7 Things WWE Subtly told us on SmackDown: 3 opponents lined up for Roman Reigns, Big mistake being made with 2-time Champion?
Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. After last week's great episode at Madison Square Garden, this was admittedly a bit of a dip.
This week's show emanated from Knoxville, Tennessee - the hometown of Bianca Belair, who was in the last segment. Unfortunately, a lot of things didn't make too much sense on SmackDown, so this week, we'll do our best to make some sense of it:
#7 Roman Reigns has yet another opponent lined up on SmackDown
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#SmackDown @WWEBigE @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle @WWEUsos https://t.co/szlMgLm4NK
While we're unsure whether it was to capitalize on Big E's momentum for ratings, the new WWE Champion appeared on SmackDown. However, he was part of the blue brand up until this past week, which changed with his pre-announced Money in the Bank cash-in.
Not much about this episode of SmackDown made sense. Why were Big E and Finn Balor in a Championship contender's match against The Usos? Did WWE feel that since the babyfaces were winning, they needed to add the "Championship contender" part to the match?
What a match! 🔥
WWE Champion @WWEBigE and @FinnBalor take down the @WWEUsos on #SmackDown. https://t.co/uaM1kYD74G
It felt unnecessary, but the match itself was pretty good. Ultimately, a side-by-side Coupe de Grace and Big Ending saw the match finish in favour of the babyfaces.
Paul Heyman, meanwhile, continues to get stalked by Kayla Braxton. This was low-key, the most enjoyable part of SmackDown last night.
Heyman is also continuously getting interrogated because he supposedly knew that Brock Lesnar was retuning at SummerSlam - something he still denies.
"I pay you to know in advance." 👀
Will @BrockLesnar show up at #ExtremeRules?
#SmackDown @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle https://t.co/uWIx6VpBO8
Roman Reigns argued that he pays Heyman to know such information beforehand, which was a fair point in itself. Big E even teased facing Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, making him the third opponent lined up for The Tribal Chief after Finn Balor and Brock Lesnar.
With the Brock Lesnar match, it could still be a non-title bout should he lose to "Demon" Balor at Crown Jewel. Either way, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
It's not hard to see a Roman Reigns vs Big E scenario at Survivor Series. But this coming week on RAW, Roman Reigns is making his return to the red brand after well over a year. He will be teaming up with his cousins as The Bloodline takes on The New Day.
We're a bit surprised that WWE is giving this off on free TV, and it should be interesting to see who walks out with the win.