Raw airs tonight (Sept. 18) with a live show from Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is the third episode of Raw during the five week build towards Fastlane, which takes place on October 7.
Nia Jax is getting pushed, whether you like it or not
Nia Jax returned to WWE at the very end of last week’s Raw, where she cost Raquel Rodriguez her match against Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley. Jax also beat the shit out of Ripley, finishing her off with a stiff Bonzai Drop. Based on the way this angle played out, it looks like Jax will be positioned right into a championship feud with Rhea.
Nia is a polarizing figure in the wrestling world, with many folks blaming her for injuring several wrestlers over the years, while others chalk it up to wrestling being inherently dangerous.
Whether you like her or not, though, it’s easy to see why WWE is putting her in this spot with Ripley. WWE is likely trying to hold off on a match between Ripley and Becky Lynch until WrestleMania season, and the depth of the women’s division on Raw is lacking, so that means Jax will be pushed in the coming weeks and maybe months. Jax is one of the few women who has a size advantage over Rhea, which could perhaps make her a more attractive challenger in WWE’s eyes than someone who Rhea looks like she can destroy in seconds.
Now that Nia is back, she’ll have to cut a promo explaining her motivations and what’s coming next. That will likely happen on tonight’s episode of Raw, where there’s also a good chance that Raquel Rodriguez won’t just peacefully step aside for Jax as the top contender for Rhea.
The rest of the title scene
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins is desperate to get Shinsuke Nakamura back in the ring for another title fight, but Nakamura’s patience is driving him nuts. Shinsuke instead has a match tonight against Ricochet, following up last week’s backstage ambush. Does Seth plan to get involved in Shinsuke’s bout?
Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER was let down by Giovanni Vinci once again last week, increasing the probability that Vinci is kicked out of Imperium. Meanwhile, the champ appears to have both Chad Gable and Tommaso Ciampa gunning for his belt.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven might be losing the belts very soon now that Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark appear to be a new tag team. Shayna made quick work of Chelsea last week in a singles match. Will a singles match between Niven and Stark be on the way next?
WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest and Finn Balor have yet to give Sami Zayn and