Predictions for WWE Raw, SmackDown, NXT and AEW Dynamite for Week of September 7

For the first time in three weeks, there is no imminent pay-per-view for WWE and AEW to prepare for. As a result, their weekly television presentations will be about telling new stories, advancing existing ones and placing talent in a position to thrive.

On Raw, Drew McIntyre will certainly be seeking revenge for a cowardly attack by Randy Orton that left him with a fractured jaw while Peyton Royce will look to recover from a fractured friendship and achieve singles success.

SmackDown will see the newest member of the Firefly Funhouse while NXT seeks to crown a new world champion for the second week in a row.

And there is AEW Dynamite, a show coming off a buzzworthy pay-per-view.

What should fans expect from each broadcast and the stars within?

Find out with these predictions for each show for the week of September 7.

Two weeks ago, just one night removed from successfully retaining his WWE Championship against Randy Orton at SummerSlam, Drew McIntyre found himself on the receiving end of three punt kicks to the head, courtesy of The Viper.

After Orton defeated Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and Keith Lee to earn a shot at the title on September 27 at Clash of Champions, expect McIntyre to be seeking revenge Monday night on Raw.

The Scottish Psychopath will be angrier, nastier and more hellbent on revenge than we have seen him to this point in his title reign and the result will be a more impassioned and aggressive McIntyre than we have seen in quite some time.

That bodes well for the viewer, who has grown weary of the confident and charismatic champion.

McIntyre needs that edge at this point in his reign, if for no other reason to remind the fans that he still has it. Orton brought it out of him and it should make for an even more physically intense, hotly contested championship match at the upcoming PPV.

But it all starts with renewed aggression, fury and the sense of revenge from McIntyre on this week's flagship.

After losing to Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan, thus breaking up The IIconics for good, Peyton Royce threw best friend and tag team partner Billie Kay to the wolves on last week's Raw Underground, watching from the floor as she was knocked unconscious by Jessamyn Duke.

On the surface, it was a funny bit that saw Kay utilize her over-the-top antics and theatricality as she sold the head kick that dropped her. What it really was, though, was the severing of ties between the Aussies and the launching off point for Royce's singles push.

That push starts Monday.

Do not be surprised to see the Aussie immediately interject herself in the Raw Women's Championship hunt.

We saw Mickie James establish herself as a top contender to Asuka's title but there is a very real possibility that Royce provides the latest roadblock for the future Hall of Famer on her path back to the gold.

And realistically, there would be few better options to really put Royce over as a new threat to the title than James. She has done it for countless others over her career and has a strong enough bond with longtime fans to really make Royce mean something as a singles threat.

Maybe Royce and James do not cross paths this week, perhaps it is wishful thinking, but the Aussie is going to be a star in the red brand women's division and it starts Monday.

Finn Balor and Adam Cole tied in last week's Fatal 4-Way Ironman Match for the NXT Championship, begging the question: who is the rightful champ?

We will get our answer Wednesday night on USA Network and Balor and Cole meet for the gold.

The Bullet Club alumni acknowledged their past a week ago but this Wednesday's encounter is all about the immediate future of the black and yellow brand.

Cole winning would certainly etch his name in the history books and set him off on another potentially historic title reign, but it would also feel too much like a reset for the brand. Balor, on the other hand, has not held the title since 2016, when he was the brand's undisputed face.

After returning last year and providing the brand an injection of star power it needed in order to even compete with All Elite Wrestling on Wednesdays, he has certainly earned another run with the gold.

And he will get it.

A hard-fought, high-intensity match ends with The Prince hoisting gold, his spot atop the NXT roster undisputed and any number of rivalries with the likes of Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and the aforementioned Cole the type of creative content the brand needs going forward.

The Paradigm Shift was banned from Saturday's All Out main event between AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and No. 1 contender, MJF.

That much we know.

We also know that Moxley capitalized on a distracted referee, delivered the move anyway and successfully retained his title over the young, brash, brazen heel in a super competitive match.

That will surely have MJF protesting the outcome of his campaign for a better AEW.

Loudmouthed. Inconsolable. Furious.

All three perfectly describe the Maxwell Jacob Friedman that AEW fans will witness come Wednesday's Dynamite, where he almost certainly will be raging against the machine that allowed the injustice to happen.

How he worms his way into another title opportunity when Lance Archer has already been guaranteed it by way of his victory in the Casino Battle Royale remains to be seen but there is absolutely no way MJF goes silently into the night following the events that unfolded in the PPV main event.

Bray Wyatt teased a new "friend" on the Firefly Funhouse this past Friday night on SmackDown and if her recent demeanor and actions are any indication, that friend will be the harlequin to his mad clown, Alexa Bliss.

Bliss has become despondent to friends while repeatedly mentioning that she finds The Fiend "interesting."

Like Harley Quinn of DC Comics, she has become somewhat obsessed by the masked madman that she encountered, whose wrath she experienced by way of the mandible claw and whose hold on her has not yet been relinquished.

That Ramblin' Rabbit was clearly seen in the background of her backstage conversation with tag team partner Nikki Cross Friday night on SmackDown only further lends credence to the idea that Bliss will be said new friend and that her relationship with The Fiend is one that will develop sooner rather than later.

Given the incredible popularity of the Harley Quinn and Joke characters in the DC Universe, it only makes sense that WWE officials would attempt to recreate them in theirs.