5 Biggest questions from this week’s WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown
WWE had an eventful week where all three brands built towards their respective events. RAW and SmackDown focused on the Elimination Chamber event, while NXT went full force ahead with TakeOver: Vengeance Day.
On WWE RAW, Drew McIntyre had another match against Randy Orton this week. Sheamus interfered late in the bout to cause a disqualification and build a rivalry with the WWE Champion. However, did WWE creative need to book another match between McIntyre and Orton for this angle?
WWE NXT featured the return of Cameron Grimes. Meanwhile, finalists for the two Dusty Rhodes Classic tournaments were also decided on the show. Who will win the Men’s and Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament this year?
During WWE SmackDown, Roman Reigns was not happy to learn that he’d have to defend his Universal Championship inside the Elimination Chamber. Thanks to Paul Heyman's sly tactics, the Elimination Chamber match will now determine who will face Reigns for the title later on in the pay-per-view. Was it the right call to let The Tribal Chief off the hook without a big title defense?
Let’s take a look at the five biggest questions from this week’s WWE shows.
#5 Why is Riddle in the United States Championship match at WWE Elimination Chamber?
Riddle has been in a rivalry with the United States Champion, Bobby Lashley, for the past month or so on WWE RAW. The two men have had a couple of matches, and their previous contest ended in a disqualification victory for Riddle.
Riddle did not get a rematch for the title this week and instead competed against Keith Lee on RAW. The two men had a chance to qualify for a match against Bobby Lashley at Elimination Chamber.
Lee was able to cleanly defeat Riddle on RAW, and that earned him a shot at the United States Championship. However, a post-match beatdown by Lashley on the two competitors somehow prompted WWE to add Riddle to the U.S. Championship match at Elimination Chamber as well.
Since Riddle had already lost to Lee on RAW, why was he added to the match for Elimination Chamber? What was the purpose of the match between Lee and Riddle in the first place? Does a beatdown automatically grant the victim a shot at the title?
WWE made the odd decision by putting Riddle in this position. Either WWE should have only given Riddle a shot at the title at Elimination Chamber, or granted Lee a one-on-one match against The All-Mighty.
This looks like a way to protect Lashley from taking the pin if he is booked to lose his title at the event.