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The second episode of Friday Night SmackDown of 2020 is officially in the books. While it wasn't as good as last week, it was certainly an interesting episode and a happening one. We saw quite a bit of storyline and character progression - which is more than what we get normally.
There's no denying that the build to Royal Rumble has been extremely interesting and the rivalries have as well. While some have criticized the utilization of certain superstars, we must understand that WWE is now planting the seeds and setting things up for the road to WrestleMania. It's surreal to think that we're just over a couple of weeks removed from the road to WrestleMania beginning.
However, before we get to the Royal Rumble, let's stick to the latest episode of SmackDown and discuss the interesting things that WWE subtly told us.
#7 A tag team reunites after 11 years
John Morrison was the special guest on Miz TV that opened the show. It was clear from the start that Morrison wasn't going in the babyface direction. Throughout Miz TV, he defended The Miz and all his hard work and accomplishments in WWE (which he fully deserves to be credited for).
However, Kofi Kingston and Big E came out and it led to Kingston facing The Miz in a singles match, while Big E and Morrison were in the commentary booth. Unsurprisingly, Morrison had a role to play as he took out Big E when he was ringside, using his phenomenal athleticism.
It appears that The Miz and John Morrison are reuniting as a tag team. It's been 11 years since they were last a unit. Morrison will be making his in-ring return next week as he takes on Big E.
#6 Daniel Bryan could be headed for a big character change soon
The Fiend's character arc has been one of the most interesting ones over the last year. There have been few superstars with storylines as interesting as his and there's a reason his popularity has skyrocketed the way he has.
A coincidence and nice little (unintentional) touch is that every superstar that The Fiend has defeated has had a character alteration of some sort. After he beat Finn Balor, the first-ever Universal Champion went on a hiatus and returned to NXT - as a heel.
When he defeated Seth Rollins, The Architect was in a tricky position and eventually turned heel himself. The Miz turned heel not too long after losing to Bray Wyatt, and so far, Daniel Bryan is the only victim of Wyatt that's yet to turn. However, while he may not outright turn heel, we fully expect him to have a big character alteration after the Royal Rumble.
A character change is certainly something Bryan does great and we look forward to seeing how it goes.
#5 Braun Strowman is the next Intercontinental title challenger
Braun Strowman has been running riot of late. He took care of Cesaro recently, and this week, he faced the Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a non-title match. Unsurprisingly, he was able to put away the Japanese superstar, instantly securing a future title shot.
We know how it works. You pin the Champion in a non-title match and earn a title shot - which we expect to happen as soon as next week and not the Royal Rumble 2020. The reason for that is simply because Strowman would make a better addition to the Royal Rumble match while the Intercontinental title is rarely defended on the PPV.
Either way, we can't see Strowman winning the Championship just yet. While he would be a good Champion, WWE loves to pull the plug on him right as soon as he gains momentum.
He's rumored to pair with Tyson Fury again for WrestleMania season to potentially take on King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode or some combination of it.
#4 The implications of the Otis-Mandy Rose story
Mandy Rose and Dolph Ziggler didn't have an interaction this week. Instead, Rose went directly to Otis and gave him a cake that said "I'm sorry" with a frowny face. She certainly acted like a babyface to Otis, but a heel otherwise.
Firstly, she ignored what Sonya Deville was saying when giving her a pep talk backstage and told her to carry on before she would join her again. Even in the ring against Alexa Bliss, Rose was anything but a babyface. It was thanks to Otis and Tucker who came out (while Otis was chomping on the cake) that distracted Alexa Bliss, allowing Rose to pin her.
It's clear that the Mandy Rose-Otis direction is going to head to a face-heel dynamic while Sonya Deville (and possibly Tucker) will get the short-end of the stick. Fire & Desire won't last all too long.
However, Otis is somehow managing to get over with the audience and as of now, that's all that matters.
#3 The "SmackDown wars" begins
We're not the biggest fan of this storyline, but the return took us by surprise. Then again, it probably had to do with the fact that we forgot that Robert Roode got suspended on December 10th. He was always going to return but WWE wasted no time in bringing him back - doing so exactly a month after he was suspended for violating the Wellness Policy.
The Usos made their big comeback against King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, and it ended anticlimactically with a DQ after Reigns speared Corbin outside. However, Robert Roode blindsided him and along with Ziggler and Corbin - sent him through the announcer's desk.
The commentators teased it as a sort of "war" for SmackDown and it's clear that we're going to get a 3-on-3 feud. From the look of things, the payoff might be at the Royal Rumble, where Reigns vs Corbin has officially been announced. It's not known as yet whether the match will have a stipulation, but given that it has already happened multiple times on SmackDown, the match needs one.
#2 WWE is still protecting Sasha Banks
Lacey Evans was originally scheduled to face Sasha Banks in a grudge match on SmackDown. However, Banks' music hit but she didn't come out, with SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley telling her that she wasn't present that night.
Instead, Evans went on to chase Bayley backstage and it resulted in a small brawl. It's clear that Bayley vs Lacey Evans is going to be the SmackDown Women's Championship match at the Royal Rumble 2020, but it's surprising that they still haven't gotten to Evans vs Banks.
It seems evident that WWE still wants to protect Sasha Banks. She hasn't fared too badly since losing to Becky Lynch at Hell in a Cell and has still been one of the more protected female stars - certainly more than Charlotte Flair at this stage.
While we do expect the match to take place eventually, don't be surprised if Evans doesn't beat her clean or there's a sketchy finish that protects both women.
#1 Why was the Ramblin' Rabbit killed?
Daniel Bryan might just be The Fiend's best rivalry since he made his in-ring debut last August. It's had a lot to do with his character work and as usual, he has continued to prove why he's still among the best in the world.
As with the other rivalries, this one is personal and involves a lot of mind games. What was interesting was the backstage segment where the Ramblin' Rabbit, who is believed to represent Bray Wyatt's previous persona (The Eater of Worlds, not Husky Harris) told Bryan that he knows how to beat The Fiend.
Bray Wyatt shut him up and warned Bryan, later giving him a "gift", which turned out to be the Ramblin' Rabbit with his head half chopped up. It was certainly brutal and likely represents the key to beat The Fiend, which we won't know soon.
However, our theory is that it has to do with Wyatt's old, more vulnerable and beatable persona. It's a brilliant bit of character-work from Wyatt which we believe will play out over the next few months - including the involvement of The Fiend's next challenger.
