Every week, WWE releases so much televised content that it can be a little overwhelming to sort through. Luckily, we publish a preview every week of what WWE has to offer from Monday Night Raw to 205 Live to Pay-Per-Views. This week is exciting because there is the debut of the Mixed Match Challenge as well as it being the final week before the Road to WrestleMania.
Monday Night Raw (1.15.18)
Unfortunately, Monday Night Raw has a good chance of being a lull this week. There is not a ton advertised outside of one match and there still one more episode (the 25th Anniversary episode) after this before the Royal Rumble. However, there is potential for WWE’s flagship show to be exciting.
The big match that is advertised for tonight is Nia Jax taking on the undefeated Asuka. Back in NXT, Asuka defeated Nia Jax twice to retain the NXT Women’s Championship then continued to rule over the division while Jax switched to Monday Night Raw. Jax has a lot more experience under her belt now so she has a better chance of taking down the Empress of Tomorrow than ever.
To end the show last week, the Miztourage beat down the “Champions Club” but more specifically, they target Roman Reigns. The Miz gets his Intercontinental Championship rematch next week so if Reigns doesn’t get back at the A-Lister, Miz will have a good chunk of momentum going into the title bout.
Other than trying to buy time before the Royal Rumble, be on the lookout for the follow-up to Titus Worldwide’s shocking win and the feud between Woken Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt.
SmackDown Live (1.16.18)
For the first time in a long time, SmackDown Live has more matches advertised than Monday Night Raw. This week continues the battle between the Riott Squad and the rest of the women’s division as well as the United States Championship Tournament.
Even though it seems to happen every week, The Riott Squad is taking on Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Naomi in a six-woman tag team match. Lynch returned a couple weeks ago to get revenge on Ruby Riott and co. with this being her first time to take them all out at once.
In the United States Championship Tournament, things are starting to heat up. First is the matchup between Mojo Rawley and Bobby Roode. Roode picked up a shock victory when he defeated former champ Baron Corbin in the first round, while Rawley shocked nobody by defeating his former tag team partner, Zack Ryder.
The other tournament bout features New Day member Xavier Woods taking on former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. This could be Mahal’s last chance of being a prominent member of the roster before falling into obscurity, while Woods would win his first singles title in his WWE career. Woods has been posting hilarious videos on his Instagram account to insult Mahal while reminding the fans that if he wins, all members of the NEw Day will hold the US Title.
WWE Mixed Match Challenge (1.16.18)
After weeks of advertisement, the first week of the Mixed Match Challenge is finally upon us. This single-elimination tournament features twelve intergender teams fighting for a grand prize to donate to a charity of their choice. We have a fully detailed preview of the tournament for more details, but this week will only feature one match: Shinsuke Nakamura and Natalya taking on Finn Balor and Sasha Banks.
205 Live (1.16.18)
Hideo Itami’s feud with Jack Gallagher is probably going to continue while WWE figures out the next step for the Cruiserweight show.
WWE NXT (1.17.18)
On the way to NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, NXT continues to be an exciting show. This week, it is all about the tag teams. After being away for months due to injury, Australian tag team TM61 (Shane Thorne and Nick Miller) is back in action to remind the WWE Universe what they have been missing. Also, the Authors of Pain will take on the Street Profits in the #1 Contender’s Match for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
