do so! They didn’t even bend any rules — it was completely legit. A victory over two superstars of that caliber should indicate a new partnership that extends beyond a single week.
Corbin has always been The Lone Wolf, so we don’t really know what he’s capable of if he’s part of a team. But Owens has always been at his best with someone in his corner. There was a time when he unofficially had Triple H in his corner — that’s when he won the Universal Championship. Then there was his union with Chris Jericho, though we know how that ended.
His recent re-ignition of his long-time friendship with Zayn once again led to increased success for Owens, at least after getting away from SmackDown Live. So he’s in the market for a new partner. With Corbin holding power as the constable, and Owens often seeking the approval of Stephanie McMahon, it’s a perfect fit.
Intercontinental Championship Changes Hands Again
To say it was a shock that Dolph Ziggler won the Intercontinental Championship last week would be an understatement. Fans always expect big things from The Show Off, but for whatever reason those big things rarely come to fruition. His recent teaming with Drew McIntyre seemed to be the start of something big, but again, nothing really happened at first.
That changed in a big way with the surprise title change. Even more surprising was the heel winning (mostly) honorably, with no shenanigans. Sure, Dolph had a handful of tights, but that was only because Seth attempted the same. And that was just 24 hours after Rollins successfully defended the title against Elias by using the same handful of tights. We all know the expression about karma, don’t we?
With Rollins invoking his rematch clause immediately, it seems unlikely he’ll win the title back so soon. Why hotshot the championship like that with no bigger plan? Well, what if there is a plan, and it’s to get the title back on Drew McIntyre?
Rollins has already said he’s going to solve the McIntyre issue this week, so why doesn’t he make good on that en route to regaining the championship? Drew could then assault Seth after the match, setting up some kind of stipulation match at Extreme Rules. Maybe it’ll even be a triple threat with Dolph involved, but McIntyre should leave Extreme Rules as IC Champ.
A Few Good Men
Whether it’s what the fans want or not, the biggest focus from Raw heading into Extreme Rules is going to be on the multi-man match that will determine Brock Lesnar’s next challenger. All we know so far is that Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley are two of the participants. Literally, that’s it — we don’t know how many superstars will join the match, we don’t know who any of them will be, and we don’t know what kind of match it will be.
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Just because we don’t know what shape the match will take in the end doesn’t mean we can’t make an educated guess. Think of who’s been lurking in the Raw main event and upper mid-card lately. Guys like Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Jinder Mahal, Bobby Roode, Elias, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and Baron Corbin come to mind.
Odds are that the match will be similar to last year’s Extreme Rules event: a fatal five-way, contested under said extreme rules. Let’s say WWE ups the ante this year, and we get a six-pack challenge. We need four names from that list to fill the match, along with Reigns and Lashley.
With two babyfaces, it’s likely at least three of the four additional competitors will be heels. Let’s say Elias, Owens, and Jinder Mahal take those spots. For the final babyface, it would have to Bobby Roode, right? Strowman has the MITB briefcase, and he’ll probably have a falling out with his “little buddy” Finn Balor. Rollins and McIntyre (and possibly Ziggler) should be facing off for the IC Title, and Corbin is a heel.
Next: 5 Takeaways from WWE Raw June 18, 2018
So there’s some predictions for tonight’s episode of WWE Raw. What do you think?