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SmackDown this week was an interesting one, minus a couple of matches. For some reason, WWE decided to pan away from the hot live Cleveland crowd and hosted a couple of matches from SmackDown in a live rap concert in Miami.
In that concert, Wale introduced The Street Profits and Angelo Dawkins defeated Chad Gable. SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair defeated Carmella to retain the title as well, seemingly ending their brief feud.
The problem was that none of the audience in the rap concert cared about the matches and why would they? It seemed like an odd move to put a ring in a rap concert, but it already happened.
Apart from that, it was a good episode of SmackDown and everything that took place within the designated Cleveland arena was entertaining to watch. Toni Storm's debut and victory over Zelina Vega was a notable part of SmackDown as well. Things are heating up as we get closer towards SummerSlam 2021 and here are a few things that WWE subtly told us:
#5 The Intercontinental title picture goes berserk on SmackDown
Big E came out for a celebratory segment on SmackDown, but it turned into something entirely different. Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews came out and reminded E about how he lost to him at WrestleMania 37.
Things soon broke down and Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro - with the latter proclaiming his intentions to pursue the Intercontinental Championship.
From the look of things, a six-man tag team match could eventually be in order next week.
But who will emerge as the main contenders on SmackDown? Cesaro seemingly started a feud with the Alpha Academy last week, but that was quietly swept under the rug.
It's always good to see Cesaro in the title picture, but five other superstars getting involved seems a bit too much.
Firstly, it doesn't make much sense to have Big E pursue the Intercontinental title on SmackDown. Secondly, only Nakamura and Cesaro seem to be in a good spot to challenge him.
Either way, Apollo Crews' Intercontinental title reign could be doomed. If there are this many superstars involved in one title picture on SmackDown, a ladder match could be inevitable for the blue brand.
#4 An unlikely face turn and alliance on SmackDown
Baron Corbin's downward spiral storyline has somehow turned into one of the best storylines on SmackDown recently. After losing his throne to Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown, Corbin has seemingly become a poor man who is in debt and can't pay his bills.
When Kayla Braxton asked Baron Corbin about his fund from last week on SmackDown, he said that he ended up losing money somehow, which was hilarious in itself.
In a segment later on, Kevin Owens was trying to help Shotzi Blackhart and Tegan Nox fix their vehicle. When KO couldn't, he left and was confronted by Corbin, who apologized for being mean all those years. Owens noticed a stain on his white shirt. Corbin said that it was from canned spaghetti.
Kevin Owens gave him a bit of money in sympathy and told him to stop being mean to people.
After he left, Shotzi and Nox shot what looked like a nerf bullet into Corbin's lower region, temporarily paralyzing him. Former SmackDown Tag Team Champions Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler hilariously mugged him before Kevin Owens came for the save.
A face turn and alliance with Kevin Owens seems to be next for Corbin on SmackDown. It's an unusual storyline, but it might oddly work. Baron Corbin turned heel in 2015 and hasn't been a babyface since. With the right storyline, it might just work.
#3 Finn Balor is on course for a title push on SmackDown
Finn Balor returned last week and he had his first SmackDown match in over two years tonight. It was great to see him back and the live audience loved The Prince as well.
Finn Balor faced Sami Zayn on SmackDown in a continuation from last week. What was emphasized on commentary was Balor's comments about how his main goal was to win Championships.
Finn Balor was a top-tier babyface but in 2016, he was perhaps pushed a bit too quickly. There wasn't much that came from his last SmackDown run, but this time is going to be different.
It's clear that SmackDown lacks top babyfaces on the card and Finn Balor is perfect for the slot. The feud with Sami Zayn didn't continue as long as expected. It was simply a one-off match to get Finn Balor into the Universal Championship picture against Roman Reigns.
But one can't help but wonder if it was a mistake to put Balor in that position so early. With that said, both men could deliver on SmackDown with a great match.
#2 Edge and Seth Rollins on course for a heated feud on SmackDown
Edge and Seth Rollins are on a collision course heading towards SummerSlam with a big feud on SmackDown. WWE has been less than subtle about teasing their feud before Money in the Bank 2021 and it has finally come to fruition.
Edge came out on SmackDown, proclaiming that Seth Rollins deprived him of a Universal Championship victory. Rollins would come out and the promo got heated between the two men. It's always good to see two top-tier superstars from different generations go at it and that's exactly how we feel about this feud.
It has the right level of intensity and it's a dream match waiting to happen. Many may not remember that nearly seven years ago, Seth Rollins nearly stomped Edge's neck in, threatening to paralyze him if John Cena didn't restore The Authority to power.
Thankfully, the feud on SmackDown has no Authority involved, and nor should it. It's a simple one-on-one rivalry between two greats of their generation. Seth Rollins has been upping his game as a heel lately and that could be seen this week on SmackDown.
Edge has the upper hand, but will it last until SummerSlam?
#1 Twists and turns to the SummerSlam main event on SmackDown
The expected SummerSlam main event is Roman Reigns vs John Cena and this episode of SmackDown was supposed to confirm that. Spoiler alert - it didn't. Cena closed Money in the Bank and opened RAW and SmackDown as well.
He cut the same promo on Roman Reigns and re-affirmed his challenge. When he called out the face of SmackDown, the counsel for The Tribal Chief Paul Heyman came out and mocked John Cena in a hilarious-but-short promo, keeping things vague.
Roman Reigns was always going to come out at the end and when he did, it was for a good reason. He made a joke about how mundane John Cena is with the same entrance, appearance, and promos. He compared it to a certain position that we can't describe, but it shows how far he has come with his delivery.
It doesn't need to be said, but Roman Reigns' run on SmackDown has proved how great he is as a heel. This isn't going to be a one-sided promo battle, but it looks like we're going to have to wait.
It was Finn Balor who unexpectedly came out after Roman Reigns declined John Cena's SummerSlam challenge. While Roman Reigns laughed at Balor's challenge, he accepted it. It could be set for SmackDown very soon and it will be interesting to see how WWE manages to protect The Prince while making Roman Reigns look good.
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