Every week, we here at Get More Sports break down all of the in-ring content that WWE has to offer, and this week is a doozy. On top of the usual seven hours of weekly shows (Raw, SmackDown Live, 205 Live, and NXT), there are two Pay-Per-Views this weekend. First, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III takes place on Saturday, August 19, then the following day (August 20), Raw and SmackDown host SummerSlam.
Monday Night Raw (8.14.17)
There is only one match advertised for the go-home episode of Raw: Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax. Both women won respective Triple Threat Matches last week (Banks defeating Emma and Alicia Fox, and Jax defeating Dana Brooke and Mickie James) leading to this #1 Contender’s Match. Whoever wins this week will go on to SummerSlam to face Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship.
One of the biggest angles over the past month has been the tentative alliance between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Rollins betrayed Ambrose three years ago when he left The Shield for The Authority and Ambrose still doesn’t trust him, and rightfully so. The Lunatic Fringe started to show signs of trust last week, but it was Rollins who turned him down.
The rest of the show should just get us excited for SummerSlam, but a couple questions remain. Since Scott Dawson is injured, will The Hardy Boyz do anything on the show? Will Sheamus and Cesaro defend their Raw Tag Team Championships? Lastly, will the feud between Jason Jordan and The Miz lead to an Intercontinental Championship match for the General Manager’s son?
SmackDown Live (8.15.17)
Like Raw, SmackDown is supposed to get the WWE Universe excited about SummerSlam this Sunday. Shinsuke Nakamura is challenging Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship, but they haven’t interacted at all. Also, we have barely seen Natalya since she became the #1 Contender for Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s Championship. Hopefully these important SummerSlam participants will get their time on TV this week to make “the biggest party of the summer” as exciting as possible.
205 Live (8.15.17)
Say it with me, everyone: Nothing is advertised for 205 Live. Last week, we saw the return of Noam Dar, Tony Nese picking up a win over Cedric Alexander, and the competition between Rich Swann and TJP turn not so friendly. This week will probably expand on those stories more, and hopefully give us a reason to be more excited for Akira Tozawa’s Cruiserweight Championship match at SummerSlam.
WWE NXT (8.16.17)
There are two big segments set for NXT this week that prepare for TakeOver: Brooklyn III and beyond. First, Asuka and Ember Moon will partake in an official contract signing for their NXT Women’s Championship, and if their last in-ring interaction was indicative of anything, Asuka should keep her guard up. In the main event, Drew McIntyre will face Roderick Strong just three days before challenging Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship. If Strong wins, he will get a match against Roode after TakeOver, with the title on the line if Roode retains this Saturday.
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III (8.19.17)
This is the third consecutive year that SummerSlam weekend takes place in Brooklyn, NY, and NXT has a pretty good show lined up. A more detailed preview (as usual) will be published later this week, but here is the match card as of this writing:
- Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
- Aleister Black vs. Hideo Itami
- The Authors of Pain (c) vs. SAnitY – NXT Tag Team Championships
- Asuka (c) vs. Ember Moon – NXT Women’s Championship
- Bobby Roode (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – NXT Championship
SummerSlam (8.20.17)
Like TakeOver: Brooklyn III, there will be a big SummerSlam preview with predictions posted later this week. 11 matches have already been announced outside of the Intercontinental and Raw Tag Team Championships, so unless the show has 13 (!) matches, here is the complete card (as of this writing, of course):
- Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
- Big Show vs. Big Cass – Enzo Amore Suspended Above the Ring in a Shark Cage
- John Cena vs. Baron Corbin
- Randy Orton vs. Rusev
- The New Day (c) vs. The Usos – SmackDown Tag Team Championships
- Neville (c) vs. Akira Tozawa – WWE Cruiserweight Championship
- AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens – United States Championship (Shane McMahon as Special Guest Referee)
- Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax/Sasha Banks – Raw Women’s Championship (Challenger will be decided on Raw)
- Naomi (c) vs. Natalya – SmackDown Women’s Championship
- Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – WWE Championship
- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe – WWE Universal Championship (If Lesnar Loses, He Leaves WWE)
