WWE has such 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. Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live features two insanely huge main events before SummerSlam in a few weeks, and Asuka makes her return to NXT.
Monday Night Raw (7.31.17)
This week, Monday Night Raw has a good mix of segments that follow up on last week’s action, look towards SummerSlam, and emphasize storytelling with continuity. Throughout all of this, the Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, is nowhere to be found.
First, let’s take a look at the interesting development with Jason Jordan. Two weeks ago, Jordan was revealed to be General Manager Kurt Angle’s son while also being traded to Monday nights. Last week, he made his Raw debut and soundly defeated Curt Hawkins in impressive fashion. Now, he moves onto MizTV, where the Miz is sure to make him look like a million bucks. The question is, though, is he the next challenger for the Intercontinental Championship?
Next, we will take a look at one rivalry in the tag team division and one between two main event stars. In the tag division, The Revival has made it their mission to take out the Hardy Boyz. They did so a couple weeks ago, and last week, they moved up the ladder by defeating Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. In singles competition, Bray Wyatt chose his next target: Finn Balor. Balor is an interesting target since he occasionally transforms into a “demon” of some sort, which Wyatt is sure to try and bring out.
Of course, there is still the huge main event. At SummerSlam, Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman will all challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship in a Fatal Four-Way match. In a bit of a preview, Kurt Angle decided to book a Triple Threat Match between the three challengers and it is sure to be a hell of a fight.
SmackDown Live (8.1.17)
While Raw may have a big show planned (as usual these days), SmackDown Live is giving the flagship show a run for its money this week. This week’s episode will feature a championship match, possibly more Fashion Files, and a dream match in the main event.
Over the past couple months, Breezango has been on the case searching for who attacked Tyler Breeze and destroyed their office. In an episode of the Fashion Files that parodied the X-Files, they were almost about to crack the case when they were laid out from behind and Fandango was dragged away. Perhaps more information will be revealed this week.
In the main event of last week’s episode, a returning Chris Jericho competed in a Triple Threat Match against AJ Styles and Kevin Owens for the United States Championship. After losing the United States Championship to Styles in Madison Square Garden and regaining the gold at Battleground, Owens lost the title just as quickly as he regained it when Styles pinned Jericho to capture his second US Title. After the loss, Owens immediately issued his rematch clause for this week.
The main event for this week, however, is a dream match some fans have been waiting for since NXT TakeOver: Dallas. Over the past couple of months, Shinsuke Nakamura was drafted to SmackDown Live and John Cena made his return to the same brand. This week, we finally get a match with the Face of WWE taking on one of the biggest stars from Japan, with the winner facing Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
205 Live (8.1.17)
We are back to the unfortunate portion of WWE’s programming where nothing is advertised for 205 Live. If there is anything from last week to go off of, there will be developments in some reoccurring stories. Neville is being chased by two challengers: Ariya Daivari and an injured Akira Tozawa. The Brian Kendrick is making it his personal mission to make fun of Gentleman Jack Gallagher and get him removed from 205 Live altogether. Lastly, there might be some more “friendly competition” between Rich Swann and TJP.
NXT (8.2.17)
There is really only one thing advertised for this week’s episode of NXT: the return of the NXT Women’s Champion, Asuka. After successfully retaining her title against Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing match a couple weeks ago, the undefeated Empress of Tomorrow decided to leave until she found a worthy challenger. Last week, General Manager William Regal decided that Ember Moon was ready for another championship match, this time at TakeOver: Brooklyn III. The champion will return to respond to her new challenger.
