WWE has so much content every week that it could be a little overwhelming to keep track of everything that is going on, so here is a preview of everything to expect this week. Raw looks to figure out a #1 Contender for the Raw Women’s Championship while NXT looks towards TakeOver Brooklyn III.
Monday Night Raw (8.7.17)
The biggest story going into Monday Night Raw this week was not planned at all. Last week, Bayley faced Nia Jax and noticeably hurt her shoulder. Now, Superstars hurt themselves in every match, but it seemed like Bayley was a one-armed wrestler ever since she initially hurt the shoulder. It was revealed on WWE.com that Bayley has suffered a separated shoulder and she will be in Toronto, Canada to address the WWE Universe on Raw tonight. In the announcement, Mike Rome revealed how Kurt Angle is going to go about finding a new #1 Contender.
While the participants haven’t been specified yet, there will be two triple threat matches tonight. The winners of those matches will face each other in a #1 Contender’s Match next week to determine who will face Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam. The matches will feature some combination of Mickie James, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke, Emma, and probably Alicia Fox, unless Paige is ready to make her return.
Of course, there will be a lot of follow-up of angles from last week. WWE’s preview of Raw this week teases three stories that will be getting developed. The first is the Dean Ambrose refusing to trust Seth Rollins after Rollins backstabbed him a few years ago. Then second is the eerie feud between the Eater of Worlds Bray Wyatt and the potential Demon King, Finn Balor. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the Hardy Boyz have been “awoken” after brawling with The Revival, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson last week. This is an obvious homage to Matt Hardy’s “Broken” gimmick in TNA, and it is intriguing to see where this goes.
Lastly, there is a huge surprise match announced on Twitter earlier this week. Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman have been personal rivals throughout 2017, but they both pursue the common goal of capturing the WWE Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Before they compete in the Fatal Four-Way Match (along with Samoa Joe), however, they will face each other in a Last Man Standing match. If their previous encounters are indicative of anything, this one should tear the house down.
SmackDown Live (8.8.17)
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal has a new #1 Contender: Shinsuke Nakamura. Last week, The King of Strong Style defeated John Cena in a #1 Contender’s match to challenge Mahal for the championship at SummerSlam. For the first time since capturing the title, Mahal has an opponent that isn’t American, so hopefully he will avoid being a generic anti-American foreign heel. No matter what happens, this is an interesting development.
The last several episodes of the Fashion Files have been about one thing: figuring out who attacked them and trashed their office. Now, Fandango has been captured as well. In a spoof of Twin Peaks, it seems that Tyler Breeze has figured out who the culprits have been, so perhaps they will be revealed this week.
There should also be developments in the Women’s Division, the new feud between Rusev and Randy Orton, Sami Zayn’s rivalry with Mike Kanellis, and the emergence of Chad Gable as a singles competitor.
205 Live (8.8.17)
Not much is advertised for 205 Live this week, but it is better than the usual nothing we get on a weekly basis. Last week, Akira Tozawa became the new #1 Contender for the Cruiserweight Championship, so there should be some build for that here. The only confirmed thing, however, is a match between Rich Swann and TJP to continue their run of “friendly competition.”
NXT (8.9.17)
In a surprise to no one, NXT has a well thought out show prepared for this week. For the first time since becoming the #1 Contender to the NXT Championship (and defeating Killian Dain in the process), Drew McIntyre will have a “sit-down conversation” with his TakeOver: Brooklyn III opponent, Bobby Roode.
There are also a couple matches announced. The Street Profits, a tag team fond of using Snapchat, will make their debut and probably get a victory. Also, after a couple peculiar confrontations, Andrade “Cien” Almas will go one-on-one with No Way Jose.
