7 things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: Terrible news for NXT, post-Survivor Series rivalry revealed (22nd November 2019)

The go-home show for SmackDown to Survivor Series is officially in the books and it wasn't the best one - but it was important. It's hard to remember a build to Survivor Series that had so many bodies and so many different names. Pretty much every show, every week had an invasion or two. But that's perhaps expected when you involve a whole other brand.

We're still not crazy about the idea that NXT superstars will be competing at WarGames, only to be teaming up the following night but it's a lesson that WWE will perhaps learn from, so we won't be too hard on them for that.

Either way, there were a lot of telling signs on SmackDown and quite a few things we learned. Amidst all the chaos, there were quite a few things that WWE subtly told us. Here are some of them:

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#7 Rhea Ripley will be a massive name in the Women's division in a few years

Rhea Ripley picked up the W for NXT

Rhea Ripley is one of the brightest prospects in WWE in the women's division across all three brands. The first-ever NXT: UK Women's Champion has been promising from day 1, and on the go-home SmackDown of Survivor Series, she faced Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair in an excellent match.

In what was an excellently-crafted finish, Ripley defeated both the multi-time Women's Champions and stood tall for her team. While they may not necessarily be walking out victorious at Survivor Series, this was a big highlight-reel moment for the 24-year old Australian superstar.

She has a big future ahead of her and she could be one of the women who gets called up sooner rather than later. She put out an excellent showing on SmackDown and is a future Women's Champion in WWE.

#6 The Miz vs Daniel Bryan will take a new form as a face vs face feud

The clash of egos

2018 saw the renewal of The Miz vs Daniel Bryan - a feud that fans desperately wanted to see in 2016 but were unable to since Bryan wasn't medically cleared to wrestle. Unfortunately, the rivalry turned out to be a bit underwhelming in 2018 when they finally got into it, but it seems as though their rivalry has taken a whole new form.

We can let bygones be bygones but Daniel Bryan and The Miz hating each other is a certainty. We love some character and storyline consistency and despite the fact that both men are now babyfaces, they aren't exactly on the same page. It's refreshing to see that because there have been far too many cases of former rivals suddenly becoming friends just because they're both heels or faces.

The two men had another tense segment where their egos clashed and The Miz slapped Bryan. It led to a match with an inconclusive finish where The Fiend took The Miz's place and attacked Bryan with The Mandible Claw.

What's clear is that we're set for another Miz vs Bryan feud, this time with both men as babyfaces. Whose side will the WWE Universe pick?

#5 Roman Reigns and the babyfaces could win it for SmackDown's men

Roman Reigns

The story of the SmackDown's men's team is that they're not united. The team is a decent one, comprising of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, King Corbin, Shorty G, and Mustafa Ali. While the babyfaces are united, it's King Corbin who has constantly been trying to drive a wedge in his team due to his disdain for Roman Reigns.

In the main event, Corbin, Ziggler, and Roode defeated the team of Reigns, Shorty G and Ali and Corbin tried to start a post-match attack, but Reigns speared him before facing the onslaught of the invasion from both RAW and NXT.

It seems as though RAW and NXT are the most united teams while SmackDown is the most divided. The story of the match for team blue will be Corbin driving a wedge and potentially even betraying his teammates, but the match could prove as a huge star-making performance for Shorty G and Ali.

Expect Roman Reigns and the two others to pick up the win for their team.

#4 Losing to Bray Wyatt will be a big part of Daniel Bryan's character arc

The Fiend goads Bryan into a challenge

Daniel Bryan is all set to take on The Fiend in what will be Bray Wyatt's first defense of the Universal Championship. It's a very important match for both superstars and a match that will feature some interesting bits of storytelling.

Sure, the feud may have seemed quite rushed amidst all the chaos that the Survivor Series build has had, but Daniel Bryan won't be winning the Universal title. That's the right decision to make and in no way, shape, or form should Bryan be winning the title.

What's interesting about this rivalry is how it affects Daniel Bryan and his character arc. Along with Seth Rollins, Bryan has had one of the best character arcs over the last two years and since his babyface turn a couple of months ago, this is one of the most important steps in the evolution of Daniel Bryan.

Bray Wyatt is once again a thorn in the side of the former WWE Champion and beating Bryan will be instrumental in another great piece of storytelling that will emerge from it.

#3 The Undisputed Era's dominance will eventually spill over to the main roster

Dominance personified

We understand that you would be skeptical about us saying this, especially since there have been countless instances of superstars pegged to succeed on the main roster failing. Sanity is one such example of a faction that had a lot of promise, only to flounder and disband in a matter of time.

The Undisputed Era has been a part of NXT since the summer of 2017 and Roderick Strong joined around WrestleMania 34 weekend, completing the 4-man faction. Not only did it breathe new life into Strong's career, but it strengthened the already-dominant faction.

The Undisputed Era has now been ruling NXT for a while and in 2019, their "Evolution" moment was complete as Adam Cole became NXT Champion, Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish became Tag Team Champions, and Roderick Strong became the North American Champion.

They've been instrumental in the entire Survivor Series build and have been presented as the top dogs of NXT. Their dominance will continue throughout NXT and once it's time for them to move on, they're going to be the next coming of Evolution on the main roster.

Even if it doesn't result in Fish and O'Reilly becoming major singles stars the way Randy Orton and Batista did, there's a lot of promise with them as a faction.

#2 WWE is taking a new direction with the Intercontinental Championship

Shinsuke Nakamura with the new title design

When Cody Rhodes brought back the old Intercontinental Championship design in 2014, there was a lot of happiness in the WWE Universe. It was a throwback to the old Intercontinental Championship of the Golden Era and the New Generation Era - the period which fans were most nostalgic about (apart from the Attitude Era).

However, all things must come to an end and since WWE is a company that's constantly looking to stay relevant, they decided that it was time to bring about a new design to the Intercontinental Championship.

This was something that has been rumored, dating back to a year or two ago. But with the FOX move, it seems as though that was the final straw for WWE to pull the trigger on a new design.

We quite like this new design and it represents a new era for the Intercontinental Championship. This could mean an entirely new direction for the title, hopefully, one that will help restore its prestige.

#1 NXT is going to lose at Survivor Series

DX leading the way

This is the terrible news we were talking about. Throughout the build to Survivor Series, NXT has been dominant. They've had a great showing and it's been good since it puts NXT in a positive light, especially given that they need the ratings now more than ever.

However, this dominance in the build has unfortunately led to an affirmation of what we've mentioned before - NXT won't be winning much at Survivor Series. Remember how SmackDown was outright buried last year at Survivor Series? NXT could suffer a similar, if not the same fate.

We're not saying that they won't be getting any wins at all, but the fact is that they've been made to look so strong throughout that it's hard to believe that they'll be picking up many victories.

Basic WWE logic states that the person or team standing tall before the PPV will lose, and in all likeliness, NXT won't be winning. This isn't good, but it's probably the way it'll play out.