5 Things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: 3-time World Champion returning next week, Unexpected new faction formed? (May 1st, 2020)

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown! We're only a week away from the Money in the Bank PPV and it seems as though the card for the event has begun to shape up.

The central stories of the night on SmackDown were the two Money in the Bank qualifying matches, the first of which saw Mandy Rose take on former winner Carmella, while Otis had a WrestleMania 36 rematch against Dolph Ziggler.

While it certainly wasn't the best episode, there was a lot of progression that happened and WWE did enough to build a reasonable amount of hype for the MITB ladder matches, which we learned will be taking place at the same time.

That's right. The men and women's Money in the Bank ladder match will be happening at the same time. While we're not exactly sure how it's going to work, it'll be interesting to see them try something different.

Let's jump right into the things WWE subtly told us on the penultimate SmackDown before MITB 2020:

#5. A new feud is finally set to begin

Sheamus has been involved in a series of squash matches since his return this year, with the most notable names being Shorty G/Chad Gable and Apollo Crews. Post-WrestleMania, that's continued to happen, but it's been clear for over two weeks now that the next feud in line for Sheamus is the 3-time WWE World Champion Jeff Hardy.

Michael Cole had a habit of bringing up Jeff Hardy as soon as Sheamus finished his match, leading to The Celtic Warrior feeling infuriated. Jeff Hardy's return was officially announced for next week and this time, Sheamus made sure to stick around to find out. He teased a confrontation next week.

#4. Has a new faction been formed?

Daniel Bryan and King Corbin are two Superstars who have already qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match. They had a back-and-forth to open the night, with Bryan slamming Corbin for being one of the four Superstars to fail a MITB cash-in.

The two Superstars faced off and it was a long contest to open the night. It ended in a DQ after Corbin threw a ladder on Daniel Bryan. But what was more interesting was that for the second week in a row, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro came to assist Corbin.

While the duo has been under Sami Zayn's leadership, the Intercontinental Champion's absence means that the Japanese and Swiss Superstars did his bidding. We're a bit surprised that Corbin has been presented as a "leader" of sorts, but we're curious as to whether this is the direction going forward.

Corbin hasn't led a faction before but if Sami Zayn is to be out for a long time, then it's perhaps the best way to get Nakamura and Cesaro on-screen again.

#3. The new guns earn a title shot?

The SmackDown tag team title picture is hot again with three different teams in the mix. The New Day are the 8-time and reigning Champions, while The Miz and Morrison bring their veteran experience to the table.

The new guns are The Forgotten Sons, who debuted on SmackDown after WrestleMania 36 and wasted no time in making an impact. They stood tall last week and it was a repeat this week, except that they managed to pin the reigning Champions The New Day.

It's going to be interesting to see where this goes. We fully expect a Triple Threat tag team match for the titles at Money in the Bank 2020. For that, The Miz and Morrison are likely going to have to pick up a win over The New Day as well.

Either way, we can see a scenario where the triple threat match in MITB ends up going in The New Day's favor after they pin either The Miz or Morrison.

#2. The Mandy Rose-Sonya Deville saga

Is something big coming for Sonya Deville

The Mandy Rose-Sonya Deville break-up storyline continued after WrestleMania 36 and as it turns out, it was the right call. While the feud before WrestleMania centered heavily around Otis and Dolph Ziggler, the focus of the story has been shifted primarily to Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, with Otis and Ziggler seemingly just side characters in this.

This was the best way to go since Sonya Deville needed a lot of character progression. While Rose isn't too strong on the character front either, it's storylines like these that help them grow and learn on the job.

We thought Deville was great this week, playing the foil to Mandy Rose and costing her the final stop in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Otis was successful in the main event by beating Dolph Ziggler and qualifying for the MITB ladder match. He's going to be an interesting addition to it and we're excited to see what he can pull off in that kind of a match.

#1. Bray Wyatt wants revenge on Braun Strowman

Bray Wyatt appeared on an episode of Firefly Fun House to talk to Braun Strowman and narrate the story of the "Black Sheep" - something that Strowman was close to five years ago. One of the best parts of this rivalry between Wyatt and Strowman is that it's far more than just the title.

It could be a non-title feud and just as thrilling, but we now have the possibility of Bray Wyatt being a 2-time Universal Champion at Money in the Bank 2020. Wyatt declared that Strowman abandoned him for "greener pastures" and left him to rot, which is why he wants to take away the thing "most precious to him", i.e, the Universal Championship.

While we're still not sure if it's going to be Bray Wyatt or 'The Fiend' interesting, this looks to be a feud that's going to continue for a couple of more months to come. However, it'll be hard watching either Superstar lose. Can WWE manage to protect both of them?