5 Things WWE Subtly told us on SmackDown: Incredible future plans for Seth Rollins, Title change to lead to top faction breaking up?

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. The build-up to the Royal Rumble continued in Omaha, Nebraska, and this episode saw the fastest win in WWE history.

Natalya bragged about being in the Guinness Book of World Records, and said that she was going to add one more to her name by beating Aliyah in less than 3.8 seconds - the previous record.

The former NXT Superstar was beaten down before the match but pulled off the win, setting a new record of 3.17 seconds.

Madcap Moss got a big win over Sir Kofi Kingston. Apart from that, here are the things that WWE subtly told us on a good episode of SmackDown:

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#5 Seth Rollins' character tease and his future after SmackDown

The only problem with the Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins feud on SmackDown is the fact that it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Reigns is winning. This is even despite the fact that The Tribal Chief has never beaten Rollins in a World Title match.

To add salt to the wound, two out of four World Championship wins of Seth Rollins happened by pinning Roman Reigns.

Rollins made sure to acknowledge the fact that Roman Reigns' track record against him in World Title matches isn't anything great.

Rollins even tried putting out his fist for a "Shield moment" for old times' sake, but Reigns said he was over that, which was another subtle but clever dig at his past.

Seth Rollins seemed to get the better of the verbal exchange between the two on SmackDown, pointing out the clear difference between their career paths. Rollins said that he "made" Roman Reigns, something that The Tribal Chief didn't seem to debate.

Not only this, but he said that Reigns has always needed help, while Rollins scratched and clawed his way by himself.

There were a few moments where it seemed like they were blurring the lines between reality and fiction, which is what makes wrestling a unique form of entertainment in itself.

So what did WWE subtly tell us in this segment on SmackDown? More than you might think. For one, Seth Rollins is the babyface of the feud despite still being a heel. Secondly, Roman Reigns is more than likely to win and retain, but that doesn't mean that The Messiah won't see championship gold.

We can see Seth Rollins emerging as the WWE Champion on the road to WrestleMania. Whether it's at Elimination Chamber or otherwise is yet to be seen, but there are going to be big changes coming soon.

#4 A fresh start for The Usos on SmackDown

It feels like it's the first time in a while we aren't seeing The New Day vs The Usos on SmackDown again. WWE decided to renew their classic feud from 2017, seemingly unaware that they were overdoing it.

It didn't help that The Usos retained one every occasion and that King Woods ended up getting an injury. Either way, there was a multi-team match on tonight's episode featuring The Viking Raiders, Jinder Mahal and Shanky, Los Lotharios, and Cesaro and Mansoor.

It was an entertaining affair, and The Viking Raiders finally came out on top. It feels like it's been a while since Erik and Ivar earned No.1 Contendership on both shows. They have fallen short on most occasions, and they're now in a prime position to dethrone The Usos.

However, even the way The Viking Raiders were presented did not indicate that they would be the ones to dethrone Jimmy and Jey. They have a chance to, as long as the storyline is for a downfall of The Usos and a possible break-up of The Bloodline.

#3 Is Lita set for a return run on SmackDown?

WWE Hall of Famer and legend Lita returned to SmackDown for the first time in two decades this week. As you may know by now, she was one of the participants announced for the Women's Royal Rumble match.

Lita teased one more run in WWE, stating that she is ready for it. The woman to confront and stop her, of course, was Charlotte Flair, the Women's Champion. She seemed insulted that Lita would even suggest having a return run, reminding her of what happened when Trish Stratus came back in 2018.

We're not sure whether this run for Lita is going to be a few appearances and the Royal Rumble. But given the current state of the WWE Women's divisions on both brands, it seems like she could be utilized, even if it is for a short run.

Given that RAW now has a stronger women's division, Lita returning to have a run on the blue brand would be great. She could even be a title challenger to Charlotte Flair on the road to WrestleMania 38.

#2 What is in store for the Sami Zayn-Shinsuke Nakamura feud on SmackDown?

We're not sure whether Sami Zayn is feuding with Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown or Johnny Knoxville. In a bid to prove that he can do anything that Knoxville can, Zayn tried pulling off a somewhat risky stunt, only to back out in the last second.

He was soon met by Nakamura, the Intercontinental Champion who he is set to face soon, as well as Rick Boogz. Boogz would throw him onto the crashpad, while Nakamura would hit a Kinshasa.

Pat McAfee vibing with the air guitar over Sami Zayn was probably the most hilarious moment of the episode this week. The Great Liberator keeps looking like a fool or is presented that way, but that's exactly what WWE wants.

The more he gets beaten down and humiliated, the lesser a chance that people think he has when he eventually faces Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship.

While Sami Zayn might get toppled over in the Royal Rumble by Johnny Knoxville, his third Intercontinental Championship win seems inevitable.

#1 The Naomi-Sonya Deville story finally amps up on SmackDown

The office backstage on SmackDown was extremely hot this week. In what was an odd recurring theme of the episode, the office seemed cold at first, and once the thermostat was cranked, it got too hot to handle in there.

It also got too hot to handle when a tense confrontation between Naomi and Sonya Deville happened. The latter gave the weirdest explanation as to why she is carrying a grudge against Naomi, and the former Women's Champion kept coming back.

Eventually, Adam Pearce was in the same room and he told Naomi that she was, in fact, wrongly robbed of a win against Charlotte Flair recently. To right the wrong, a Championship Contender rematch between the two women has been booked for next week's episode.

Naomi isn't going to win, but it will be interesting to see how WWE handles the storyline with Sonya Deville and how she will continue to add more hurdles in front of the former Women's Champion.

We can only hope that the match will culminate at WrestleMania 38 with Naomi winning as she should.