5 things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week
WWE Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) was as big as expected. The final pay-per-view of the year delivered, and we will be looking at the after-effects from the event heading into this week. RAW and SmackDown will look to rebuild heading into the new year, while NXT will work on the New Year’s Evil show.
WWE TLC saw the RAW Tag Team Championships change hands after The Hurt Business defeated The New Day. However, no other titles changed hands at the event, as Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, and Drew McIntyre managed to overcome their rivals on Sunday Night.
This will likely lead to some rematches between the Champions and their challengers, and we could also watch Bray Wyatt return this week after The Fiend was set on fire by Randy Orton.
On WWE NXT, Karrion Kross made his return to the ring and ripped through his opponent before laying out a challenge for Damian Priest. Bronson Reed was teased to return to NXT next week, while Dexter Lumis was announced as the special host for NXT New Year’s Evil.
This week, we will likely watch The Undisputed ERA celebrate Kyle O’Reilly’s victory over Pete Dunne, while Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez will build towards a match for the upcoming show.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things that must happen on the three brands of WWE this week.
#5 Riddle gets taken out by Bobby Lashley on WWE RAW
Bobby Lashley helped The Hurt Business pick up the victory in a six-man tag team match last week on WWE RAW. Lashley made Jeff Hardy suffer once more by locking in the Hurt Lock on The Charismatic Enigma to pick up the victory.
Later in the night, Riddle competed against MVP in a one-on-one match. While fans expected MVP to show his technical side once again, he was completely outdone by Riddle during the match.
This week, WWE must book another match between Riddle and MVP on RAW. We must watch MVP put up a better fight this time around, before coming close to a loss. WWE must then give Lashley the chance to jump in and cause a disqualification by locking Riddle in the Hurt Lock.
This will allow RAW to build towards a new United States Championship rivalry on the brand. Lashley’s last two title defenses came in late October and early November against Slapjack and Titus O’Neil respectively, and he hasn’t had a proper rivalry for the title since September.
While it seems like Hardy is getting in line for a title shot, Riddle could prove to be the better opponent. RAW needs to build a believable rivalry for Lashley as his reign has been rather ordinary to this point.