WWE has such much content every week that it could be a little overwhelming to keep track of everything that is going on. This week features the fallout from Great Balls of Fire while the main roster looks ahead towards SummerSlam and Battleground.
Monday Night Raw (7.10.17)
After Great Balls of Fire, there are a lot of questions that WWE has to answer. On WWE.com, there is a bit of a preview of what will be addressed.
First, WWE asks if Roman Reigns deserves a shot at the Universal Championship. A few weeks ago, he declared himself the #1 Contender at SummerSlam because Raw is “his yard.” However, he never earned the opportunity to challenge Brock Lesnar. On top of that, Reigns could receive some punishment for essentially trying to murder Braun Strowman.
Second, the Women’s and Universal Championships are addressed. This week, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle is going to “personally congratulate” Brock Lesnar on retaining his Universal Championship against Samoa Joe. Lesnar and Angle have a storied history and this could lead to Lesnar’s SummerSlam opponent. There will also be a segment addressing Alexa Bliss’ controversial championship retain against Sasha Banks, where she purposely lost by count-out.
Lastly, there are some questions regarding other matches from Great Balls of Fire. Sheamus and Cesaro retained the Raw Tag Team Championships, so now there is an empty spot for new #1 Contenders. Seth Rollins failed to stop Bray Wyatt after getting poked in the eye, and it seems like he is back for more. Finally, after The Miz retained the Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose, he will host an award show titled The Mizzies.
SmackDown Live (7.11.17)
Outside of Austin Aries receiving his WWE release, this past Friday had some huge news. At the dual-brand live event at Madison Square Garden, AJ Styles challenged Kevin Owens for the United States Championship. At most live events, the champion retains the title so it makes sense with the weekly television show. However, Styles actually captured the title from Owens to become the new United States Champion. This week, we should find out what this means for Battleground.
Last week’s episode of SmackDown Live as gives some indication as to what to expect for this week. For the third time in less than a month, Naomi defeated Lana to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship, so now there can finally be a new #1 Contender. It seems to be that through all of the losses, Lana gained support in the form of Tamina as her bodyguard of sorts. There will probably be a lookout for James Ellsworth too, since he is suspended for a month.
Two new feuds are starting to brew as well. John Cena returned last week and set up a Flag Match against Rusev at Battleground, and both men can now return to in-ring action. Also, there are problems arising between Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura. Corbin tried to assault him last week, but Nakamura managed to fight him off.
205 Live (7.11.17)
To no surprise, nothing is advertised for 205 Live. After Neville retained the Cruiserweight Championship against Akira Tozawa at Great Balls of Fire, the #1 Contender’s spot opened up, so there could be a development on that this week. The Brian Kendrick has been antagonizing Gentleman Jack Gallagher for a couple weeks now and Gallagher might want to get some retribution.
NXT (7.12.17)
In this “new era” of NXT (which it always seems to be), WWE has truly managed to put on interesting and exciting episodes of NXT every week. There are two big events happening this week that surround the tag team division: the return of Johnny Gargano and an NXT Tag Team Championship match between The Authors of Pain and Heavy Machinery.
Seven weeks ago at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, #DIY lost a Tag Team Championship Ladder Match to The Authors of Pain, and Tommaso Ciampa snapped. Ciampa attacked his partner and best friend and Gargano has been silent ever since. It looks like it is finally time for “Johnny Wrestling” to return and address what happened.
The main event features the third consecutive week with a big title match. Heavy Machinery has impressed in their short television career, combining speed, weight, and mat wrestling ability. They believe they are ready to challenge the Authors of Pain, a team that is still undefeated long after debuting and doesn’t seem to be losing the titles anytime soon.
