WWE SmackDown has finally put an end to the ThunderDome and will be back with live fans this week. On this week’s show, there are three scheduled matches: Edge and The Mysterios vs. Roman Reigns and The Usos in a six man tag match, Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella for the SmackDown Women’s Title, and Big E vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. King Nakamura in Men’s MITB Promotional Fatal 4 Way Match. Also, John Cena’s return is near since he is reportedly rumored to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Title at WWE SummerSlam 2021.
Furthermore, WWE Money in the Bank 2021 is this Sunday. Since Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title in an “I Quit” Match was cancelled due to Bayley’s unexpected knee injury, there are now only three SmackDown-affiliated matches scheduled for this PPV event: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Edge for the Universal Title, Men’s MITB Ladder Match, and Women’s MITB Ladder Match. Another match that could be added to the MITB card on this go-home show is: Mysterios (c) vs. Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles.
With that being addressed, it’s now time to preview and predict what will actually occur on this week’s go-home episode of WWE SmackDown.
WWE SmackDown is scheduled to take place on July 16, 2021, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT live on FOX. Here are some predictions for this week’s show.
5.) Big E vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kingsuke Nakamura [Men’s MITB Promotional Fatal 4 Way Match]
On WWE SmackDown, the four contestants in the Men’s MITB Ladder Match are scheduled to battle in a fatal four-way match. This will merely be a momentum booster for any of these superstars heading into the MITB PPV. All four superstars seem to have been highlighted equivalently in the past few weeks, so no one really stands out. However, Big E and Seth Rollins are betting favorites in the MITB Ladder Match, so it is more likely that they pick up the victory here than Kevin Owens or Kingsuke Nakamura.
Since Seth Rollins is the only heel in this match, he is the most likely to win this fatal 4 way match. Winning on the go home show is usually a sign that the superstar is losing on the PPV the following Sunday. That shouldn’t be bad news for Seth Rollins because he does not need to win MITB again. Rollins is already an established star with a planned match against Edge at SummerSlam. The seeds had been planted in 2014 and have continued to germinate for their feud in recent weeks. All Rollins has to do at the PPV is screw Edge in his title match with Reigns.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
4.) Natalya & Tamina (c) vs. Shotzi & Nox [Women’s Tag Team Championships]
On last week’s WWE SmackDown, Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart defeated Natalya and Tamina in non title action. They will likely get their title match this week in front of the fans, or the WWE can simply save it for SummerSlam. Natalya is in the MITB Ladder Match as one half of the tag team champions. In order to enhance the believability of Natalya winning MITB, it would be ideal for her to not hold tag gold. Henceforth, a title change here would be suitable for the next rising stars of the Women’s Tag Team Division.
Prediction: Shotzi & Nox
3.) Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville [Women’s MITB Qualification Match]
On WWE SmackDown, Sonya Deville has been announcing each SmackDown contestant of the Women’s MITB Ladder Match. She is expected to announce the last contestant on this week’s episode. Since the fans are in attendance, it would make sense to announce a big star like Sasha Banks or Becky Lynch to get the epic pop. It would also add starpower to the Women’s MITB Ladder Match. Even an NXT call up like Toni Storm, who has been teased to show up on SmackDown soon, could be the big surprise. However, it looks like a swerve is coming instead.
Sonya Deville will announce herself in the Women’s MITB Ladder Match as a way of announcing her in-ring return. It seems that her first feud would be with Liv Morgan since she has been meddling with Morgan’s MITB aspirations in the past few weeks. Liv Morgan will likely challenge Deville to a match since she would see it as unfair for her to abuse her power and enter the match without earning it in the ring. Unlike the other MITB contestants, Deville will defeat Morgan to show that she deserves to be in MITB and crush Morgan’s dreams when she wins it this Sunday.
Prediction: Sonya Deville
2.) Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella [SmackDown Women’s Championship]
Since Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title in an “I Quit” Match was cancelled due to Bayley’s unexpected knee injury, Bianca Belair is now scheduled to defend her SmackDown Women’s Title against Carmella on this week’s go-home episode of SmackDown. Clearly, this title match was neither big enough nor built well enough to warrant a spot on the PPV this Sunday. However, the WWE could have at least booked a dream match of sorts rather than handing a title opportunity to Carmella, who has had lackluster momentum in recent months.
Bianca Belair vs. Toni Storm, perhaps? That would have been a better idea. Belair and Storm have never battled one on one in the WWE. It would have been a neat rub for Storm on the main roster if she delivered in a title match with Belair. That rub would then set up Storm as a rising star who has to go to the back of line and rebuild her momentum enough to get another title opportunity against Belair down the line and finally be the one to dethrone her. That’s a fundamental feature of long term storytelling that the WWE continuously neglects.
Nonetheless, Carmella is indeed Bayley’s best friend from NXT and she is technically a ‘suitable’ replacement for Bayley. She is just not the ‘ideal’ replacement for Bayley mostly because she has not won half her matches recently. The tier system is eminently skewed in this company. In order to reach the higher echelons of the title scene, superstars must win matches. Wins and losses must matter in order to book a convincing division. That is why Carmella is not a credible threat to Belair’s title reign and Belair will inevitably retain.
Sasha Banks will then make a surprise return to set up her SummerSlam title match with Belair by attacking Belair after the match.
Prediction: Bianca Belair
1.) Edge & Mysterios vs. Roman Reigns & Usos [6-Man Tag Match]
On WWE SmackDown, Edge and Mysterios are scheduled to battle Universal Champion Roman Reigns and the Usos in a six man tag team match. Edge and Mysterios will win this match to gain some last minute momentum before they lose their respective title matches to The Bloodline on PPV. Since the fans are in attendance, now is the perfect time to get a huge pop with a Double 619 into a Spear from Edge to Roman Reigns for the pinfall victory. Indeed, Edge will pin Reigns to tease the idea of him doing the same this Sunday at MITB.
It is expected that Mysterios will defend their SmackDown Tag Team Titles against Usos at MITB as well. MITB will likely be the night the entire Bloodline hold all the gold. Usos would then move on to WWE SummerSlam 2021 to defend the titles against Street Profits, who still have yet to defeat Alpha Academy in their non-title tag feud. Meanwhile, Edge will move on to battle Seth Rollins while Roman Reigns moves on to defend his Universal Title against the rumored John Cena, who will replace Edge in the Universal Title pursuit by either returning this week or next week.
Prediction: Edge & Mysterios; John Cena Will Replace Edge
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