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WWE SmackDown will be emanating from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan tonight, as the go-home show for WWE SummerSlam. Last week, the SmackDown roster put on one hell of a show, which the fans enjoyed thoroughly. There was a lot more wrestling action and less 'sports entertainment'.
Last week, we saw Trish Stratus accepting Charlotte Flair's challenge to a match at SummerSlam. United States Champions AJ Styles and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston also stole the show in a Champion vs. Champion match. Moreover, Ali got a surprising win over Shinsuke Nakamura.
The relations between Bayley and Ember Moon also started deteriorating on last week's show. Kevin Owens also got a win over Drew McIntyre to send a message to Shane McMahon. Finally, the show ended in confusion when someone tried to bury Roman Reigns below the scaffolding.
In this article, let's take a look at six things which could happen on tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown.
#6 Kevin Owens gets a beat-down from Shane McMahon
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon is arguably the hottest rivalry on the blue brand. Owens and McMahon have been going at it for over a month now, with KO having the upper hand in this rivalry so far.
Last week, Shane McMahon sent a video message in which he told the WWE Universe that he won't be at SmackDown that night. Following his message, Owens came out and cut a promo against Shane-O-Mac. Owens was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, which led to a match between the two. The match was pretty good, with Owens standing tall in the end.
Shane McMahon will probably deal with Owens himself tonight. Since Owens is having the upper hand so far in this rivalry, McMahon will be looking to make a major move tonight, so that he can walk into SummerSlam with higher morale.
The Best In The World might be planning to have an unexpected trick up his sleeve. Perhaps a beat-down with the help of Elias and Drew McIntyre?
#5 Ali demands an Intercontinental Championship match at SummerSlam
Since returning from an injury, Ali has been looking for a big opportunity to prove himself. Shinsuke Nakamura won the Intercontinental Championship at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view earlier this month. The following night, Ali was seen congratulating him on his win backstage.
Ali has been cutting promos over the past couple of weeks, hinting at something big. He also said that he wanted a shot at the WWE Championship, but that doesn't look possible for now.
Ali faced Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE SmackVille a few weeks ago in Nashville, where the two stole the show. Nakamura almost lost his title, but luck didn't favor Ali in the end. On the following episode of SmackDown, the two faced off in a rematch, where Ali beat the Intercontinental Champion by roll-up. This left the WWE Universe shocked.
Ali now has a valid reason to challenge The Artist for a title match at SummerSlam, which will probably be announced by WWE tonight.
#4 A face-off between Charlotte Flair and Trish Stratus
Charlotte Flair was highly disappointed after losing her match to Ember Moon two weeks ago. Following her loss, Flair said in a backstage interview that she would get herself a better opponent than any woman on the main roster at SummerSlam.
Flair lived up to her statement and did what the WWE Universe expected. Trish Stratus flew from Canada last week to attend The King's Court with Jerry "The King" Lawler on SmackDown. Flair capitalized on the opportunity and came out to confront the seven-time WWE Women's Champion.
Flair disrespected Stratus and challenged her to a match at SummerSlam. Stratus gave a befitting reply to The Queen and accepted her challenge. Last night on RAW, Trish Stratus teamed up with Natalya to face Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Stratus and Nattie lost the match by disqualification after Natalya did not let go of Lynch having applied the Sharpshooter.
However, we could not see much of Stratus in the match. A proper face-off between Flair and Stratus will most probably take place tonight.
#3 Revelation of Roman Reigns' mystery attacker
Roman Reigns has been the hottest topic over the last week in WWE. 'The Big Dog' was set to announce his opponent at SummerSlam, on last week's episode of SmackDown, however, he could not announce it. As Reigns was heading for an interview with Kayla Braxton, someone tried to bury him below the scaffolding.
WWE is still investigating the incident, and it is still unknown whether it was done purposely by someone to harm Reigns, or it was just an accident.
Reigns was part of another accident last night on RAW. When 'The Big Dog' was parking his car in the parking lot, someone tried to run over him. Fortunately, Reigns suffered a minor injury, and came out safe.
Tonight, we might finally get to know who's after the attacks. Some names which are being tossed around are Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Shane McMahon, Elias, Drew McIntyre and Buddy Murphy. Only time will tell what the future holds for The Big Dog.
#2 Bayley and Ember Moon could get physical
Ember Moon was challenged by Bayley to a SmackDown Women's Championship match at SummerSlam. This took place a couple of weeks ago on SmackDown, due to her impressive performance alongside the champ in a tag team match against Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. However, things between the two went well for a short time only.
The War Goddess defeated Charlotte Flair on SmackDown two weeks ago, due to an interruption by Bayley. However, Moon decided to send her a message, telling the SmackDown Women's Champion that she did not need her help. After beating Flair, she hit an Eclipse on Bayley.
Last week, Bayley avenged the attack from Moon by hitting her with a Bayley to Belly after their match against Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
Their dislike for each other just keeps growing every week. We can expect a heated exchange between the two on tonight's go-home show of SmackDown. Both of them will try to walk into SummerSlam with the upper hand, so expect them to get physical.
#1 Randy Orton attacks Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston challenged Randy Orton to a WWE Championship match at SummerSlam a couple of weeks ago on SmackDown. Orton came out and accepted the challenge, which was no surprise to the WWE Universe. Orton also tried to hit an RKO on Kingston during his match against Samoa Joe but failed miserably. Instead, the WWE Champion returned the favor with a Trouble In Paradise.
The rivalry just started, and things look pretty hot already. The WWE Champion and The Viper could not meet in person last week, as Orton recorded an interview against Kingston, and left for a vacation to the Maldives. He strongly criticized Kingston in it and called his win at WrestleMania 35 a fluke. The Viper also promised to take away the WWE Title from Kingston.
Orton most probably hasn't forgotten what Kingston did to him when they last met, so he'll be looking for revenge tonight. Knowing Orton, he will most probably try to confuse Kingston with his mind games. We can also expect an RKO outta nowhere on the WWE Champion.
As we get closer to SummerSlam, expect the beef between Orton and Kingston to get bigger, because the two have despised each other for 11 years, and will be looking to get the upper hand heading into the 'Biggest Party of the Summer'.
