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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. There's a lot to unpack, starting right from the beginning. Thankfully, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H appearances have reduced significantly, which means that when they do come on an episode of WWE programming, the show becomes more special.
It was one of those moments where they had the entire roster present and they gave a rundown of the matches for the night. Some of the slightly less significant bits that we will be missing in this article are the Tag Team title match between The Street Profits and Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, as well as the SmackDown Women's Championship contract signing segment.
Not that they weren't important, we simply felt as though they didn't require individual points of discussion this week. Without wasting much time, let's get right into what WWE subtly told us on the season premiere of SmackDown.
#5 Despite controversies, WWE has big plans for Lars Sullivan on SmackDown
Did you know that Lars Sullivan is a freak? If you didn't, watch SmackDown so Michael Cole can remind you about it 100 times in five minutes. It appears as though all it takes in WWE to get pushed is for Vince McMahon to be behind you. Given how Lars Sullivan's trajectory appears to be upon his WWE return, he certainly has some high-level backing.
It's a bit surprising, but despite all the controversies surrounding Lars Sullivan, WWE intends to push him hard on SmackDown. When he returned in the Draft Special episode of SmackDown last week, Lars Sullivan took out Jeff Hardy and Matt Riddle.
With both Hardy and Riddle getting drafted from SmackDown to RAW, it was time to give the WWE legend a farewell and that's exactly what Lars Sullivan did when he crushed The Charismatic Enigma.
It seems as though Lars Sullivan is going to get pushed on SmackDown regardless of what fans or people backstage think. In a way, WWE is risking a lot, but it seems that they will be portraying The Freak as a big Superstar on the Blue brand.
#4 Is there a major Money in the Bank twist being planned on SmackDown?
Sami Zayn is standing tall as the Intercontinental Champion on SmackDown. After successfully capturing the title again in a brilliant Triple Threat Ladder match, he finished his feud with Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles - both of whom were drafted to RAW.
This week on SmackDown, he had an encounter with an interesting name - Otis. Just like The Miz and John Morrison, Sami Zayn was trying to rub salt in the wound over the fact that Mandy Rose and Tucker got seperated from this year's MITB winner as both of them were drafted to RAW.
It resulted in a backstage attack on Sami Zayn. With The Miz and John Morrison now on RAW, Otis may just have started a new feud against the Intercontinental Champion tonight on SmackDown with this backstage interaction.
Now, this might sound crazy, but rather than looking to get the briefcase off Otis without him losing it, there could be a possibility of Otis becoming the first person to cash-in to win a secondary title. Either way, this is a solid feud on SmackDown.
#3 Seth Rollins gets a grand welcome on SmackDown
The Monday Night Messiah Seth Rollins has a new home on SmackDown. From late November 2012 until early November 2015, Seth Rollins held a record for the most-consecutive appearances on Monday Night RAW. Being the workhorse that he is, the former Universal Champion was appropriately given the name "Monday Night Rollins".
Even after the 2016 WWE Draft, Seth Rollins was one of the few superstars who was never drafted to SmackDown. He remained on RAW and became the face of the brand in 2019 once Roman Reigns had to temporarily step down from his spot.
Seth Rollins appeared on SmackDown when he interrupted the returning Daniel Bryan and a feud was teased instantly. However, the demons of his past, i.e, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, and even Murphy came back to haunt him.
While the father-son duo had cornered Seth Rollins, Murphy proceeded to attacked his former leader, ensuring that their alliance wouldn't pour on to SmackDown from RAW.
The big confusion is as to who Seth Rollins will be feuding with. Wouldn't it make sense for WWE to wrap up the Mysterio-Rollins-Murphy story on SmackDown before teasing a new feud with Daniel Bryan?
#2 The New Day's fairytale run ends after six years on SmackDown
It's surreal to think that after six years together, The New Day's run came to an end on the season premiere of SmackDown. The trio of Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston turned out to be one of the most significant tag teams in the company's history despite being dubbed as a flop from the start.
It played out beautifully and WWE could have easily opted to go with the typical break-up, but they didn't. Instead, it was clear that there are bigger things lying ahead for Big E as a singles star and this opens the door for a reunion down the line.
Until then, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods will be on RAW while Big E continues his singles run on SmackDown. The entire ordeal was emotional and we're glad that they got to go out on a high note after defeating Cesaro, Sheamus, and Shinsuke Nakamura in a six-man tag team match.
This is a moment that will hold a lot of significance in the long run.
#1 Roman Reigns sends Braun Strowman packing from SmackDown
Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman are perhaps each other's best career rivals. It's a shame that Braun Strowman won't be sticking around on SmackDown to renew his feud with Roman Reigns because they have always had good chemistry and The Big Dog's new character on SmackDown would have made for a great dynamic.
Either way, the finish was a bit surprising since it wasn't a Superman Punch or a Spear that saw Reigns emerge victorious on SmackDown. It was an adjusted Guillotine from Roman Reigns that made Braun Strowman submit and the referee had to call the match as a result. We've never seen Roman Reigns successfully win a match by submission, so it was a unique addition to his already-solid arsenal.
Roman Reigns sent Braun Strowman packing from SmackDown to RAW and he would teach Jey Uso a lesson when his cousin tried to attack him. What lies ahead for Roman Reign as we're only a few days away from WWE Hell in a Cell 2020? Will Roman Reigns brutalize Jey Uso yet again?
