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It was the Supersized episode of SmackDown this week, and it delivered in a big way. Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on the Supersized edition of SmackDown.
It was the final episode of the blue brand before Crown Jewel and next week the WWE Draft officially takes effect. The build was towards the Crown Jewel pay-per-view next Thursday in Saudi Arabia.
The show ended with a bombshell dropped by Brock Lesnar, but apart from that, the finals of the Queen's Crown and King Of The Ring tournament has been partially set - with Finn Balor beating Sami Zayn to qualify and Zelina Vega securing her spot.
Let's look at the rest of SmackDown and what WWE subtly told us:
#6 The Queen's Crown on SmackDown to spin off into a new feud
The semi-finals of the Queen's Crown tournament took place on SmackDown. It was a heel vs heel match against Carmella, who had previously beaten Liv Morgan to qualify. Before the match, Zelina Vega told Carmella that putting on a protective mask wasn't necessary, as they both agreed on a friendly match.
The match went underway, and it surpassed the length of every Queen's Crown match on RAW and SmackDown. The tournament has been criticized for the short length of all the matches, with the overall tourney lasting mere minutes in combined time.
While the contest was going as planned, things eventually got ugly, and Zelina Vega decided to strike Carmella on her face, prompting a shocked reaction from the former SmackDown Women's Champion.
When she went to get her protective mask, Liv Morgan was already there, with the mask in her hand. It caused a distraction that allowed Zelina Vega to pick up the win and qualify for the finals of the tournament - the biggest singles push she's received so far. Carmella vs Liv Morgan seems to be a feud we'll be seeing.
On the other end, we'll be seeing the semi-final match-up between Shayna Baszler and Doudrop on RAW. It should be noted that despite Shayna Baszler's appearance last night, she is a RAW superstar for one more episode, so that's where she'll be facing Doudrop.
The King of The Ring tournament has traditionally been won by heels and it looks like WWE will be using same approach for Queen's Crown. Doudrop remains the only babyface in the tournament, and given that WWE has been pushing and protecting Shayna Baszler recently, it only makes sense that she will qualify for the finals.
This puts Shayna Baszler in a prime position to become the first winner of Queen's Crown - unless WWE pulls off a surprise by having Zelina Vega win it.
#5 Brock Lesnar's genius move on SmackDown
The main event segment of Supersized SmackDown was a contract signing between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. As of this week's episode, Roman Reigns was 411 days into his reign as the Universal Champion.
A number he hates most is 504 - the length of Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship reign. It has been advertised on SmackDown as the biggest match in WWE this year, and that might just be true, although one could argue that Roman Reigns vs John Cena was a bigger bout from a marketability perspective.
The contract signing took place with just 11 minutes left for SmackDown to finish. There were no advertisements either, which meant that WWE didn't drag the segment on longer than it needed to.
Instead, it was an example of the art of short and simple promos that can cause an impact. Brock Lesnar has never been much of a talker, and that's still the case. But he said just one line that essentially nullified everything else Roman Reigns did on SmackDown.
During the contract signing, Brock Lesnar signed all over the page, with Roman Reigns asking him if he was stupid for blindly signing the contract. Brock Lesnar simply said that he read it earlier in the day - with his advocate Paul Heyman.
After the audible gasp from the crowd, Brock Lesnar simply threw the mic and walked away. Lesnar has been a babyface for more than two months now, but this line seemed to add to his aura as the hero of this feud. That one line added a great deal of interest to the main event of Crown Jewel.
#4 Becky Lynch's undefeated run ends on SmackDown, but Crown Jewel may not be the worst night for her
The main match of Supersized SmackDown was the blockbuster bout between Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. The two women haven't faced off since their classic match at Hell in a Cell 2019 - arguably the best Hell in a Cell match in WWE Women's history.
The result was a bit surprising. Former SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair made her last appearance on the blue brand on the commentary desk, so it should come as no surprise that she was inadvertently attacked by Becky Lynch during the match.
Bianca Belair whipped her hair on Becky Lynch's arm, leading to Sasha Banks getting a Backstabber and the win on SmackDown. This was The Man's first loss in over two years, and the commentators on SmackDown nicely foreshadowed it before it happened.
However, this doesn't mean Lynch is losing at Crown Jewel. Since Sasha Banks is on SmackDown, she has a higher chance of winning than Bianca Belair. With that said, Becky Lynch will likely win and take the SmackDown Women's title to RAW, while Charlotte will do the same before the Championships are presumably exchanged.
#3 The SmackDown Tag Team title feud ends
The Street Profits and The Usos have had a good feud for the SmackDown Tag Team titles. It seems as though any combination featuring The Usos, The New Day, and The Street Profits is a winning one.
The New Day's Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are coming to SmackDown next week, but until then, it was up to The Street Profits to make a mark.
However, The Street Profits' draft move to RAW meant that their chances of winning the SmackDown Tag Team titles were slim.
RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro are staying on RAW, while The Usos are remain on SmackDown, so a title exchange between the brands seemed unlikely, to begin with.
The two teams had an incredible street fight, with The Street Profits getting a grand entrance from Rick Boogz. Ultimately, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford fell short and this proved to be the end of their run on the blue brand.
Michael Cole mentioned that the SmackDown Tag Team title feud would come to an end, and that's exactly what happened last week.
#2 Naomi's feud with Sonya Deville is only starting on SmackDown
For a while on SmackDown now, Naomi has had to fight for her right to go to work. She hasn't competed on the blue brand for a while, with many fans continuing to demand more TV time for the former two-time Women's Champion.
The feud with Sonya Deville on SmackDown has been interesting. Not only has it given Naomi more TV time, but it has presented her as a big babyface. She was supposed to be Deville's first opponent back after 14 months on SmackDown this week, but unsurprisingly, there was a big change of plan.
Sonya Deville told her it would be a handicap match instead, with The Pridefighter teaming up with Shayna Baszler. The Queen Of Spades has been dominant lately, but she couldn't put Naomi away easily.
It took the double-team effort from both women to take out Naomi. To add insult to injury, Sonya Deville pinned Naomi after Shayna Baszler already choked her out.
The loss on SmackDown will be the catalyst for the Naomi-Deville feud to escalate, and it's going to be interesting given Deville's position as an authority figure.
#1 Happy Corbin goes from destitute to title contention on SmackDown
Happy Corbin seems to have ended his feud with Kevin Owens on SmackDown following his win over him last week and the latter's move to RAW. It was only a couple of months ago when Corbin lost his crown and became destitute - desperate for money to pay his bills.
One night after SummerSlam in Las Vegas changed his luck for the better, and he now goes by the name of Happy Corbin on SmackDown. By his side is Madcap Moss, who makes terrible jokes.
They had another torturous episode of Happy Talk, where Moss continued to make poor jokes. They were interrupted by Rick Boogs and Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
They didn't get into the ring or have much of an interaction apart from Rick Boogs telling them that he didn't come out for bad jokes. Right after that, it was the transition to the SmackDown Tag Team title match between The Street Profits and The Usos.
It was a smooth transition, and it did the job by teasing a feud between Corbin and Nakamura. All of the Intercontinental title matches since WrestleMania 37 have been on SmackDown - and this is likely to continue as a TV feud. But will Happy Corbin go from destitution to championship glory on SmackDown?
