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As the road to WWE Hell in a Cell continues, what’s in store for the likes of Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, and new Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks?
Last night, SmackDown Live put on their second pay-per-view of the post-brand split era. WWE No Mercy featured some great matches, in particular the World title triple threat that opened the show and the Dolph Ziggler vs Miz career vs title match. Tonight, Raw will look to answer back with a quality show of their own as they continue building toward their next Raw-exclusive PPV, Hell in a Cell.
As of now, three matches have been announced for the show. Roman Reigns will face Rusev in what is being advertised as their final battle for the United States Championship. Charlotte will also have her rematch with Charlotte for the Women’s title. And last but not least, Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins will face off again for the Universal Championship.
But in case you haven’t heard, PPVs do not have just three matches on the card. There’s plenty more that needs to occur before Hell in a Cell can take place 20 days from now at the TD Garden in Boston. With that said, let’s get into our full preview for tonight’s WWE Monday Night Raw.
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Will Braun Strowman Finally Get Some Competition?
One of the best parts of Raw since the brand split has been Braun Strowman’s domination over every and any “local competitor” who steps into the ring with him. While some may not enjoy the matches because they’re not competitive, they’ve given us some of the funniest segments of the year. There was the guy who liked “big, sweaty men”, the superhero known as Americo, and most notably “the man with two hands”, James Ellsworth.
But regardless of how funny these matches have been, it was clear it had to lead to something at some point. Strowman wasn’t just going to face jobbers for the rest of his career. And finally, after demolishing “Chase Silver” last week, Strowman acknowledged as much, saying he wants some real competition and if he doesn’t get it there will be consequences.
That means Strowman will probably be facing a legitimate opponent this week. But the question is who? One of the more likely options until last night was a returning Luke Harper, but now that he’s on SmackDown, he’s out of the question. Perhaps Strowman will face someone who is still small, but is actually a legitimate competitor, like Neville or someone from the Cruiserweight Classic. Either that or it will be someone we’ve actually never seen before, maybe even someone Strowman’s size.
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What’s Next For the Cruiserweight Division?
The Cruiserweight division continues to be a bright spot on Raw. When the purple ropes and apron come out, you know you’re about to see something spectacular. The division consistently provides the best in-ring action week in and week out, and that should continue tonight thanks to appearances from the faces we’ve seen over the past few weeks, along with a brand new one.
According to PWInsider, Noam Dar is expected to make his debut tonight on Raw. Hailing from Scotland, he was one of the most impressive competitors from the Cruiserweight Classic. He won two matches in the Classic, defeating Gurvh Sihra and Ho Ho Lun before falling to Zack Sabre Jr in the quarterfinals. He will be a welcome addition to what is already a stacked group of Cruiserweights on the Raw roster.
Along with Dar’s debut, we’ll see a continuation of the TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick feud that has anchored the division since it was created a few weeks back. Kendrick has been a fantastic heel since returning, encapsulating the “wily veteran with nothing left to lose” attitude perfectly. And as of last week, he has a win over Perkins under his belt, meaning a rematch for the Cruiserweight title could be in his future. What else is in store for this division? We’ll just have to wait and see.
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Sasha Banks Begins Her Second Reign as Raw Women’s Champion
Sasha Banks has done it again. After giving us one of the best Raw moments of the year a few months ago when she surprisingly won the Women’s Championship, she doubled down and did it again last week. The match was incredible and the Boss deservingly has the title around her waist yet again. And this time, it’s likely to be a much more meaningful reign since she doesn’t have any lingering injuries like last time.
With her rematch with Charlotte already announced, the question is what the two women are going to do for the next three weeks. Charlotte is sure to complain about losing the title again, but at this point, what can she really say without sounding repetitive? Also, where does Bayley fit into all of this?
Bayley figures to be the next challenger for the title once Sasha disposes of Charlotte at Hell in a Cell. So could she insert herself into this feud a bit and at least make her presence known? Or will she keep having an empty semi-feud with Dana Brooke who confusingly continues to stick by Charlotte’s side?
For once, the women’s division on Raw is actually multi-layered, which is refreshing. That also means WWE will have to work overtime to make everything make sense. Tonight we’ll find out if they’re capable of doing exactly. that.
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