There will be many intriguing segments and matches on tonight’s episode of WWE Raw, but nothing can surpass the incredible dynamics behind the amusing counseling occurring between “former” best friends Bayley and Sasha Banks and the competitive rivalry between Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley.
We are on Raw’s go-home show to Extreme Rules! On tonight’s episode of WWE Raw, Roman Reigns will potentially face The Revival in a handicap match to prove his superiority to his Extreme Rules opponent, Bobby Lashley. Roman’s Shield brother, Seth Rollins, will potentially face Dolph Ziggler’s tag partner, Drew Mcintyre, for the first time on the main roster.
Alexa Bliss is scheduled to face Nia Jax at Extreme Rules for the Raw Women’s Title. They have both performed in singles matches over the course of the last two weeks against Natalya and Mickie James respectively. In following, Nia Jax and Natalya will potentially team up to face Alexa Bliss and Mickie James in an old-school tag match.
Kevin Owens will continue to play “hide and go seek” with Braun Strowman. A match at Extreme Rules between these two superstars will probably be announced on tonight’s episode of Raw. Finally, the counseling session will most likely continue for Bayley and Sasha Banks, but it may be coming to an end very abruptly in exchange for a match at Extreme Rules this Sunday.
With that, here’s five predictions for the July 9 episode of WWE Raw.
5. Seth Rollins And Drew Mcintyre Go 30 Minutes
Since Seth Rollins is facing Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title at the Extreme Rules PPV, I foresee Seth Rollins facing his tag team partner, Drew Mcintyre, for the first time on the main roster tonight. I do not expect a conclusive finish since both men must look strong at all costs. Mcintyre needs to maintain his dominance on Raw, and Rollins needs to remain booked as a strong contender going into his title match with Ziggler this Sunday.
Nonetheless, I can expect a preview of this Sunday’s title match if Rollins and Mcintyre were to produce a match that lasts 30 minutes. This can do two beneficial things:
- Drew Mcintyre can show off his in-ring abilities to a further extent with the time allotted against one of the greatest workers in the company, Seth Rollins.
- Seth Rollins can show off his endurance against Drew McIntyre, which is an ideal way to make a statement to the IC Champion, Dolph Ziggler.
All in all, this match will be a spectacular premiere for the main roster. It will showcase these two superstars at their finest. The only thing missing from this match is the conclusivity. When 30 minutes pass by tonight on Raw, Dolph Ziggler can easily cause a DQ finish to this match by double teaming Rollins with Drew Mcintyre and standing tall before the big title match on Sunday.
4. Nia Jax and Natalya Defeat Alexa Bliss and Mickie James
Since Natalya defeated Alexa Bliss two weeks ago and Nia Jax defeated Mickie James last week, I foresee a women’s tag match happening tonight on WWE Raw. Nia Jax and Natalya will potentially team up to battle Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. It would be smart to maintain Jax and Natalya’s momentum with a babyface tag team victory, considering the fact that Bliss will likely retain her Raw Women’s Title on Sunday.
It’s surprising that Natalya has not yet been added to the Raw Women’s Title match at Extreme Rules to make it a triple threat. Many thought the Bliss-Jax storyline was over, but it appears it will be an endless, long-term rivalry like Bayley-Sasha. These two women will never stop hating each other in storyline, and it’ll be interesting to see how they enhance their rivalry on the go-home show to their Extreme Rules match this Sunday.
Nevertheless, I still have high hopes that Natalya could be added to this Extreme Rules match if she were to make Bliss tap out in this probable tag match. If she’s not added, we’ll just have to watch Five Feet of Fury unbelievably retain her title by cleanly pinning Nia Jax at Extreme Rules.
3. Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens Set For Extreme Rules
Sending Kevin Owens for a ride in a portable toilet was an unexpected way to end Raw last week. It is pretty evident that Kevin Owens can run but can’t hide when being hunted down by Monster in the Bank Braun Strowman. Since he has nowhere to hide, it would be fitting for him to have a steel cage match with The Monster Among Men at Extreme Rules.
I foresee Braun announcing this match to simply torture Owens. Many might think that Owens has a chance at winning a steel cage match and that this would be a good way for him to get an upper hand in this feud. However, he won’t win for three reasons:
- Owens cannot pin Braun since Braun is too strongly booked as Monster in the Bank and as the potential superstar to take down Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion.
- Owens is knowingly afraid of heights in storyline, so it would be incredibly difficult for him to climb and escape the cage to win the match.
- Owens would be too busy getting Braun’s hands to even escape through the door.
This is simply a no-win situation for Owens. This feud should be over at Extreme Rules, and Braun can move on to bigger ventures on the road to SummerSlam while Kevin Owens either gets written off TV or gets relegated to Raw’s commentary table.
2. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks Set For Extreme Rules
Although the counseling segment last week was a tad subpar, Bayley and Sasha’s feud is fun to watch. It not only brings back nostalgic moments from NXT but it also kept its promise for a long-term feud on the main roster. The only way to make such a feud worthwhile is to put these two talented female athletes in a match that will be worthwhile to see: Last Woman Standing Match.
It would be worthwhile because a Last Woman Standing match has never happened on the main roster. It actually happened in NXT first between Asuka and Nikki Cross, as can be seen in this link from WWE’s YouTube page below:
This can be historic for Sasha Banks and Bayley, considering the high stakes of their rivalry and the idea behind the PPV: EXTREME! I foresee Sasha Banks winning this time around since Bayley won the Iron Man match in NXT, but the final stepping stone needs to be set tonight on Raw. Raw GM Kurt Angle needs to take matters into his own hands, terminate the counseling, and make a match between these two superstars before Stephanie McMahon and the WWE Universe get mad.
It’s nice to have a long rivalry, but it can lose its meaning if dragged on for too long. Now is the time to pull the trigger, especially during the most EXTREME time of the WWE’s calendar year. To make things even more intriguing, the loser of this probable last woman standing match should leave Raw to avoid any further confrontations with the victor in the near future.
1. Roman Reigns Defeats The Revival Despite Lashley Heel Turn
The Guy vs. The Top Guys! In the past three weeks, Roman Reigns has teamed up with his Extreme Rules opponent, Bobby Lashley, against The Revival.
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In the first bout three weeks ago, Lashley proved that he can beat The Revival without Roman. In the second bout two weeks ago, Roman tried to prove that he can beat The Revival without Lashley but failed to do so after getting pinned by Dash Wilder. In the third bout last week, Roman tried to make up for his mistake the previous week by fighting the whole match without tagging Bobby Lashley even once, but the Revival forced a DQ finish to the match by attacking Roman Reigns past the ref’s count of five. After the attack, Lashley left Roman high and dry to get Shatter Machined by The Revival.
At this point, Lashley has given up on helping Roman any longer and now looks forward to beating him at Extreme Rules. Thus, I foresee Roman asking Raw GM Kurt Angle for a handicap match against The Revival tonight to prove to Bobby Lashley that he really can beat The Revival on his own. He can. He will. Believe THAT!
After Roman defeats the Revival, Lashley can come out of nowhere to pick up the scraps and add insult to injury by spearing Roman and lifting him up for the vertical suplex in order to gain momentum for Sunday’s match. In order to turn heel and reboot his character, Lashley can use his UFC tools to his advantage and beat up Roman Reigns for real, making him as bloody as possible.
Next: WWE Extreme Rules 2018 Predictions
This will get everyone to feel sorry for Roman, lead to the resounding boos that Lashley’s heel turn deserves, and provide an appetizer for what’s to come at Extreme Rules.