The Good, The Bad and The NXT: WWE's weekly winners and losers
Thursday 16 August 2018 14:51, UK
The Biggest Party of the Summer is now on the horizon as WWE lands in Brooklyn on Saturday night and presents NXT Takeover, just 24 hours before SummerSlam takes over New York.
Ahead of the show, the superstars of both Raw, SmackDown and NXT made sure that they made this week count since it could be one of the most memorable weeks of many of these stars' careers.
Good Week
Seth Rollins (Raw)
After weeks of being the victim of the numbers game with Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler and his sidekick Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins decided to call upon his longtime friend Dean Ambrose to even the odds.
Ambrose has been on the treatment table for the past eight months after suffering a bicep injury back in December, but this week he arrived on Raw and sent a message to both Dolph and Drew ahead of Rollins' title match on Sunday night.
Ambrose was one of the top Twitter trends in the world for hours after Raw as the WWE Universe continued to share their appreciation for the fact that The Lunatic Fringe was back and Rollins had finally found an equaliser.
The Bludgeon Brothers (SmackDown)
The Bludgeon Brothers will never be seen as the most active members of the WWE locker room since the two former Wyatt Family members don't need to wrestle every week to show their dominance.
That being said, Harper and Rowan appeared on SmackDown Live this week and defeated three local jobbers in a handicap match to send a message to The New Day.
Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E think that having an extra man on Sunday night could give them a definitive advantage, but The Bludgeon Brothers proved this week that they can easily defy the odds and are now the favourites to retain their SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
Kairi Sane (NXT)
The Pirate Princess is the only woman in NXT to have recorded a victory over NXT women's champion Shayna Baszler - a year ago in the final of the Mae Young Classic - but Sane has been unable to repeat this feat since.
This week on NXT, it was stated that Sane lacked a killer instinct, which was why Baszler refused to feel threatened by her ahead of their match until Sane proved otherwise.
Sane had Aliyah beaten but refused to go for the cover, instead she delivered three In-Sane Elbows before again refusing to allow the referee to count the pin and then forced her opponent to tap to The Anchor.
Sane could have finally got into Baszler's head and could finally be lifting her first piece of NXT silverware this weekend in Brooklyn.
Bad Week
Roman Reigns (Raw)
Roman Reigns faces Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam on Sunday night in what will be their third singles match for that title in just four months.
Ahead of the match, it was well known that Brock Lesnar was in the arena and ready to be face to face with his challenger, but Paul Heyman decided to play mind games with Reigns by seemingly offering his services as his advocate.
Reigns denied his advances before Heyman then sprayed his eyes with a substance and allowed Lesnar to head to the ring and attack his challenger. Reigns is cleared to compete on Sunday night against Lesnar but after the beatdown he suffered at the hands of the Universal champion, it is unclear if he will be performing at 100 per cent.
AJ Styles (SmackDown)
AJ Styles defends his WWE title against Samoa Joe at SummerSlam, but he has been on the back foot throughout this feud as Joe has managed to make this rivalry as personal as possible. Joe and Styles have known each other for a long time and their history stretches all the way back to their time in TNA, which could be why Joe has been able to get under the champion's skin so easily.
Joe has brought Styles' family into the rivalry previously, but this week he read a letter out that he stated was written by Styles' wife Wendy and once again overstepped the line.
Styles has been unable to find a neutraliser in this feud so far and heading into SummerSlam he needs to find a way to step forward otherwise it could be Samoa Joe walking out of Brooklyn with the WWE Championship around his waist.
Roderick Strong (NXT)
Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly defend the NXT Tag Team Championships against Moustache Mountain this weekend at Takeover and ahead of their match, Strong took on Tyler Bate this week on NXT.
Last time these two stars met in the ring, Bate threw in the towel in order to save his partner from what could have been a career-ending knee injury, but this week Bate showed Strong that there were no signs of weakness in his game.
The former United Kingdom champion hit Strong with the Tyler Driver 97 to send a message to Strong, O'Reilly at ringside as well as Adam Cole and Bobby Fish who were in the back. Could the Tag Team championships be returning to Moustache Mountain on Saturday night?
