Women’s World Champion Naomi defends the gold tonight on Raw against IYO SKY. Whoever walks out of this match as champion then moves on to face Stephanie Vaquer at Clash in Paris. IYO’s request for this title match was granted by General Manager Adam Pearce, and it led to an interesting backstage exchange between SKY and Rhea Ripley. Rhea said she hopes IYO wins the title because she wants to then beat her for it. IYO responded by gently reminding Ripley that she will never beat her. If Rhea didn’t appreciate that remark, perhaps she’ll change her mind about who she really wants to win this championship match.

A Ripley turn would be major news, but this doesn’t seem like a big enough match to warrant it. What really caught my eye in this scene was IYO’s interaction beforehand with the Kabuki Warriors. They offered to help her, but she declined. Is it possible that Asuka and/or Kairi Sane see IYO’s reaction as a sign of weakness or lack of appreciation? I think IYO SKY has proven herself to be arguably the best worker in WWE this year. Just go rewatch her match at WrestleMania 41 if you don’t believe me. But it doesn’t feel like the right time to end Naomi’s world title reign, so there will probably be some kind of shenanigans at the end of this title match.

CM Punk is opening tonight’s show. Punk has a lot to get off his chest after Seth Rollins ended his extremely brief run as World Heavyweight Champion with a surprise Money in the Bank cash-in at SummerSlam. Things only got more frustrating for CM last week on Raw when he was laid out by The Vision. Last week, Sami Zayn somehow got caught up in the never-ending brawl throughout the building between between Sheamua and Rusev. Now it’s Zayn vs. Rusev tonight, where Sami will likely receive another incredible pop from the live fans in Quebec. Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri is also booked on tonight’s show. This match came about after Natalya confronted The Man, and Becky cowardly opted to fight the inexperienced Dupri instead.