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5 Things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: New faction possibly formed, Reason behind major title change

By Rohit Nath
Modified Aug 14, 2021 08:25 IST
Roman Reigns (left); Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks (right)
Roman Reigns (left); Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks (right)

SmackDown this week started with a promo from John Cena. We saw Roman Reigns come out and while Cena admitted that he will get beaten down at SummerSlam, he vowed to win.

It was another great promo from John Cena, who continues to prove how great he is on the mic. Roman Reigns had some clever responses too but Cena was the victor of the verbal battle.

We still wonder why no mention has been made of their match from 2017. Perhaps because it wasn't that great, WWE has tried to distance itself from it. As for the rest of SmackDown, here's what the company subtly told us this week:

#5 Sasha Banks teases a new faction on SmackDown?

The final segment of SmackDown was a contract signing between Sasha Banks and Women's Champion Bianca Belair. They main evented WrestleMania together and when Banks returned to SmackDown, they seemed to have made amends.

However, this wasn't the case as Sasha Banks backstabbed the SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair to set up a feud. This week, the contract signing was meant to happen without any interruptions, but that rarely ever happens.

It was a heated verbal exchange between Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair. The former got two people on her side - old rival Carmella as well as Zelina Vega. Together, they did Sasha Banks' bidding and tried to attack Bianca Belair, although it's unclear as to why they're aligned.

Either way, Belair got the better of them at first before Sasha Banks attacked her from behind and stood tall. The two can even surpass their WrestleMania bout, but it will be interesting to see how Carmella and Zelina Vega pair up and if they are, in fact, faction members.

Now the SmackDown Women's champion needs allies. Who will team up with her next week?

#4 Shinsuke Nakamura reaches Championship glory on SmackDown, but why?

Apollo Crews' four-month reign as the Intercontinental Champion came to an end at the hands of King Nakamura on SmackDown. While Apollo Crews had momentum at first, it quickly died down in the build to Money in the Bank 2021.

Overall, the Shinsuke Nakamura-Rick Boogz pairing has worked on SmackDown. We can't seem to point out why, but whenever the referee sends people out of the arena, it gets a big pop.

At first, Rick Boogz was sent away for playing the guitar on the ring apron. Commander Azeez was soon booted out as well. Nakamura hit a Kinshasa to Apollo Crews' face and it sealed a second Intercontinental Championship victory for Shinsuke Nakamura.

So why did WWE decide to take the title off Apollo Crews? For one, he had little momentum and Nakamura did. King Nakamura's pairing with Boogz on SmackDown has been a huge hit with the audience and WWE capitalized on it. It was a short and simple match, perhaps better to have it on SmackDown than SummerSlam.

Either way, it's another big title win on the blue brand for King Nakamura.

#3 The SmackDown Tag Team division is on fire right now

We enjoy when the tag team divisions (on both RAW and SmackDown) focus on non-title feuds as well. That's exactly what happened this week as The Alpha Academy took on The Street Profits.

That was a fun match to watch on SmackDown, essentially serving as a title eliminator. The Street Profits won, meaning that they could be in line for a SmackDown Tag Team title shot post-SummerSlam.

On the other hand, Rey Mysterio was once again seen advising Dominik Mysterio. It paid off as they faced former SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.

There was a moment where The Usos popped up on the titantron to distract Dominik Mysterio. His father saved the day by getting him back on track, leading to The Mysterios getting the subsequent pin and win.

The SmackDown Tag Team division is making moves right now and we can only hope that this much emphasis is seen consistently on the show. Unfortunately, the same doesn't seem to be the case on RAW.

#2 What lies ahead in the Seth Rollins-Edge feud on SmackDown?

With only one episode of SmackDown programming left until SummerSlam, we wonder how the Edge-Seth Rollins feud will play out. This week on SmackDown, Edge didn't show up, much to the crowd's disappointment.

We're not sure why, but as it turns out, the part-timers aren't needed every week. This week, Seth Rollins was first seen in the SmackDown production truck and when he came out, he played a video package.

What was the video package all about? Well, it showed how Edge was great, but Seth Rollins was greater. It was admittedly a funny package, but Rollins seems to be somewhat carrying the feud on SmackDown.

It will be interesting to see how their match plays out on SummerSlam. As of now, there seems to be no stipulation that was hinted at. We only hope that the match delivers, because the feud hasn't set SmackDown on fire by any means.

It doesn't help when one of the marquee draws of SummerSlam doesn't show up on SmackDown. But then again, he may simply not be needed.

#1 Baron Corbin's lows and woes continue on SmackDown

Baron Corbin has somehow managed to remain the most entertaining part of SmackDown despite not being that popular. The fact that the blue brand is stacked with top names and Baron Corbin manages to stay relevant is a big sign of how good he truly is.

For Baron Corbin, the character, however, things are sinking lower and lower. He tried to hijack Finn Balor on SmackDown and sign the main event contract for SummerSlam, only to get upstaged by John Cena.

This week on SmackDown, Baron Corbin revealed that he was going to file for bankruptcy, asking everyone to donate $1000 each. Kevin Owens came out and said that he thought Corbin would learn from his mistakes, but he was wrong.

The Lonewolf asked Owens for $1000 but he refused at first. KO did, however, tell Corbin that if he could beat him in a match, he could earn the money. Following this, Corbin received a stunner.

Predictably enough, Baron Corbin's luck didn't change on SmackDown and he lost. He did, however, resort to one last act of desperation - to steal the Money in the Bank briefcase from Big E.

While the commentators said that he wouldn't be valid for a cash-in, John Cena signed a contract with Finn Balor's name on it. Anything can happen. A Big E-Corbin feud seems like it will be an entertaining one.

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