Raw airs tonight (Aug. 18) with a live show from Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is the third episode of Raw during the four week build to Clash in Paris, which takes place on Aug. 31.
Naomi’s world title run might already be over
Women’s World Champion Naomi missed last week’s episode of Raw when WWE announced late in the day that she wasn’t medically cleared. Her title defense against IYO SKY was canceled, and it also sounded like she wouldn’t be back in time for a match at Clash in Paris match against Stephanie Vaquer. The rumor mill indicated that Naomi will be out a long time, but we didn’t know what was really going on.
That changes tonight when Naomi returns to Raw to address the situation, as well as the state of the women’s world championship. There has been plenty of speculation about a potential injury announcement or pregnancy announcement. It certainly seems plausible that Naomi will vacate the title when she appears on Raw tonight, less than 40 days after she won it with a shocking Money in the Bank cash in during the main event of Evolution 2. If Naomi does indeed vacate the title, WWE might also be ready to announce a plan for crowning a new champion soon.
But maybe we should proceed with caution regarding any assumptions here, just in case Naomi has a different announcement to make about last week’s absence and the state of the women’s world title. The only way to find out for sure what’s going on with Naomi is to tune into tonight’s episode of Raw to hear what she has to say.
We will hear from The Vision, as World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and his henchmen are in the building. Rollins has to defend the gold against LA Knight, CM Punk, and Jey Uso at Clash in Paris, so some or all of these babyfaces will likely come out looking to get a piece of this liar.
Speaking of Uso, he goes one-on-one against Bron Breakker tonight. Roman Reigns will also be on the show, so don’t be surprised if the Tribal Chief interferes in this one to set up a match against Tribal Thief Bronson Reed at Clash in Paris.
Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends the belt against Natalya tonight. Nattie failed to capture championship gold this past weekend at Triplemania, and I don’t think her chances of winning the title here are any better. Is WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella in the building ready to confront The Man afterwards?
IYO SKY vs. Raquel Rodriguez is also booked on Raw. SKY is coming off a loss against Roxanne Perez last week after an unwanted assist from the Kabuki Warriors backfired. How will Asuka and Kairi Sane react if the numbers game of The Judgment Day ends up being too much for IYO to handle tonight? Is Asuka on the cusp of a heel turn? Where does Rhea Ripley fit into this story?
Finally, Penta vs. Xavier Woods is happening tonight. What kind of hat will Woods wear to the ring for this one, and will it be the right size to conceal a weapon?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– AJ Styles screwed that little shithead Dominik Mysterio out of winning the AAA Mega Championship at Triplemania. Is Dirty Dom so pissed off at AJ that he’s willing to give him a rematch for the Intercontinental championship in order to get his hands on the Phenomenal One?
– There are at least three men running around in WWE dressed up as El Grande Americano. Ludwig Kaiser appears to be one of them. Will some masks be removed tonight to reveal the identities of the others?
– Rusev and Sheamus can’t stop brawling with each other. Will they have to settle this one in a Bar Fight?
– After a disappointing and frustrating year in WWE, Bayley seems to be undergoing a character reboot. Will she give us more insight into her new direction tonight?
– Is Killer Kross ready to come back to WWE yet with his new theme song?
– Is WWE ready to announce that LA Knight is officially on the Raw roster in exchange for Sami Zayn going to SmackDown, or does WWE creative have a different transaction in mind?
– Where the f*** is Omos Brock Lesnar?
What will you be looking for on Raw?
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