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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown! It was a solid episode this week - being the first after Money in the Bank 2020. Naturally, all eyes were on Otis, who turned out to be the star of the show.
His push only continues, but there were quite a few aspects of the show which we liked. There was hardly a wasted match or segment and as always, WWE has been doing a great job of doing the best they can with the limited staff and resources that they have.
Either way, let's not drag it on much further. To start off, let's talk about the star of the show Otis and the role he played:
#5. Otis - the focal point of the show
Never did we think we would see the day where Otis would end up becoming such an important figure on either brand. The night started with him appearing in the ring with The Miz and John Morrison - who he would end up facing in the main event.
The episode saw Otis search for a tag team partner actively before Mandy Rose suggested him to ask Braun Strowman. It turned out to be the right call, as Strowman ended up accepting.
However, the bad news from all of this is that Heavy Machinery appears to be done as a tag team. The only thing Otis referred to was the fact that Tucker wasn't present.
In the main event, Strowman ended up picking up the win for his team before a MITB cash-in and title change was teased. However, Otis didn't go through with it and stood tall with Mandy Rose and Braun Strowman in the ring. He's won a lot this year.
Before we head on to the next slide, gear up by watching our latest video where we point out the five most interesting stories from the first chapter of The Undertaker's latest documentary.
#4. Dana Brooke flying, Naomi sliding
Dana Brooke has been one of the more interesting cases of 2020. Otis may not be the only star to benefit this year, as the underrated star Dana Brooke has been gaining some great momentum on SmackDown.
Perhaps the limited roster has worked to her benefit, but she's certainly getting more TV time than she has in a long time. She surprisingly defeated Naomi to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match, and she seems to have the former Champion's number as she beat her clean yet again.
We're not sure where the direction is going, but given Naomi's recent frustrations, we wouldn't be surprised to see the 2-time SmackDown Women's Champion turn heel after 5 years. She's been a solid babyface for a while now, but perhaps a heel turn and program with Dana Brooke would do wonders to help establish the latter.
Dana Brooke deserves her time in the spotlight and we hope that she's able to take it to the next level - something she's been trying to do for years.
#3. Friendly competition and a strengthened alliance
We were a bit surprised to see that the first round of the Intercontinental Championship tournament put partners and friends Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak up against each other. Unsurprisingly, it was a friendly competition, but one with major consequences.
Both men did all they could to try to out-maneuver the other, with only one mistake needed to cost themselves the match. It was a technical masterclass as expected and Gulak and Bryan proved that they can't have a bad match together.
It was a narrow but close-cut submission victory for Daniel Bryan, who shook his partner's hand afterward in a sign of solidarity. It's been five years since Daniel Bryan held the Intercontinental Championship and one would think that he has the itch to win it back again.
He's set to face the winner of Jeff Hardy vs Sheamus next week. Here's how the overall brackets for the tournament look like:
Daniel Bryan and Elias have advanced to the next round of the tournament. Notice a RAW Superstar in the mix?
#2. The King's downfall continues
We had a WrestleMania 36 rematch in round one of the Intercontinental Championship tournament. Elias returned for his first match since the Show of Shows to face King Corbin and once again defeat him.
It seems as though Elias has Corbin's number. While King Corbin wrote him out post-WrestleMania by attacking him, it ended up backfiring on him, as Elias returned at Money in the Bank to cost Corbin another major win.
They settled the scores in their match, where Corbin decided to lash out and break Elias' guitar against the ring post. Ultimately, it ended up favorably for Elias, who will face either Shinsuke Nakamura or AJ Styles after they face off next week.
It's certainly going to be interesting to see if AJ Styles advances again. He's defeated Nakamura on several occasions in 2018 and it'll be interesting to see the heel vs heel dynamic this time around. Either way, we expect the winner of Nakamura vs Styles to advance to the final of the tournament. We're excited to see where it goes!
#1. Charlotte Flair tries to expose the cracks on the surface
We felt this was one of the better segments of the night. Three of the four horsewomen were in the ring, with Charlotte Flair first making her presence known. It's interesting because she's seemingly taken a 'tweener' role of sorts as NXT Women's Champion.
The only woman to appear on all three brands, this run may benefit Charlotte Flair long-term. With Becky Lynch gone for at least a year, Charlotte Flair is likely going to resume her position as the top woman in WWE.
Next week, she faces Bayley in a Champion vs Champion match. Should she win, she could earn a SmackDown Women's Championship shot at the next PPV - Backlash. With no challengers on the horizon for Bayley, it might not be a bad time to have that bout.
What was interesting was that Flair tried to constantly drive a wedge between Sasha Banks and Bayley, reminding her of the rivalry they had together four years ago. It may not lead to an immediate break-up, but the seeds have been planted.
Teddy Long snaps when Swerve Strickland's race is brought up HERE
