WWE: The Good, The Bad & The NXT
Thursday 11 May 2017 13:21, UK
WWE's European Tour was in full swing this week with both Raw and SmackDown emanating live from the O2 Arena in London. Here are the stars who have stood out this week on this side of the pond.
Good Week
Samoa Joe (RAW)
Samoa Joe got a huge win on Raw this week as he finally managed to pin long-time rival, Seth Rollins. Joe and Rollins have had problems since the beginning of the year when Joe was unveiled as Triple H's new right-hand man. Rollins managed to defeat Joe at WWE Payback a few weeks ago before Joe attacked 'The Architect' again last week.
Not only did Joe defeat Rollins this week, he made a statement when he threw him into the uncovered turnbuckle three times before locking in The Coquina Clutch and proving that he really is the Destroyer that Triple H warned Rollins about.
Live WWE Late Night Raw
Jinder Mahal (SmackDown)
Jinder managed to pin the WWE Champion Randy Orton this week in six-man tag action ahead of what is sure to be an explosive match at Backlash next weekend. WWE have done all they can to not hinder Jinder in the build-up to this match, considering he was an unlikely contender in the first place.
Jinder has proved a lot of people wrong in the past few weeks with the help of the Singh Brothers, but this will be his biggest achievement to date should he secure the pin next Sunday night.
Roderick Strong (NXT)
Roderick Strong may have lost the match to crown the new Number One Contender for the NXT Championship this week, but he earned the respect of both his opponent Hideo Itami and the NXT Universe after the show that he managed to put on in the NXT main event.
Strong has been the subject of many personal video packages on NXT recently which has allowed the audience to feel much more connected to him, even though he did notch up a loss this week, he proved that he was a future contender and if Itami comes out on top in Chicago, this would be a rematch that could definitely be on the cards.
Live WWE Late Night Smackdown
Bad Week
Goldust And R-Truth (RAW)
The Golden Truth blew their chances of becoming the Number One Contenders to the Tag Team Championships this week when R-Truth was easily pinned by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The veterans wanted to prove that they could turn back the clock just as well as The Hardy Boys and set up a match at Extreme Rules in a few weeks time, but it was seemingly out of their hands as once again the duo's dreams were tossed aside and The Club were awarded the chance to face The Hardyz instead.
Dolph Ziggler (SmackDown)
Dolph thought it was a good idea to call out The King of Strong Style this week, as a way of setting the record straight when it came to who deserved the attention of the crowd. Shinsuke Nakamura isn't someone who handles this well and was open to facing Dolph in his first main roster match until The Showoff decided to retreat.
Ziggler should also have learned by now not to attempt to attack The Japanese star either because once again it was Nakamura who gained the upper hand as his impending SmackDown debut looms in just nine days time.
Ember Moon (NXT)
Ember has been ruled out of NXT Takeover Chicago this week after it was revealed that she had suffered a shoulder injury. At one point it was thought that Ember was the only real threat to Asuka's reign as Champion, but now going into next weekend's event, it seems that Ember has hit a speedbump.
It is thought that Ember will be back in action following NXT Takeover, but she won't be cleared in time to compete at the event, which means that instead, she will have to prepare to challenge whoever walks out of Chicago as Champion.
