5 things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week- RAW gets new championship rivalries; Finn Balor suffers a setback

WrestleMania Backlash was a success and WWE continued building on the pay-per-view this past week. WWE RAW saw Bobby Lashley celebrate his victory before issuing an open challenge.

Kofi Kingston answered the open challenge and defeated the WWE Champion in a non-title match with a bit of help from the outside. Will WWE build the rivalry between Kingston and Lashley this week? Or will Drew McIntyre continue hunting Lashley?

Asuka picked up a victory over Charlotte Flair after taking the pin on Sunday night. Who will be challenging Rhea Ripley for the RAW Women’s Championship?

Karrion Kross will face Finn Balor for the NXT Championship again this week. Will Kross be able to defeat The Prince once again? And who will move into the title picture once this rivalry comes to an end?

Roman Reigns cut a great promo on WWE SmackDown once again. Seth Rollins attacked Cesaro before The Swiss star could get another match against The Tribal Chief. Rollins and Cesaro are heading on a collision course while Reigns has his hands full dealing with The Usos.

Aleister Black returned to attack Big E in the final moments of SmackDown. Will Black reveal why he targeted the former Intercontinental Champion upon his return?

Take a look at the five things that must happen on WWE RAW, NXT, and SmackDown this week.

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#5 Damian Priest starts a feud with Sheamus on WWE RAW

Damian Priest helped Bad Bunny take out The Miz and John Morrison at the 2021 Royal Rumble. Since then, Priest has been in a rivalry with Miz and Morrison on RAW.

While Priest and Bunny defeated Miz and Morrison at WrestleMania 37, WWE has failed to capitalize on the momentum that The Archer of Infamy had built. Last week, Priest once again defeated Morrison, this time in the absence of The Miz, and claimed that he was done with the duo.

Priest claimed he wanted to accept Bobby Lashley’s open challenge later in the show but did not do so. The Archer may not be ready for a shot at the WWE Championship. However, he could move into the United States Championship picture and elevate the title picture.

Sheamus was building a rivalry with Humberto Carrillo before the latter was injured on RAW. Since then, Ricochet has been giving Sheamus a tough time on the Red brand.

This week, Priest must appear to help save Ricochet from The Celtic Warrior and move into a rivalry with him. Priest is a former NXT North American Champion who seems more than ready for some big opportunities.

WWE should not wait on him like they waited on Keith Lee and T-Bar (Dominik Dijakovic) and instead give him a shot at the United States Championship at WWE Hell in a Cell. While Sheamus is a good champion, Priest could do much more with the title around his waist.

#4 Kofi Kingston demands a WWE Championship match for Hell in a Cell

Last week on WWE RAW, Bobby Lashley came out looking satisfied after his dominant victory over Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre. The All-Mighty celebrated his big victory before MVP issued an open challenge on Lashley’s behalf.

After MVP clarified that McIntyre and Strowman were not allowed to answer the open challenge, several RAW superstars made their intentions clear to challenge Lashley. However, it was Kofi Kingston from The New Day who walked out at the end of the night to face The All-Mighty.

After a good match, McIntyre came in to prevent MVP from interfering in the contest. He then blasted Lashley with MVP’s cane and helped Kingston pick up a huge victory.

This storyline is likely to continue this, with Kingston making his case for a potential WWE Championship shot. Kingston could talk about his previous reign as WWE Champion before challenging Lashley to a match at Hell in a Cell.

Lashley needs to move away from McIntyre for some time, and Kingston could prove to be the perfect opponent for him. Therefore, WWE must give Kingston a chance to take on Lashley at the upcoming pay-per-view.

#3 Pete Dunne defeats Bobby Fish on WWE NXT

Bobby Fish last competed inside a WWE ring at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. He suffered a triceps injury during the match and has now returned, looking to settle the score with Pete Dunne and his men.

The injury forced Fish to watch the implosion of The Undisputed Era from the sidelines.

Fish and Dunne are two of the most technically sound wrestlers in WWE. It will be good to see Fish compete in a match against a top superstar without Undisputed Era by his side.

While it will be exciting to see Fish pick up a singles victory on NXT upon his return, it is Dunne who must win the match.

The Bruiserweight has been pushing himself as the top superstar of the Black and Gold brand. However, he has taken several losses over the past few months. Another loss will dent his image, and therefore WWE must allow Dunne to pick up a victory.

Fish can then move into a rivalry with Oney Lorcan, who is currently without his partner Danny Burch. On the other hand, Dunne could move into a program with Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship.

#2 Karrion Kross retains his WWE NXT Championship against Finn Balor

Karrion Kross defeated Finn Balor to win the WWE NXT Championship at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Kross first won the title from Keith Lee last year but was forced to relinquish it due to an injury.

This time, Kross is looking to have a dominant reign as the NXT Champion that could see him become a top name. He has already defeated The Prince once and will be looking to take him down again for the title.

While Kross has the momentum going into the match, one must not forget that Balor is a former Universal Champion. The Prince is one of the best wrestlers in the world today, and he can easily take down Kross on his day.

Keeping that in mind, fans can expect an even better match between the two men on NXT this week after their encounter at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. However, WWE must allow The Herald of Doomsday to take down Balor once again to retain the title.

A victory over Balor has already helped Kross get over and further cement him as the new face of NXT.

#1 Big E calls out Aleister Black on WWE SmackDown

Big E has been one of the biggest babyface mid-carders on WWE SmackDown since splitting from The New Day. After an impressive Intercontinental Championship reign, Big E has given Apollo Crews a good push with a few big victories.

On last week’s SmackDown, Big E was part of a Fatal 4-Way Match for the Intercontinental Championship. Aleister Black returned during the contest and attacked Big E to cost him the match.

Initially, it looks like Black may be aligning with Crews. However, that does not seem to be the case as Crews already has Commander Azeez by his side.

Why did Black attack Big E instead of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, or the Intercontinental Champion on SmackDown? E must come out on SmackDown this week to call out Black and demand an answer.

There’s no history between the two men, and it looks like WWE is building a fresh rivalry for the Blue brand. The Dutch Destroyer must then appear on the big screen and cut another cryptic promo, leaving the WWE Universe guessing as to what his intentions are.

A good rivalry between Black and Big E could help the brand strengthen its mid-card scene.