Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week ahead.
WWE Raw preview – Norfolk Scope Arena, Norfolk, Va. (live)
With Bobby Lashley and Omos tied at one win apiece in their feud, it’s time for the two powerhouses to settle things inside a steel cage.
If Lashley loses, he can’t complain since it was his idea to lay out this particular challenge last Monday. The idea, of course, is that MVP can’t interfere, something that directly contributed to Omos’ win at WrestleMania Backlash. But this particular storyline feels like one that might continue into Hell in a Cell, so don’t be shocked if there’s no definitive winner Monday night even though the stipulation suggests there should be.
AEW Dynamite preview – Fertitta Center, Houston (live)
AEW is billing this week’s Dynamite as “Wild Card Wednesday,” which fits their gambling-related theming for the upcoming Double or Nothing PPV, but is also a reference to the jokers being revealed for both Owen Hart Foundation tournaments. Whoever the mystery wrestlers are, they’ll have their hands full in quarterfinal matchups with Samoa Joe and Dr. Britt Baker.
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Also on tap for this week’s Dynamite:
- Another quarterfinal on the men’s side with Kyle O’Reilly taking on Rey Fenix
- A semifinal bout with Adam Cole facing Jeff Hardy
- Hangman Adam Page is on action against Konosuke Takeshita with CM Punk on commentary
- Chris Jericho has a face-to-face confrontation with William Regal
- Wardlow gets his 10 lashes from MJF
AEW Rampage preview – Fertitta Center, Houston (taped)
The most interesting question for Rampage each week at this point is when it will air on TNT thanks to NBA and NH playoff games. The answer for this Friday, May 20 is 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.
As for the card, the one match we know for sure is going down is an Owen Hart Foundation women’s quarterfinal between Red Velvet and Kris Statlander. Statlander is taking the place of Velvet’s originally announced opponent, Hikaru Shida.
WWE SmackDown preview – Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich. (live)
This is it, finally. The tag team titles have been teased for a unification match since prior to WrestleMania Backlash, with The Usos trying to fulfill a directive from Roman Reigns to obtain both sets of titles and RK-Bro understandably figuring it would be cool to grab them for themselves.
This Friday, the two teams will settle things once and for all to decide which tag team reigns supreme. Probably. If Reigns doesn’t interfere, and the Street Profits, who have been on the periphery of this story throughout, don’t decide to do something. Just saying, Hell in a Cell isn’t that far away …