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 is full of action, with the Great Balls of Fire Pay-Per-View this Sunday, making this week’s episode of Raw a must-watch. There is also a big holiday episode of SmackDown Live, the action-packed 205 Live, and another episode of NXT with a huge title defense.
Monday Night Raw (7.3.17)
Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw acts as the “go home” show for the Great Balls of Fire Pay-Per-View. WWE has not advertised any matches for tonight, but there are a lot of events from last week that have to be followed up on.
First, we will probably get more development in the Enzo Amore/Big Cass situation. After Cass attacked Amore a couple weeks ago, Amore forgave him because of their family-like bond. It seemed like Cass was going to rejoin SmackTalker Skywalker, but it turns out he just fooled his former partner for the second week in a row. Perhaps Amore finally realizes that Cass is done with him.
Second, of course, is the marquee match of Great Balls of Fire: Brock Lesnar defending the Universal Championship against Samoa Joe. In the past altercations, Joe has gotten the upper hand, so this is Lesnar’s last chance to build momentum going into his title defense.
Lastly, we have the big women’s main event from last week. Nia Jax was sure to win, but Sasha Banks took advantage of her lucky number draw and became the new #1 Contender for the Raw Women’s Championship. There is only one night to try and promote the title match between her and Alexa Bliss, but if there are two women who can do so, these are them.
Along with these follow-ups, we should find out more about the Raw Tag Team Championship scene, the feud between Goldust and R-Truth, and the upcoming Ambulance Match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman.
SmackDown Live (7.4.17)
Hopefully, this will be the last week that SmackDown Live makes up for mistakes. Last week, they had to redo the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match assumedly because of online backlash and tonight, they have to redo the Women’s Championship match.
Last week, Naomi successfully defended the SmackDown Women’s Championship against an undeserving Lana. After looking at a replay of the match, General Manager Daniel Bryan determined that Lana’s shoulder was up during the pin. To make up for the referee’s mistake, Lana is getting a third opportunity at the title.
For weeks, WWE has been advertising the return of “free agent” John Cena. Since his victory alongside his fiancée Nikki Bella at WrestleMania 33, Cena has been away from WWE working on movie and TV show projects. Now, the 16-time World Champion is back and is ready to announce what he is going to do next.
There are two segments announced regarding the United States and SmackDown Tag Team Championships. To determine the new #1 Contender for Kevin Owens’ United States Championship, Daniel Bryan announced an Independence Day Battle Royal. For the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The Usos, they will be competing in a Rap-Off against The New Day, with Wale as the judge.
205 Live (7.4.17)
There are currently no matches advertised for 205 Live, but it is safe to say that they will be building on the Drew Gulak/Mustafa Ali feud, Brian Kendrick’s assault of Jack Gallagher, the Cruiserweight Championship scene, and the Noam Dar/Cedric Alexander situation.
NXT (7.5.17)
After hosting an NXT Women’s Championship match last week, NXT continues its streak of action-packed episodes again this week. In this week’s main event, the very personal feud between Bobby Roode and Roderick Strong comes to a head when Strong challenges for the NXT Championship.
Great Balls of Fire (7.9.17)
This Sunday, WWE hosts its most ridiculously titled Pay-Per-View in a long time. There will be more details in our upcoming preview of the event, but here the complete match card (as of this writing) for Great Balls of Fire:
- Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt
- Neville (c) vs. Akira Tozawa – WWE Cruiserweight Championship
- Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks – Raw Women’s Championship
- Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns – Ambulance Match
- Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe – WWE Universal Championship
