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Welcome to this week's edition of 5 things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. It was certainly an interesting way to kick things off on the road to WrestleMania on the SmackDown side.
It was an interesting episode - perhaps one of the better ones this year. We've been very vocal about the fact that RAW has been a more solid and consistent show these past few months, but SmackDown has a big opportunity to pick up momentum on the road to WrestleMania 36.
All it takes are a few good storylines and we could be seeing some fresh ones if the latest episode was any indication. We have new title challengers, a new Champion, and the end of a long-standing rivalry on the Blue brand.
Without going much further, let's jump right into it and look at a few things that were subtly told on the show.
#6 The end of a rivalry - and how!
A few weeks ago at a live event, there was a report that WWE did a stipulation match between Roman Reigns and King Corbin - where the loser would have to eat dog food. It was bizarre enough as it was when reading about it and the assumption was that WWE was testing the waters to see the kind of reaction it got.
For some reason, they thought it would be a good idea not only to main event SmackDown - but to end the rivalry between The Bloodline (Reigns and The Usos) and King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode.
We imagined that the Falls Count Anywhere match in the Royal Rumble opener was the conclusion of the feud, but everything about this seemed to indicate that the rivalry between Reigns and Corbin has come to an end.
Do you think SmackDown is better than RAW and NXT? Or is it the other way around? Hear what Kurt Angle has to say regarding the scenario!
#5 What's brewing between Mandy and Otis?
Otis gathered the courage to ask Mandy Rose out and while he thought he was rejected at first, he managed to land a date for Valentine's Day. It's good for WWE that it falls perfectly into Friday Night and they can run an angle with it.
While it has all the brewings of a romantic angle, we can all probably see what's coming. For all we know, this could end up making Otis an even bigger babyface. What surprises us is how Tucker has been nothing but a background character in this recent storyline - similar to Sonya Deville.
However, it's clear as day that Rose will keep using Otis for her benefit and betray him in no time. It's certainly going to get more heat on her and if anything, can get Otis a lot of sympathy. We're not going to lie, we didn't expect him to get over this quickly when given the opportunity.
While Heavy Machinery isn't going to be the centerpiece of the tag team division, they've fared better than we expected.
You can also listen to the latest edition of Dropkick DiSKussions where our experts, Tom Colohue and Korey Gunz, talk about the fallout from Royal Rumble!
#4 Elias is finally getting a feud?
After the Intercontinental Championship match, Sami Zayn was visibly furious along with an angry Cesaro and dejected Shinsuke Nakamura. At the wrong time, he was asked a question before hearing the strum of a guitar.
There was nobody else it could have been and as expected, Elias was in the ring ready to play a tune. However, he hardly got the chance to do so as Cesaro was sent out to take care of him.
It didn't work out well for Cesaro, who was booted out of the ring quickly. It looks like WWE is finally trying to do something with Elias. While he's a perfect act for live events and television, he was hardly given anything to work with other than being the "guitar guy" who's there on every show.
Even his last babyface run was cut short. For the first time in ages, WWE has decided to give Elias a proper feud and he could be aligned with other babyfaces in the future.
#3 John Morrison and The Miz could be the next Champions
As we predicted, John Morrison and The Miz defeated The Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery, and The Revival to become the new #1 contenders to the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. They'll be facing The New Day at WWE Super ShowDown this February.
Out of all the stars to take the pin, they made sure it was Scott Dawson - further proving the point that the Wrestling Observer Newsletter made - that WWE is trying to bury The Revival as much as they can on their way out.
The duo have reportedly been offered a big sum of money to stick around but from the look of things - they aren't going to accept it. It'll be interesting to see if they decide to reject a big contract to test the waters outside.
But this isn't about The Revival. It's Morrison and The Miz being legitimate challengers to The New Day. We can even see them challenging for the titles in a multi-team match at WrestleMania - unless they walk in as the defending Champions.
#2 A filler feud for Bayley
Bayley came out and instantly began to insult Lacey Evans and got heat for how she beat her in front of her daughter. She also slammed her for injuring Sasha Banks and making her miss the Royal Rumble match (which she was reportedly not medically cleared for).
We expected Carmella to be the name to challenge Bayley after Royal Rumble given their history, but now that we think of it, WWE made the right call in not having a rushed feud between the two.
Bayley and Carmella (real-life best friends) have a history together and it would be better for them to have a prolonged feud. Which is why we wonder why she wasn't given Evans' spot instead.
However, it was the returning Naomi who confronted her and got the better of her. Because she's still fresh on the roster again, she got a great reaction and is the perfect candidate to be Bayley's "filler" feud before heading into WrestleMania 36.
#1 Braun Strowman could be a defending Champion at WrestleMania
It feels like one of those long-overdue moments. It's been close to four-and-a-half years since Braun Strowman made his debut with the Wyatt Family. He's come a long way since then.
However, before this past episode of SmackDown, he never won a singles title in WWE. It's a staggering fact given that he was a Universal Championship contender for a good part of 2017, while also challenging for it in 2018 and 2019 as well.
There was even a time where most fans felt that he was the hottest star in the company and it was the perfect time to pull the trigger on him - only for WWE to hesitate time and again - ruining his momentum in the process.
He can breathe a sigh of relief now as he beat Shinsuke Nakamura to become the Intercontinental Champion. Whether he's a transitional champion or note, we anticipate that he'll be waling into WrestleMania as the defending Intercontinental Champion.
Also read: 5 reasons why Braun Strowman won the Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown
