These are always fun affairs as it gives fans a chance at some prematch confrontation in an atmosphere that’s supposed to be neutral and safe. Of course, we’ve seen enough of these on Monday Night Raw to know they’re anything but. We’ll still watch, of course, just to see who Samoa Joe takes out.
Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler
In a fun twist, Dolph Ziggler appeared on Raw last week following he and his tag partner Robert Roode being traded for AJ Styles. One of the cool things about this that’s flown under the radar is Roode, McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley have a tremendous history together from their days at Impact Wrestling. It was allegedly the selling point used to convince Vince McMahon that Lashley and McIntyre could be a great feud; one that ended way too soon for our liking, by the way.
And Dolph Ziggler has long been considered the promotion’s best wrestler by many because he can work with anybody. He’s capable of having an awesome match at the drop of a hat and he can make anyone look good. So, having him and McIntyre face off is going to be a fun one. Add to it his gimmick when he went after Kofi Kingston (for the same championship, ironically) was “It should’ve been me” has morphed into “It’s because of me.”
He’s awesome at playing the entitlement angle similar to Chris Jericho when he first came to the WWE, and it’ll only make this signing all the more fun and interesting.
Sasha Banks and Asuka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_3nkDAjf8
This is a match many have been waiting for, but it’s grown in interest since Asuka defeated Charlotte Flair last week by submission. As many fans have pointed out on social media, Asuka has now made all Four Horsewomen tap out.
So, with that little nugget tucked away to be polished, we’re going to see her face Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship.
This came as a surprise to just about everyone (kudos to WWE creative for this swerve. We don’t say that often.) when Banks appeared ready to challenge Bayley for the Smackdown Women’s championship but challenged Asuka instead.
This has the makings of a classic match at Extreme Rules, assuming they make it through the contract signing. Chances are, Asuka will say or do something that’ll tick Banks or Bayley off, then they’ll say something, and things will happen.
This is purely our speculation and there’s nothing to base it on, but maybe Kairi Sane will return to eve the odds for her friend? This would be the perfect time, assuming she’s healthy enough and didn’t suffer a concussion. So far, we’ve only heard of the cut she suffered against Nia Jax.
The Samoa Joe factor
Okay, Samoa Joe is possibly the most talented all around guy working for the WWE at the moment. He’s awesome in the ring (when they let him wrestle instead of getting bounced around constantly by high flyers or he’s not injured), has proven to be just as good as a commentator, and will now be the contract signing enforcer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFaSd7ESi4U
Like former enforcers like Steve Austin, he’ll be able to maintain control in the ring since it’s unlikely anyone would try something and risk his wrath. Still, this doesn’t mean something won’t happen.
Banks, Bayley, and Asuka will probably get into it, and it’s hard to see Joe intervening without shielding Asuka in a corner while Bayley and Banks beat on him to get to her. It’ll make them look weak since there’s little chance he’d allow them to beat him up and flush his tough guy persona.
This is why we expect Kairi Sane to make an appearance, if simply to have her friend and partner’s back and force Bayley and Banks to back off. A couple of tag team matches would further hype their feud going into Extreme Rules.
As for Ziggler and McIntyre, seeing Joe tangle with them would be fun and bring back some Impact memories between McIntyre and Joe (Someone was paying attention to this in WWE and we thank you). This is one situation Joe will be able to keep control over unless there’s outside interference, say from Robert Roode?
Assuming this happens, it’d put Joe and McIntyre on the same side if Joe gets tangled up, and set up a potential tag team match to help hype McIntyre and Ziggler’s match as Extreme Rules.
These are a couple of things we can see happening tonight. What do you think we can expect?
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