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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown! It was a solid episode of SmackDown that went by fast, headlined by a Samoan Street Fight.
While we'll get back to that, let's start with the things WWE hinted at on SmackDown.
#6 Big E gets a mean streak on SmackDown
Big E was originally supposed to be in the Fatal-4-Way match involving Matt Riddle, Sheamus, and King Corbin on SmackDown a few weeks ago. Unfortunately for Big E, Sheamus would attack him mid-episode and send him crashing down on a car windshield - all of which led to Jey Uso replacing him and becoming the No.1 Contender for the Universal Championship on SmackDown.
Sheamus was alerted that his car was getting towed and as it turns out, it was bait from Big E, who chased him away. The man who informed Sheamus, however, was in a lot more trouble. The seemingly-innocent SmackDown worker was assaulted by Big E after he supposedly had a role in Sheamus' attack a few weeks before.
He suffered the same fate that Big E did - going crashing down the windshield of the car. Big E was immediately ejected by "general manager" Adam Pearce, but this seemed to be a big indication that WWE Is tweaking Big E's character for a more prominent role on SmackDown.
While we don't doubt that he's going to get a push on SmackDown (unless WWE decides to put him in a tag team when Kofi Kingston returns), this was perhaps the right move needed for Big E to get further on SmackDown.
He's essentially had the same character since The New Day turned babyface before WrestleMania 32 in 2016, which is why WWE likely knows that a character change is needed after four-and-a-half years.
#5 Roman Reigns and Jey Uso's brotherhood will shatter on SmackDown inevitably
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso have had perhaps the most interesting main event storyline on SmackDown since WrestleMania 36. While we don't mean it as any disrespect to Braun Strowman or Bray Wyatt, the reality is that their feud turned out to be more underwhelming than hoped.
Either way, there's a great story in hand here and after Roman Reigns got the pin for all of Jey Uso's hard work last week, this time, the main event Samoan Street Fight was an even affair.
Jey Uso managed to get the pin and the Samoan cousin brothers defeated the duo of Sheamus and King Corbin again. It was a solid match that saw Jey Uso go through a table and Sheamus getting speared through the barricade.
What was most notable, however, was what happened after the main event, where Jey Uso and Roman Reigns embraced like brothers would. However, as Jey Uso walked away from the ring celebrating, Roman Reigns' facial expression changed into a menacing one and he had a non-verbal exchange with Paul Heyman.
It's a clear indicator that not only will Jey Uso lose, but he's going to get brutalized in a way that he never has before - either on SmackDown or Clash of Champions.
#4 The Otis lawsuit on SmackDown
Otis has been facing his biggest adversaries on SmackDown since Dolph Ziggler this past WrestleMania season. Without Mandy Rose by his side, it's given Tucker the spotlight again.
However, The Miz and John Morrison have had nothing but cruel intentions on their mind when it comes to Otis. They've attempted to steal his Money in the Bank contract for weeks and have tried to find various loopholes to make him forfeit it.
They may have finally found their solution and after The Miz had his clothes removed by Otis (and John Morrison ran away with him) on the Dirt Sheet, Otis was filed with a lawsuit citing "emotional distress", being given a week to potentially forfeit his Money in the Bank contract.
While we don't think that will happen, it's a good way to get Otis some regular TV time. With that said, we're still not convinced that WWE wants to have Otis cash in the MITB briefcase on SmackDown. We'll see what the fate of Otis is.
#3 What is Sasha Banks' future on SmackDown
Sasha Banks had a sit-down interview on SmackDown - a couple of weeks removed from her brutal assault at the hands of Bayley. It was an emotional interview and as expected, Sasha Banks is a full-fledged babyface again.
Sasha Banks spoke about their journey from NXT to SmackDown and how they dominated the last few months in the entire women's division - which they did in a way that few others have before.
However, the interview, which took place at the WWE Performance Center, saw an abrupt end as Sasha Banks was attacked from behind by Bayley, who made her way from the ThunderDome SmackDown arena.
With Bayley facing Nikki Cross at Clash of Champions in just over a week, we can't be too sure if we're going to see Sasha Banks return soon. While a return post-Clash of Champions would be good, an ideal way to go about would be to write Sasha Banks off television and save their feud for a bigger stage and hopefully, a crowd.
However, we anticipate that Sasha Banks vs Bayley will be the direction on SmackDown heading into Hell in a Cell.
#2 The mysterious Alexa Bliss saga on SmackDown continues
The Alexa Bliss saga on SmackDown has been one of the more interesting storylines that we've seen recently. We've known only one side of Alexa Bliss in the last few years - the "mean girl" who cheated her way to multiple Championships.
However, she's had a good babyface run in a tag team with Nikki Cross and now she's transitioning on SmackDown to an entirely new character. Nikki Cross faced Lacey Evans (who sanitized her hands before) and defeated her, gaining more momentum heading into her SamckDown Women's title match at Clash of Champions.
What was interesting, however, was Lacey Evans taking a shot at Alexa Bliss for her relationship with The Fiend. It was this that provoked Alexa Bliss to not only assault Lacey Evans, but hit her with the Sister Abigail - the same move she used on Nikki Cross last week.
It's a clear indicator that her character is progressing in a big way and we're excited to see what direction WWE goes with.
#1 Will Jeff Hardy prevail in his territory?
Sami Zayn faced AJ Styles in a rare heel vs heel match on SmackDown. It was a good bout and while we don't doubt that they would have done much better on PPV, that was perhaps the objective when looking at how the match went.
Sami Zayn almost got the pin but was caught with a handful of AJ Styles' tights. AJ Styles managed to outsmart him for a quick and decisive victory, after which Jeff Hardy came out and attacked them both.
Sick and tired of the question of "who the real Intercontinental Champion" is, Jeff Hardy challenged both men to a Triple Threat ladder match at Clash of Champions. Interestingly, the SmackDown post-match segment saw Hardy take out a table, ladder, and chair, hinting at a TLC match.
However, Sami Zayn and AJ Styles, after their war on SmackDown, will have to challenge Jeff Hardy in a match that he specializes in. Will the WWE legend be able to cement himself as the true Intercontinental Champion?
