5 Things WWE Subtly told us on SmackDown: Paul Heyman makes a huge mistake without Roman Reigns, 7-Time Champion quietly turns face?
Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. Another episode, and there seems to be a complete lack of build-up towards Survivor Series 2021.
There were no champion vs. champion matches official, though a few things did happen. Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss beat Rick Boogz and Shinsuke Nakamura, furthering his feud with Intercontinental Champion.
However, it was only due to Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo, the newest members of SmackDown, that it happened. Garza and Carrillo disguised themselves before announcing their arrival.
😱😱😱
#SmackDown @AngelGarzaWwe @humberto_wwe https://t.co/znrmmz8cID
Apart from that, quite a few storylines progressed forward on SmackDown. Here's what WWE subtly hinted at on SmackDown this week:
#5 Paul Heyman momentarily forgets that he isn't Brock Lesnar's manager anymore on SmackDown
How WOULD @BrockLesnar respond, @HeymanHustle? #SmackDown https://t.co/XVqCEEAzDW
The Crown Jewel finish saw Paul Heyman throw the Universal title into the ring. Although Roman Reigns got his hands on it, there was serious doubt whether Paul Heyman meant to give it to Brock Lesnar.
This has already caused a great deal of tension on SmackDown between Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns, and we can only imagine that it's amplified after the interview this week.
Adam Pearce, who indefinitely suspended Brock Lesnar last week before getting assaulted, said that The Beast Incarnate would be fined $1 million. Paul Heyman got a shock from Kayla Braxton, who sneaked behind him to get the interview.
During the interaction, Paul Heyman seemed to forget that he wasn't Brock Lesnar's advocate anymore and started speaking about him as if he was hyping up The Beast Incarnate during a promo.
He caught himself mid-way and stopped to prevent any further damage. Roman Reigns wasn't on SmackDown this week, so we didn't get to see his reaction. But we imagine it would have been quite different had he heard it, and Paul Heyman would have to face the consequences.
This makes it evident that the Roman Reigns-Brock Lesnar storyline on SmackDown is set to continue until WrestleMania 38, at the very least. What this did was set up the fact that Paul Heyman is truly divided on who he should choose.
It will be interesting to see how things play out once Brock Lesnar returns. Don't expect Roman Reigns' alliance with Paul Heyman to go beyond mid-2022.