5 things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: Terrible news for Goldberg, 4-time World Champion possibly turning heel (February 7th, 2020)

Welcome to another edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. The latest episode was a mixed bag - one that opened with the return of 'The Dirt Sheet' hosted by The Miz and John Morrison.

The show couldn't get the pace right and the crowd not being hot didn't help it either. However, there was some decent character development and quite a few things that were announced. The picture of WrestleMania 36 is getting clearer by the week for SmackDown and we're excited to see which stars will have a major match on the card.

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#5 Goldberg to be fed to Bray Wyatt

Who would've thought?

We thought that Goldberg being advertised to return meant that he would appear in the ring. We were wrong. Instead, Goldberg sat from afar and did his interview via satellite. He acknowledged his old rival Brock Lesnar but left him out, knowing that he's busy with Ricochet and Drew McIntyre.

Instead, he challenged for the Universal Championship, admitting that he would have liked his last reign in 2017 to have been longer. His feed was cut off and interrupted by a special edition of the Firefly Fun House.

Bray Wyatt would accept his challenge and the two are now officially set to face off at WWE Super ShowDown 2020. While it's an interesting new match-up, we don't anticipate it going well for Goldberg.

Instead, it's likelier that he'll get squashed by 'The Fiend' in what we consider to be a 'filler' match. Regardless, it's a special attraction bout and one that will boost The Fiend ahead of WrestleMania 36.

There doesn't seem to be much hype surrounding this match. Perhaps it's because a lot of fans are aware of the rumors that Wyatt will face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36.

#4 Daniel Bryan teasing a possible character change

Daniel Bryan punished Heath Slater

We mentioned during Daniel Bryan's feud with 'The Fiend' that his character development and progression is second to none. There's been an interesting thing happening to the opponents that The Fiend faces. After he beats his opponents, they undergo a major character change.

Seth Rollins turned heel a couple of months after his feud with The Fiend ended, while The Miz turned only a few weeks after losing to him. On SmackDown, Daniel Bryan was confronted by Heath Slater, who expressed his concern for Bryan in the aftermath of his last rivalry.

Bryan would take out his frustration on Slater, squashing him in a match. However, he teased a major heel turn by stomping his head multiple times - a sign of a possible character change. It's going to be interesting to see which direction they decide to take with Daniel Bryan.

His character is in a state of limbo and we could either see him change altogether as a babyface or turn heel. The latter is the easy way out. Daniel Bryan is the perfect person to add a new layer to his babyface character.

#3 The final showdown at Super ShowDown

A steel cage awaits

It seems like every other week, Roman Reigns and King Corbin cross paths even though their feud should be done and dusted. They've been having a rivalry for a few months now and they had a "blow-off" match at Royal Rumble and then another one on the following SmackDown.

King Corbin was creating a fuss backstage, abusing an employee working backstage and then went out and caused a ruckus, demanding another shot at Roman Reigns. He even poured a drink on a 'fan' who was planted there.

Roman Reigns came out and attacked him before announcing that they'll face off inside a steel cage. We can only hope that this will mark the end of the feud. It's gone on long enough and it'll derail Reigns' momentum on the road to WrestleMania. WWE doesn't have a great track record with handling him before The Show of Shows.

Dragging on Roman Reigns' feud with Corbin isn't the best move if WWE is planning to give him the Universal Championship match against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36.

#2 The rematch

Braun Strowman

Last week, Braun Strowman won the Intercontinental Championship - marking the first time he's won a singles title in over four years in WWE. It's crazy to think that at one point, he was believed to be the next top Universal Champion.

Unfortunately, it never worked out for him due to WWE wanting to keep Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar on top of the card. His only other Championship success came with the RAW Tag Team titles - where he had two brief and fairly meaningless reigns with Nicholas and Seth Rollins.

An Intercontinental Championship win seemed inevitable and Strowman was the right person to beat Shinsuke Nakamura. He can help take the title (and himself) to a new level, but it all depends on how WWE handles his reign.

If it's anything like Nakamura's reign as Intercontinental Champion, then there isn't much to be excited about. Either way, it was made clear on SmackDown that the two will have an Intercontinental Championship rematch - with Nakamura maybe even standing tall at the end.

#1 WWE throwing a curveball in the main event

Bayley standing tall in the main event

A Fatal-4-Way match between Naomi, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, and Dana Brooke took place. It was dubbed as a 'predictable' match, with people expecting Naomi to win since she already teased a feud against Bayley last week and is still fresh from her return.

However, that didn't happen. Instead, she took the fall and it was Bayley's real-life best friend Carmella who ended up winning the match, taking some by surprise. We commend WWE for throwing a curveball.

Carmella makes sense as an opponent, but perhaps they could have had her feud for the title after WrestleMania and be a part of a longer program. Just like Goldberg, she's going to be a filler opponent for Bayley before the latter faces Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 36.

Admittedly, a filler spot was needed but Naomi would have been better for that. Carmella and Bayley have never feuded before and they'll have a quick one-off before the road to WrestleMania 36 wraps up.