5 Things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: Big feud for Braun Strowman delayed, Returning star set to win Intercontinental Championship? (May 22nd, 2020)

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown! We're now on the road to WWE Backlash 2020 and things are getting a bit exciting. While we don't think every match is going to be exciting, there have been a few new developments.

SmackDown has seen a few new changes in direction, with some good and some bad. There was a big return as well, one which turned out to be a permanent move from RAW. Next week is going to be an interesting one as the semifinals of the Intercontinental Championship will heat up.

Let's jump right into it:

#5 A surprising direction for the WWE Universal Champion

Universal Champion Braun Strowman has a big task ahead of him at WWE Backlash 2020. However, it isn't the most exciting match-up nor does it make much sense. At Backlash, Braun Strowman will be taking on The Miz and John Morrison in a 2-on-1 handicap match.

The original plan seemed to be for him to face 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt, especially since that was what was hinted when he defeated Wyatt at Money in the Bank 2020. For some reason, WWE decided to delay it and is now having a handicap match where The Miz and Morrison will try to become "Co-Champions".

The problem with this is that it's far too predictable. Had it been Wyatt/The Fiend, there would have been a big question as to whether WWE is going to pull the trigger on a title change. In this case, it's quite clear that the match is a filler until The Fiend returns.

Perhaps WWE wants Strowman to have a long reign, which is why this feud would be essential. The last time Strowman had a handicap outing, he lost the Intercontinental Championship.

#4 Is AJ Styles' future the Intercontinental gold?

AJ Styles took on Shinsuke Nakamura in the first round of the Intercontinental Championship tournament. Since King Corbin competed on RAW against WWE Champion Drew McIntyre just earlier this week, it seemed as though Styles' appearance would be limited as well.

However, it was revealed that Styles is now a permanent member of the SmackDown roster again - just one year after his move to RAW. We'll admit, we're a bit surprised to see him back on SmackDown so quickly. A year-long run on RAW wasn't bad at all, especially since he had a WWE United States Championship run and a memorable feud and match with The Undertaker as well.

But all said and done, AJ Styles has always felt more like a "SmackDown" Superstar, particularly since he was the most important star in the Blue brand from the summer of 2016 to early 2019.

He beat Shinsuke Nakamura in another solid match-up and we believe that he's going to be the overwhelming favorite to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship tournament. He faces Elias in the semifinals next week.

#3 Sonya DeVille is finally starting to benefit big

Sonya Deville picked up the win for her team

We saw a mixed tag team match take place on WWE SmackDown, as the new couple Mandy Rose and Otis took on Sonya Deville and Dolph Ziggler. Otis is Mr. Money in the Bank while Dolph Ziggler has no momentum.

Sonya Deville was always looked at as the secondary partner in her tag team, which is why the timing has worked out well for her to establish herself as a singles star. Interestingly, it's her carrying Dolph Ziggler right now rather than the other way around.

It seems as though she has her former tag team partner's number, as she pinned Mandy Rose to win the match for her team. Otis was checking on Rose post-match, only to eat a superkick from Ziggler.

Despite Otis having one of the best years of anyone in WWE, it seems as though Mandy Rose's singles push will have to wait. Sonya Deville is the one getting the big rub as a singles star on WWE and we're happy to see that because she deserves it.

#2 No Backlash for Charlotte

Bayley's stock as WWE SmackDown Women's Champion keeps growing by the day. Well over 220 days into her second reign as SmackDown Women's Champion, she's now the most dominant titleholder in the Championship's four-year lineage.

Had it not been for a pointless and completely unnecessary Championship reign for Charlotte Flair that lasted about a week, Bayley would have already completed a full year as the Champion.

Charlotte's reign in between was so forgettable that it genuinely feels as though Bayley has been the Champion for the last year. Following their confrontation last week, Bayley and Charlotte would face off in a Champion vs Champion match. While we would have saved it for the PPV, the fact that it happened on SmackDown made us first assume that Charlotte was going to win and try to become a Double Champion at WWE Backlash.

That isn't happening now, and Charlotte Flair will now be vying to become Asuka's next WWE RAW Women's title challenger.

Not only did Bayley win, but she did it without Sasha Banks' help, as she wanted to prove that she could do it on her own. She did so, albeit with dirty tactics.

#1 Sheamus' long wait will continue

Sheamus' career in WWE has spanned over a decade now and he's won practically every accomplishment there is to win in WWE. It didn't take him long to find World Championship success, and over the next few years, the accolades would follow, with a Royal Rumble win, a King of the Ring win, a Money in the Bank win, and various other Championships in WWE.

However, there has been one championship that has eluded him his whole career - the Intercontinental Championship. He stated openly on several occasions that his next goal is to win the Intercontinental Championship, which is the only accolade he needs to become a grand slam Champion.

He faced Jeff Hardy in the first round of the tournament. It was always going to be an interesting match since weeks of heat led up to the bout. It was a decent main event match-up, one where Hardy managed to pin Sheamus to gain the victory. We don't expect Hardy to beat Daniel Bryan next week. We fully expect the Sheamus-Hardy feud to pour onto Backlash while we likely get a Styles vs Bryan finals.

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