Best & Worst of SmackDown before Royal Rumble: Possible spoiler for Reigns-Rollins match, Another top champion to lose title very soon?

It was the go-home edition of SmackDown before the 2022 Royal Rumble. Only a day before one of the biggest shows of the year, WWE put out a good episode featuring a limited number of stars.

There were still more positives than negatives this week, although it wasn't above criticism. It wasn't the weakest go-home show either. Let's begin with the ups and downs of SmackDown this week:

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#3. Best: Seth Rollins getting into Roman Reigns' head on SmackDown

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns had a great interaction on SmackDown this week. It wasn't surprising that from the get-go, Rollins was doing everything his power to try and get into Reigns' head.

When he brought up the poor record that Roman Reigns has against him in world title matches, The Tribal Chief simply said that it was water under the bridge. What wasn't water under the bridge, however, was the fact that Seth Rollins hit him with a steel chair over seven-and-a-half years ago.

It was a fresh wound for Reigns, despite all those Shield reunions in between. The facial reactions of the Universal Champion told the whole story. He said that it wasn't something he could forgive Rollins for doing, and he referred to it as something he did to "us" and not just himself.

In this case, the "us" referred to him and Dean Ambrose, now known as Jon Moxley in AEW.

It's a good example of why history in a feud matters, and this is a match between the two biggest full-time superstars of this generation.

At one point, Roman Reigns even tried to get the better of him with a superman punch, but Seth Rollins ducked while having his back turned and escaped to stand tall. We could have just witnessed the final episode of SmackDown where Reigns is the Universal Champion.

Rollins could potentially be a favorite to dethrone him and capture the Universal Championship. Virtually every title defense in the last 517 days has been met with the same reaction - exciting, but with the full awareness that The Tribal Chief would retain.

The feud on SmackDown presented The Architect as Roman Reigns' biggest legitimate threat, and he could be the one to end the latter's record-breaking world title reign.

#2. Worst: The handling of Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown

This week on SmackDown, Sami Zayn hosted an episode of In-Zayn starring Jinder Mahal and Shanky. It was a bizarre segment, one that was thankfully interrupted by Rick Boogs.

From the moment of his arrival, Boogs seemed to be presented as a far more important superstar than Nakamura, who he is supposed to be "managing" in the first place.

The Japanese star is the Intercontinental Champion, but he certainly doesn't feel like it. He was only recently cleared to return to the ring, and their interruption led to the tag team match between them against Mahal and Shanky.

It was Boogs who did all the heavy lifting for the team, presumably because WWE didn't want to take their chances with Nakamura working too much. But it was bizarre to see Shinsuke Nakamura being treated as a second-fiddle to Rick Boogs while he is the Intercontinental Champion.

It won't be surprising to see the title change happen once WWE books Nakamura vs. Zayn. The latter also recently re-signed with the company, so that could be a reward for that.

#2. Best: The return of Sasha Banks to SmackDown

SmackDown always feels better with the likes of Sasha Banks in it. She had her longest women's title reign to date when she won the blue brand's women's championship, and although she hasn't won the title back since WrestleMania 37, she has always remained an important part of the women's division.

This week opened up with women's champion Charlotte Flair and it soon escalated as the other women of the division began to come out as well, including Aliyah, her rival Natalya, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi, and even Sasha Banks, who made her return.

It's always good to see Banks back in action, and she could play a crucial role in the Royal Rumble match. She is yet to win the Women's Royal Rumble herself, so she could possibly be one of the favorites to do so.

It seems as though The Boss winning the Royal Rumble is inevitable. With a WrestleMania main event under her name, there are only a few things left for her to accomplish - a Royal Rumble win, a Money in the Bank win, and a Queen's Crown victory.

Given that she is still on the younger side, it seems inevitable that she will achieve all three.

#1. Worst: Cesaro constantly losing on SmackDown

One year can make a massive difference, and that's exactly what has been happening for Cesaro on SmackDown. Last year around this time, his push was simply beginning, and in that time, he even managed to pick up a couple of big wins over Daniel Bryan.

He would soon start feuding with Seth Rollins and go on to beat him clean at WrestleMania in what many considered the biggest win of his career. It seemed as though 2021 was finally going to be the time where Cesaro gets a big push, but it wasn't meant to be.

All it took was a string of losses to Rollins in 2021, and since then, it has been all downhill for The Swiss Cyborg. Even this week on SmackDown, he teamed up with Ricochet in a losing effort to Sheamus and Ridge Holland.

Both Cesaro and Ricochet are suffering and not getting pushed, and it's a shame to see it because it was exactly a year ago when The Swiss Superman was getting one of the biggest pushes of his career.

#1. Best: Retribution for Naomi on SmackDown

After over 150 days of Sonya Deville torturing Naomi on SmackDown, the latter finally got her redemption. The referee backstage told Deville that he would be calling it right down the middle, indicating zero sense of bias - something that she has had a lot of.

This didn't please Sonya Deville, but it was the best way to settle things. Although it was her first singles match since August 2020, the story was as such where it wouldn't have made much sense for her to pick up the victory

Or even if she did, it would be in the name of heat, and it would have further killed Naomi's momentum. But when the story is of a talented superstar having to jump hurdle after hurdle, it only makes sense that the babyface picks up the win.

In a moment of disgust and defeat, Deville picked up the mic and declared herself as an entrant in the women's Royal Rumble, meaning that she will more than likely be the person who eliminates Naomi to continue their storyline.