6 Surprises for SmackDown: Popular star to turn heel for the first time, Unexpected return of 8-time Champion?
SmackDown will be headlined by a huge Universal Championship match this week. In a match that we haven't seen in three years, Roman Reigns will defend the Universal Championship against Finn Balor on SmackDown.
That will be the central focus of this week's episode, but there's a lot more to look forward to as well. SmackDown has continued to have more momentum than RAW since SummerSlam, and this will be the second episode after the biggest party of the summer.
The focus is now on Extreme Rules and we will see storylines progress on SmackDown towards the next pay-per-view. Here are some of the big surprises that we could see on SmackDown this week:
#6. Dominik and Rey Mysterio's on-screen alliance to end on SmackDown?
Rey and Dominik Mysterio didn't have their moment at SummerSlam 2020 and recapture the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. It has been a rough few weeks for the Mysterios on SmackDown.
Dominik Mysterio's inexperience has been showing recently on SmackDown, and it has cost him and his father Rey Mysterio multiple matches since. Last week on SmackDown, Rey Mysterio gave Dominik yet another pep talk backstage about what he needs to do.
Dominik Mysterio's mystery opponent on SmackDown was Sami Zayn, who made his return. It came as no surprise that Sami Zayn was able to put away Dominik. What was interesting was that post-match, Rey Mysterio tried to talk to his son, only to get shoved away.
This is the first true sign of dissent that we've seen between Rey and Dominik Mysterio. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out, and we anticipate that it will all unfold over the coming weeks, or even more.
However, there's only so many times WWE can have match where Dominik Mysterio loses and gets annoyed at his father. There needs to be some progression, which is why it would be a surprise on SmackDown this week to potentially see Dominik Mysterio turn on his father or simply end his on-screen alliance with him.
It could be done one of two ways. A heel turn for the first time in Dominik Mysterio's WWE career, or him simply choosing to branch off on his own journey. While it would be a bit premature to do so, it would undoubtedly take fans by surprise.