5 things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: Royal Rumble main event possibly spoiled, stunning end to Fiend contract signing
Welcome to this week's edition of 5 things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. It was the go-home show to the Royal Rumble 2020 and we're not going to lie - it wasn't easy to watch. While we've seen weak episodes on the blue brand before and the build to the Rumble hasn't been that great on the blue brand side, the episode was exceptionally bad.
The big issue was that it started with an overly long six-man tag team match that occupied a quarter of the whole show. When you have one match dragging on that long, you're not getting off to a good start.
Unfortunately, it didn't take off then, but that doesn't mean that there weren't any interesting points to note. Despite the lack of storyline or overall character progression, there were a few things WWE subtly told us on the show.
#5 The six-man tag team opener gave away the Royal Rumble
We can't emphasize enough how much the six-man tag team opener affected the momentum of the show. It's okay to have long TV matches on occasion - but only when it serves a purpose.
When Seth Rollins had his Gauntlet match in 2018 and Kofi Kingston in 2019, they went over an hour but it ended up serving a purpose at the end. This was more of a filler match where The Usos and Roman Reigns defeated King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode.
Jimmy Uso was even escorted out but returned to pick up the win for his team. It essentially confirmed what Tom Colohue said about Roman Reigns losing to Baron Corbin at the Royal Rumble and then going on to win the Men's Rumble match.
#4 There will be blood
The only good part of the show was the contract signing which closed a less-than-average episode in a great way. It was the only impactful segment of the night and it should come as no surprise when two world-class performers like Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt are in the ring.
It was a contract signing with Daniel Bryan out in the ring with Michael Cole. Bray Wyatt appeared on the screen, with Bryan urging him to stop running and come to the ring to sign the contract.
Wyatt made an interesting point by saying that it's going to be The Fiend and not "Bray Wyatt" that Bryan is facing, it's better that the former comes out. And that's exactly what he did - with Michael Cole fleeing from the spot immediately.
Wyatt would attack Bryan and sign the contract... with his blood. He stabbed his hand with the pen and smudged the blood over the contract. It was a stunning end to the show and regardless of the stipulation, there will be blood at the Royal Rumble 2020.
#3 Lacey Evans' time will come - but now now
Lacey Evans has gotten surprisingly over as a babyface. It shouldn't come as any surprise, however, since she has a history of being in the Marine Corps. Her character of being an American role model is certain to get over with the American audience, though it probably isn't enough to get her over on a global level.
The change between her heel and babyface character is quite a big one. Usually, when a heel turns face, they still maintain heel characteristics - they just direct it at other heels. With Evans, it's been a complete flip of character and she's nothing like she was just five months ago.
Either way, her feud with Bayley has felt like a filler one since post-Survivor Series and from the look of things, that's exactly what it is. She was a heel when they needed a heel to feud with Becky Lynch and she became a babyface when they needed a face to feud with Bayley and Sasha Banks.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura has little to no chance
Shinsuke Nakamura was the winner of the Royal Rumble match only two years ago. It was an exceptional contest and he last eliminated Roman Reigns to win the entire thing. Since Roman Reigns is the favorite to win this year, we can anticipate him being the one to eliminate Nakamura this year.
Unfortunately, even though the Japanese star holds the Intercontinental Championship, what he doesn't hold is any momentum. His alliance with Cesaro and Sami Zayn simply feels like creative sticking three superstars together for the sake of it.
His team lost to Braun Strowman and Elias on the night, with the latter getting a pinfall over Cesaro. While the objective is to get to Strowman vs Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship - that doesn't seem like it's been built very well.
If not Roman Reigns, then Strowman would be the obvious pick to eliminate Nakamura to keep their story going. However, we like the idea of Nakamura and Cesaro eliminating Strowman instead.
#1 A tag team title shot is coming
The Miz and John Morrison announced before the match that they would be entering the Men's Royal Rumble. Let's put this into perspective - 27 of the 30 men have been officially announced.
Cain Velasquez also declared that he would be entering - which means 28 spots have been taken. Where is the room for any surprise? As for the women, it's been the opposite, with just eight women officially declaring themselves in the Rumble match.
Either way, Morrison gained more momentum upon his return. First, he helped The Miz beat Kofi Kingston, then he beat Big E himself, and this week, he beat the former WWE Champion Kingston in a singles match.
Now that he's beaten both members, and along with The Miz, has been gaining momentum, we can see the duo becoming the next title challengers and potentially even the next champions.
While the match won't be at the Royal Rumble, it'll be in the build after, and hopefully, things pick up and we don't get a repeat of episodes like this.
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Nishant Jayaram