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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on the SmackDown before Royal Rumble 2021. It was an interesting episode, but the overall flow of SmackDown was quite messy and inconsistent.
Let's start with the main event and what went down on SmackDown:
#5 Shinsuke Nakamura and the main event of SmackDown
We're admittedly confused about Shinsuke Nakamura's status on SmackDown. After the gauntlet match where he fell short to Adam Pearce, it appeared as though WWE was planning something big with him.
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It turned into nothing, but a face turn has come out of it. As a result, his partnership with Cesaro quietly ended - though they did have a moment of confrontation on SmackDown. That moment saw the two go face-to-face, but they didn't touch each other, instead of focusing on other stars.
As mentioned, the entire flow of the show was off, and we had stars from RAW popping in and out.
The originally scheduled main event was between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan in a dream match on SmackDown. Before we get to that, we would like to mention a brief interaction between Sami Zayn and his old ally Shinsuke Nakamura. He asked Nakamura to join back with him since his "best work" in WWE was with Sami Zayn (not incorrect).
Shinsuke Nakamura told Sami Zayn to "go to hell" and walked away. Back to the main event, things got messy. There was a no-contest thanks to interferences from Sami Zayn, Big E, and Cesaro.
Ultimately, it ended up becoming a six-man tag team match on SmackDown - with Shinsuke Nakamura teaming up alongside Daniel Bryan and Big E to take on AJ Styles, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn.
Things got more chaotic after The Miz and John Morrison came out, and a 5-on-3 handicap match became 5-on-4 after Otis returned. And then, for some odd reason, Sheamus comes out of nowhere to join the team of babyfaces. He ended up picking up the win after pinning Sami Zayn.
While Shinsuke Nakamura's babyface turn is now more than official, we have to question the chaotic nature of the main event. Not much was planned in it, and it all felt too random - with too many things happening too fast. Hopefully, WWE avoids doing that going forward.
#4 Bianca Belair gets the biggest win of her WWE career on SmackDown
SmackDown's Bianca Belair has been one of the fastest-rising stars in the WWE since the 2020 Draft. Her move to Friday nights has been big, and she was the first woman to feud with Bayley after the latter's historic reign as the Blue brand's Women's Champion ended.
Bianca Belair has largely been getting the better of Bayley on SmackDown, and the fact that she carried Otis on her shoulders just a week before is an indication that she is ready for the big stage.
She has more momentum heading into the Royal Rumble than most SmackDown Superstars, and her win over the former Champion Bayley is a sign that WWE has big plans for her. That may not necessarily mean an immediate Royal Rumble victory, but for now, she got the biggest win of her career on SmackDown.
It will be interesting to see how she performs at the Royal Rumble. She has all the makings of being a great Iron Woman of the match - even if the SmackDown star isn't winning it.
#3 Braun Strowman's return to SmackDown and the fallout
Braun Strowman has finally recovered from the injury that kept him out of TLC 2020, and he is back in the best physical shape of his career after returning to SmackDown. He returned to the blue brand, even though he is officially a RAW superstar.
In fact, he was rumored to be Drew McIntyre's WWE title opponent at TLC, but AJ Styles ended up taking that spot due to an injury for The Monster Among Men. On TV, it was Adam Pearce who handed Braun Strowman a suspension on RAW, meaning that it would make sense for him to come to SmackDown.
While we're not sure if Braun Strowman will be a SmackDown star going forward, one thing seems certain - he is entering the Royal Rumble match. While he will always be an odds on favorite, we highly doubt that he is winning the match.
We would have preferred if Braun Strowman returned directly as a surprise entrant in the Rumble rather than a return to SmackDown.
#2 Dominik Mysterio keeps getting ahead of himself on SmackDown
One good thing about the entire Mysterio Family-Seth Rollins-Murphy story ending is that it got Aalyah out of programing on SmackDown. While it was interesting, we felt that the story took away from Dominik Mysterio - especially after his father and he moved to SmackDown.
He wasn't given the spotlight as he should have on SmackDown, but things are changing with the angle against King Corbin. Dominik Mysterio was once again scheduled to face King Corbin on SmackDown, and he attacked him before the match to get revenge and an advantage.
Dominik Mysterio lost clean once again - falling victim to The End of Days. While we know that many fans won't be happy about Corbin's win on SmackDown, we believe that it's a good thing - we're finally getting a story of Dominik Mysterio being too overconfident for his own good. His father Rey Mysterio keeps trying to bring him down a peg or two, but Dominik's stubbornness is costing him his own matches.
It's a solid story to tell, and one that makes sense given that Dominik Mysterio is only turning 24 this year. Is SmackDown the right place for him?
#1 The final face-off between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens on SmackDown
WWE decided to hold a virtual interview for both Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens, where they had a verbal face-off on SmackDown. While the objective was to have a heated back-and-forth to build anticipation for their Royal Rumble Universal Championship match, it wasn't as good as expected.
They have been the two most important men on SmackDown, but they didn't even make an appearance in the ring. Either way, the promo mostly had to do with Roman Reigns using Kevin Owens' family to rile him up - something he did successfully.
Despite a relative lack of build on SmackDown to their Last Man Standing Match, we fully expect the two men to steal the show. They faced off at the 2017 Royal Rumble for the Universal title, and the roles were reversed for this clash.
The outcome will likely be reversed as well, as Roman Reigns is still expected to defeat Kevin Owens and retain the Universal title. But after that, what is left on SmackDown for him?
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