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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. It was an interesting and happening episode which also happened to be the go-home show to Clash of Champions 2020.
There was a lot of good character progression on SmackDown and had a solid start and finish. Let's get right into it.
#5 What was the meaning behind Alexa Bliss' experience on SmackDown?
Perhaps the most interesting bit of character progression came from The Goddess as usual. Alexa Bliss faced Lacey Evans after she hit her with a Sister Abigail last week on SmackDown for mocking her association with 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt.
This week on SmackDown, Alexa Bliss took it to a whole new level, starting from the way she presented herself with her hair. While it was a fairly even contest at first, there was initially The Fiend's laughter track that played in the background before SmackDown oddly cut to a commercial break.
Soon after that, The Fiend's lighting and music came, triggering Alexa Bliss to start aggressively pouncing on Lacey Evans. When she wouldn't break the repeated foot stomps next to the ropes, the SmackDown official was forced to call the bell as a disqualification against Alexa Bliss.
It did, of course, end with Alexa Bliss hitting Sister Abigail. Now here's where it gets more interesting. When Alexa Bliss was walking out, Roman Reigns' music hit for the final segment of SmackDown.and they had a momentary staredown.
As you can see in the image above, it was a clear indicator that Alexa Bliss had her eyes on Roman Reigns.
Given that The Fiend is expected to feud with Roman Reigns for the Universal title eventually, it's going to be interesting to see how Alexa Bliss will be involved. This was a clear indicator that it's a direction that WWE intends to go for on SmackDown.
#4 Dissent on SmackDown within the Lucha House Party
Things aren't good for the Lucha House Party on SmackDown right now. Despite being the next challengers for the SmackDown Tag Team titles against Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro, there's a clear sense of dissent and divide within the Lucha House Party.
The trio is yet to find any tag team success in WWE, but the big problem now is the overall lack of teams in the Tag Team division. On both RAW and SmackDown, the lack of tag teams means that WWE has to constantly recycle tag team PPV matches.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Gran Metalik and then Lince Dorado was attacked by Cesaro while Kalisto stood outside doing nothing. When he came into the ring, he was shoved down by his own Lucha House Party member, indicating a clear sign of dissent within the faction.
It won't be surprising to see Kalisto get kicked out of Lucha House Party soon, or for him to possibly leave on his own accord while turning heel in the process.
#3 The trilogy to end it all on SmackDown?
Another loss for Matt Riddle on SmackDown. While it appeared as though Matt Riddle's welcoming feud on SamckDown would be against AJ Styles, fans were a bit disappointed to learn that it was actually against King Corbin.
WWE didn't even book the SmackDown feud for SummerSlam and instead chose to put it on Payback 2020, where Matt Riddle won. The two have continued feuding since then and Matt Riddle has had a bit of a slump.
King Corbin evened the score on SmackDown after beating Matt Riddle in a rather average match and the two now stand at 1-1. They aren't facing off at Clash of Champions and in all likeliness, they're going to end up having their blow-off match on SmackDown.
We're not sure why WWE loves having extensive feuds with King Corbin but hopefully, a trilogy match ends the rivalry for good on SmackDown. It's time for Matt Riddle to move on to a new opponent to gain momentum again. The longer he feuds with King Corbin, the more momentum he loses.
#2 Which SmackDown Superstar will be the true Intercontinental Champion?
Clash of Champions came early on SmackDown as we had a Triple Threat match between AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, and Jeff Hardy.
In this case, Sami Zayn ended up winning while AJ Styles stood tall. All men claim to be the real Intercontinental Champion while Jeff Hardy is the legitimate Champion after defeating AJ Styles on SmackDown just two days before SummerSlam 2020.
With that said, the story may just continue that way - with Jeff Hardy as the legitimate Champion. The way it's been presented, both AJ Styles and Sami Zayn have had their moments to shine while Jeff Hardy hasn't.
It's likely going to be the match of the night at Clash of Champions and perhaps the opening bout as there's no better way to start a PPV than with an exciting ladder match.
We fully expect Jeff Hardy to cement himself as the one and only Intercontinental Champion on SmackDown.
#1 Roman Reigns makes a defining statement on SmackDown
The "realness" of the Roman Reigns-Jey Uso feud has been what's made it so fun to watch on SmackDown. With all due respect to Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman, the actual family tie has made the rivalry more interesting than anything we've seen between the two former Wyatt Family members this year.
Jey Uso was suspicious about Roman Reigns changing his number and his sudden alliance with Paul Heyman. Roman Reigns cut a rather intense promo on SmackDown telling Jey Uso why his assigned role has been that of the Tribal Chief. While Roman Reigns acknowledged his cousin as being one half of the greatest tag team of all time, but his aggressiveness and insecurity began to come out.
Right at the end as Jey Uso walked away, he was laid with a Superman Punch, with Roman Reigns making it clear to his cousin why he can be the only one on top. That certainly cemented Roman Reigns' heel status and we can't wait to see how the match at Clash of Champions plays out.
