Less than a week before Night of Champions, the season premiere of Raw is already packed with high-stakes action, with Nikki Bella defending her Divas Championship against Charlotte and The New Day putting their WWE Tag Team Championship on the line against former titleholders The Prime Time Players. What else is in store on this monumental edition of Raw?
How will Seth Rollins retaliate against Sting?
Seth Rollins might hold both the WWE World Heavyweight and United States Titles, but he’s no doubt feeling less than golden after last Monday night’s Raw, when he suffered defeat to Intercontinental Champion Ryback, was on the losing side of the night’s six-man tag team main event and saw his precious bronze statue — crafted to celebrate his status as “The Man†in WWE — crushed in the back of a garbage truck by Sting.
The Architect earned back a measure of his dignity on SmackDown, when he defeated The Big Guy in a Lumberjack Match, but Rollins is no doubt anxious to retaliate against The Vigilante. Will “The Future of WWE†lure Sting from the shadows for a confrontation before their WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match at Night of Champions? Or will Rollins save his strength, knowing that he’ll also need to defend the U.S. Title against John Cena that same night, live on WWE Network?
Will Nikki Bella make history?
Going into Monday night, Nikki Bella will have already tied AJ Lee’s Divas Title record of 295 days as champion, and if she turns back Charlotte on Raw’s season premiere, she’ll become the longest-reigning Divas Champion of all time.
In a WWE.com interview with Michael Cole, Nikki affirmed that she “needs†to make history on Monday night, but let’s not forget that it was Charlotte who made Nikki vigorously tap the canvas last week when the PCB member trapped the titleholder in the Figure-Eight Leglock. Will we witness a similar outcome on Raw’s season premiere, or will Nikki go down in the record books as the most dominant Divas Champion of all time?
Which tandem will go to Night of Champions with the WWE Tag Team Titles?
Xavier Woods might have to put his trombone rehearsals on hold going into Raw’s season premiere, as The New Day prepares to defend their WWE Tag Team Titles against the very game Prime Time Players.
Titus O’Neil and Darren Young were victorious alongside John Cena against Kofi Kingston, Big E and U.S. and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins last week on Raw, and will no doubt relish the opportunity to roll into Night of Champions with the WWE Tag Team Titles around their waists. However, whoever walks away with the victory faces an unenviable challenge next Sunday night: a title defense against The Dudley Boyz, live on the award-winning WWE Network.
Who will join Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose against The Wyatt Family?
Friends are hard to come by, especially when you’re looking for backup against The Wyatt Family. Last Monday night, after Randy Orton seemed to show interest in joining Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose against Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and the imposing Braun Strowman, The Wyatt Family laid waste to The Viper, sending a powerful message to the entire WWE locker room.
After the monstrous trio made an example of WWE’s Apex Predator on Raw and assaulted Jimmy Uso on SmackDown, will The Big Dog and The Lunatic Fringe be able to find a partner before their Six-Man Tag Team Match against The Wyatt Family at Night of Champions? Who would be bold enough to stand alongside the potentially outmatched brothers-in-arms?
What new drama will unfold between WWE’s most talked-about couples?
The TMZ-worthy scandal involving Dolph Ziggler, Lana, Rusev and Summer Rae has taken some interesting turns since Summer “accidentally†walked in on the showering Showoff two weeks ago on Raw. Summer claimed to have an “on-and-off†relationship with Ziggler during “Miz TV†on SmackDown, driving a rift between The Showoff and The Ravishing Russian. Then, after Lana suffered a broken wrist while training before a WWE Live Event the following Sunday, Summer publicly apologized to The Bulgarian Brute on Raw for bringing him into all of this.
Where will this romantic roller coaster lead us next? How might this bizarre drama affect Ziggler’s upcoming bout with Rusev at Night of Champions? Whatever happens between these warring couples on Raw, the WWE Universe will be buzzing.
Who will rule the season premiere?
Charlotte stands in the way of Nikki Bella becoming WWE’s longest-reigning Divas Champion when she vies for the butterfly-emblazoned prize on the season premiere of Raw, which will also play host to a WWE Tag Team Championship Match pitting The New Day against The Prime Time Players!
