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A somewhat unexpected new challenger emerged for the WWE Championship last week. How will that affect tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live?
It was a wild episode of WWE SmackDown Live last week. In the wake of Money in the Bank, it was time for the Blue Team to regroup. Both MITB briefcases were won by Raw superstars, and almost all champions seemed to put an end to the hopes of their most recent challengers. So what would happen next?
For the WWE Championship, a gauntlet match was held to determine AJ Styles’s next challenger. Five superstars — Daniel Bryan, Big E, Samoa Joe, The Miz, and Rusev — took part, and in somewhat of an upset the Bulgarian Brute took the victory.
As for AJ’s previous challenger, Shinsuke Nakamura, he seems to have some trouble brewing with the United States Champion, Jeff Hardy. The high-flying enigma has brought back his makeup, perhaps in a bit of gamesmanship. But while Hardy says he “sees” Nakamura, the King of Strong Style says he will close Jeff’s eyes.
The only singles champion with unfinished business seems to be Carmella. Thanks to the return of James Ellsworth, Mella defeated Asuka at MITB to remain SmackDown Women’s Champion. The Empress of Tomorrow is not finished with Carmella yet, though.
And the tag team division got a bit of a shakeup last week with the long-awaited debut of SAnitY. A vicious attack on the Usos puts the entire division on notice.
Without further ado, here are five predictions for WWE SmackDown Live this week.
Another Intergender Match Featuring James Ellsworth
Master of Disguise James Ellsworth gloriously returned to WWE at Money in the Bank, once again in the corner of Carmella. Serving as a distraction at MITB, Ellsworth gave Mella the chance to win, and that’s exactly what she did. And at the expense of Asuka, no less — we’ve already seen how angry Asuka got after the fact.
Even though Carmella seems to have the upper hand against Asuka, I don’t think there’s anything on the horizon there until at least Extreme Rules. So where does that leave us until then? Well, WWE may be dabbling in the old intergender waters again.
Since Asuka took out Ellsworth last week, and it’s not likely that she’ll get another chance at Mella without earning it, why not let her go to town on Ellsworth? The intergender match between Ellsworth and Becky Lynch last year went a long way in furthering that feud. And it’s not like mixed tag matches haven’t broken out into intergender extracurriculars lately — heard of Ronda Rousey?
Why else would Ellsworth have come back if not to get a match or two in? The Chinless Wonder is just nonthreatening enough to make a match with Asuka seem more like a comedy match than an uncomfortable (for some) scenario of a man beating up a woman. Personally, I’m always for more intergender matches — the women are willing participants in a sporting contest, after all. If James Ellsworth is the conduit, then so be it.
SAnitY Draws Comparisons to The Shield (In a Good Way)
After literally months of waiting, SAnitY finally debuted on SmackDown Live last week. Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe were actually scheduled for a match, but things broke down into chaos as they just assaulted the Usos, their scheduled opponents.
Since the newcomers arrived without Nikki Cross, they’re officially a trio. And not too long ago, there was another trio who made waves upon their WWE debut by wreaking havoc on unsuspecting superstars: The Shield.
Back in 2012, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose routinely appeared when it was least expected. Sneak attacks and blitzes on unsuspecting opponents became The Shield’s calling card. SAnitY has, at least in their one appearance, showed they’ve been studying tape.
Now, if the group is going to continue to refer to themselves as “SAnitY,” they need to keep up with the insane antics. That’s what worked in NXT, and it will work on SmackDown. Rather than have an official match any time soon, the trio should continue to be predictably unpredictable.
Let them take out the Usos again. Maybe move on up to Gallows and Anderson. Cesaro and Sheamus are on SmackDown now, too. And eventually, they can challenge the Bludgeon Brothers, with or without the SmackDown Tag Team Titles on the line.
Daniel Bryan Needs a Friend
During the gauntlet match in last week’s main event, Daniel Bryan entered the match at number one. What is this, the Greatest Royal Rumble again? This time, Bryan again was eliminated just before the final two competitors. But the difference here is that it took more than just the participants in the match to eliminate him.
As Bryan entered the ring, he went past the Bludgeon Brothers. Harper and Rowan didn’t seem pleased with the development, but they quietly left the ringside area. But after Bryan defeated both Big E and Samoa Joe, the tag champs returned to decimate the YES man, leaving him as easy pickings for The Miz.
As much as Bryan may despise Miz, for a variety of justified reasons, he shouldn’t be angry at the A-Lister for the defeat. No, his ire should be aimed at Harper and Rowan. But Bryan should also be smart enough to realize he’s outnumbered, unless he can find someone to back him up. So methinks he’ll look to find someone to watch his back, and eventually maybe even team with him to take on the Bludgeon Brothers.
Who fits the bill? Well, most superstars on SmackDown at the moment are involved with a story, or just don’t fit as Daniel Bryan’s partner. So as much as I would love to see Bryan teaming with Tye Dillinger, I just don’t see creative pulling the trigger. Same goes for Bryan and R-Truth.
Maybe Randy Orton is ready to come back from his little break. It wouldn’t work easily due to past history between him and Bryan, but it’s still possible. Or perhaps free agent and Bryan’s future brother-in-law John Cena makes his triumphant return to SmackDown to lend a hand. Either way, this week Bryan will look for a friend.
Becky Lynch Shows a Little Dark Side
For a while now, Becky Lynch has been portrayed as the one who gets things done in low-pressure situations, but constantly falls short in big matches. She defeats Charlotte Flair on SmackDown in a battle of friends, but has a mental lapse and can’t win the Money in the Bank match. Things like that are starting to pile up.
On the final episode of SmackDown before MITB, Becky was the best part of the “Women’s MITB Summit” at the top of the show. As she spoke, you couldn’t help but feel the truth in what she was saying. “I was, I was… I’m sick of ‘I was,’ and need to get back to ‘I am’ and ‘I will be’…” It was a great way to hype a match that she should have won. But since she ended up losing the match, she can build on that attitude and show a little more edge.
A victory through injuries over Billie Kay last week shows Lynch still has it in the ring. Being able to fight off the specter of Peyton Royce does the same. But without Charlotte around for the time being as a friend to help play equalizer, Becky should be a little more hard around the edges. Show no mercy, take no prisoners, that sort of thing.
Rusev Day is Canceled
Despite being a huge fan favorite, Rusev probably wasn’t anyone’s first guess as to potential winners of the gauntlet match. The WWE Universe wants to see AJ Styles go up against the likes of Samoa Joe, or Daniel Bryan. Even The Miz would be a great challenger for Styles. But Rusev? It seemed too good to be true. (Sorry, Big E, but we want Kofi to get that New Day world title match.)
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But Rusev drew the last entry, putting him in a terrific spot. And The Miz may have been overconfident after making short work of a battered Daniel Bryan. So Rusev managed to lock in the Accolade and make the A-Lister tap out, securing his WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules.
Is it very likely that this title match would be between two babyfaces? Not really. Both superstars are among the most popular in WWE, but Styles is actually meant to be a hero. Rusev, despite his very babyface-like behavior, is still most likely viewed as a bad guy by the WWE creative machine.
That means there will probably be some kind of tweaks to the booking of the Bulgarian Brute to try and push the fan support away from him. It may not be the smartest move, but it’s a very WWE move. The best way to accomplish that? Cancel Rusev Day. So look for Rusev to disavow the everyday holiday, and return to putting a focus on machka-ing instead.
Next: WWE Championship Opportunity a Long Time Coming for Rusev
There’s our predictions for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live. What do you think?