This week, WWE heads to Las Vegas and they are planning to make it the biggest Tuesday night possible. While Raw and NXT take a backseat this week, Tuesday features SmackDown Live, 205 Live, and the live finale of the Mae Young Classic.
Monday Night Raw (9.11.17)
Raw had a pretty big episode last week, including an Intercontinental Championship defense and Big Show taking on Braun Strowman in a steel cage. This week, there doesn’t seem to be anything specific advertised, which means that it is a lot of follow-up and there might not be a lot worth watching on Raw this week.
Possible angles for Raw this week include:
- John Cena and Roman Reigns in another in-ring segment
- “Braun Strowman’s onslaught continues,” according to WWE.com
- Alexa Bliss now has three championship pursuers
- The Intercontinental Championship needs a new #1 Contender
- Enzo Amore is the #1 Contender for the Cruiserweight Championship
- Finn Balor, without the demon, is back feuding with Bray Wyatt
SmackDown Live (9.12.17)
Out of nowhere, this seemingly random episode of SmackDown Live turned into one of the biggest of the year. Taking place in Las Vegas, there are three championship matches and a return from one of the biggest names in sports entertainment, Vince McMahon.
Let’s start with the return of Vince McMahon. The Chairman of WWE only appears every now and then these days, but when he does, all eyes are on the product. Last week, McMahon indefinitely suspended his son, Shane (the Commissioner of SmackDown Live), for attacking Kevin Owens. Vince McMahon is coming to SmackDown Live to address the situation and as usual, he will probably shake things up a bit.
Now onto the title matches. First, there is another United States Championship defense pitting AJ Styles against the Perfect 10, Tye Dillinger. A couple weeks ago, Dillinger answered the US Open Challenge and he could have had a better chance if it wasn’t for Baron Corbin attacking him before the match (Corbin also wanted to answer the US Open Challenge but didn’t get there in time). Styles approached Dillinger backstage last week and offered him a fair one-on-one match because he is a fighting champion and the WWE Universe wants to see what kind of match they can put on.
The second of three title defenses is for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, where the Usos will defend the gold in a Street Fight against the New Day. This is the New Day’s rematch after losing the belts on the SummerSlam Kickoff Show (in what might have been the best match of the night) and after Kofi Kingston and Big E failed to defeat the Usos in a non-title match a couple weeks ago, Jimmy and Jey were allowed to choose the stipulation for their defense. They chose a Street Fight, which shakes things up in the ongoing rivalry and could be their best match yet.
Lastly, Naomi cashes in her rematch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. After shockingly losing the title to Natalya at SummerSlam, Naomi is determined to reclaim the Women’s Championship and become the only woman to have held it three times. Natalya is a big target because not only does she have a challenger, she has to worry about Ms. Money in the Bank, Carmella. The Princess of Staten Island seemed to be planning something with James Ellsworth last week so the night could end with neither Naomi or Natalya as champion.
It will be hard for SmackDown Live to find time around all of these big matches and events, but there will probably be some build for Shinsuke Nakamura’s second opportunity at challenging for Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship.
Mae Young Classic Live Finale (9.12.17)
Over the past couple weeks, WWE has uploaded eight episodes of the Mae Young Classic, a historic tournament featuring 32 women from all over the world. Every episode ranged from good to excellent and now that all of the pre-taped episodes are finished airing, WWE can finally crown a winner for the inaugural edition of this tournament. Will it be the fan favorite Kairi Sane or combat sports veteran Shayna Baszler?
Both women have defeated four others to get to this final spot. Sane surpassed Tessa Blanchard, Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai, and Toni Storm in matches that exceeded expectations. Baszler outlasted Zeda, Mia Yim, Candice LeRae, and Mercedes Martinez while showing the world that she is more than just a former MMA fighter. Regardless of who wins, this match should be a good one. The Mae Young Classic Live Finale airs on the WWE Network right after SmackDown Live.
205 Live (9.12.17)
Nothing has officially been announced, but it seems like Rich Swann and TJP are going to finally have their rubber match in their series of friendly competition now that TJP’s “knee injury” has fully healed. Also, now that Enzo Amore is the new #1 Contender for the Cruiserweight Championship, what does that mean for the landscape of 205 Live?
WWE NXT (9.13.17)
After last week, Johnny Gargano is either going to face Tino Sabatelli or Riddick Moss after a confrontation in the WWE Performance Center. Now that the NXT Women’s Championship is vacated, hopefully, General Manager William Regal will have more information on how a new champion is going to be crowned. It will be very exciting if it has to do with the winner of the Mae Young Classic, but since NXT is airing one day after the Mae Young Classic finale, that might not happen.
