SmackDown Preview: 9-Time Champion to turn face, Reigns to give in to Bryan's demand?

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE SmackDown Preview! We're coming off the heels of a really good episode of RAW that ended with a shocking turn from a superstar who we've never seen turn before - Bayley.

The King of the Ring tournament continued and there was some controversy in one of the quarterfinal matches, meaning that the semi-finals on the RAW end will be a Triple Threat bout.

As for SmackDown, last week saw Roman Reigns expose Erick Rowan as the true attacker after showing closely zoomed-in footage from the night of the attack. The Miz continued to suffer the wrath of Shinsuke Nakamura & Sami Zayn while Kofi Kingston and Big E both suffered at the hands of Randy Orton and his new allies The Revival.

This is the penultimate episode of SmackDown Live before WWE Clash of Champions 2019 so expect to get a clearer picture of what the blue brand will be adding to the PPV in less than two weeks' time. Here's what you need to look forward to tonight on SmackDown.

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#5. Will The Miz be able to counter Nakamura & Zayn?

The Miz suffered an assault again

The Miz just can't catch a break. It's clear that he hasn't had much luck since the start of the year after he lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Now, he is once again pursuing the Intercontinental title - the one that he made so prestigious in 2016.

However, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura have been a force that just hasn't left him alone. He's essentially been handicapped and two weeks in a row now, he's suffered a vicious beatdown at the hands of the duo.

Last week, it was Nakamura doing exactly as Sami Zayn said, further strengthening their alliance.

#4. The King of The Ring Quarter-Finals conclude

One of these four men is going to the finals, but they have to face each other first

The SmackDown Live bracket for King of The Ring has given us some rather interesting match-ups. Last week, Ali managed to beat a very game Buddy Murphy in a fantastic match, while Chad Gable put all doubters to rest by beating Shelton Benjamin and proving that height didn't matter.

Elias, of course, managed to get through Kevin Owens thanks to Shane McMahon, while Andrade continued to have Apollo Crews' number.

On the RAW side of things, Baron Corbin was able to easily get past a beaten down and injured Cedric Alexander, while Samoa Joe vs Ricochet ended in controversy and confusion, meaning that Corbin will be facing both competitors in the semi-finals.

Tonight, Ali takes on Elias while Chad Gable takes on Andrade. Both are extremely interesting match-ups, especially the latter. We expect Ali to go through alongside Andrade.

While it would be fantastic to see Gable go through, Andrade along with Zelina Vega are going to prove just too much for the former tag team champion. Who's your pick?

#3. Kofi Kingston seeks revenge

Stupid! Stupid....stupid?

Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton, as expected, has turned into a very intense and at times, even ugly rivalry. The two superstars have hated each other for the last decade and it appears that there has been no love lost between the two elite superstars.

Last week, Orton set up an ambush for Kofi backstage and successfully got the better of him. He faced Big E later and managed to beat him too, thanks to some help from The Revival. So far, Orton hasn't just gotten Kofi, but the other two members of The New Day as well.

There's a lot at stake for Kofi and it's clear that this is by far the most adversity he has faced since becoming WWE Champion. But as all great champions do, they overcome it and walk out on the other side stronger.

With Clash of Champions less than two weeks away, Kofi is going to look to get the edge over Orton this week at least. If he doesn't have Big E by his side, there's no doubt that The Revival will come along and help The Viper do his dirty work.

#2. What is the aftermath of Bayley's shocking assault?

The SmackDown Women's Champion shocked the world

The Sasha Banks who returned to WWE after SummerSlam is the same Sasha Banks that we saw 4 years ago in NXT. She undoubtedly showed a softer side the following years and it's led to success, but only to a certain extent.

Plagued with short title reigns, she went away after WrestleMania and came back with her mean streak renewed. She's been after Becky Lynch and will be challenging for the RAW Women's Championship, but nobody knew how her interaction with Bayley would be.

Bayley and Banks avoided talking smack about the other and in the main event of RAW, Bayley helped Banks attack Becky Lynch. And with that, Lynch has once again lost another ally.

The real question is why Bayley did what she did. Why would she turn her back on Becky Lynch when she has never turned on anyone before? It's going to be really interesting to see how Charlotte Flair reacts to all of this. If that is the case, then we'll be getting one of those very rare heel vs heel matches at WWE Clash of Champions 2019.

Perhaps Charlotte Flair will turn babyface tonight on SmackDown!

#1. Will Roman Reigns apologize to Daniel Bryan?

Bryan suffered a spear to end the show

The Roman Reigns attacker saga has taken a whole new turn in terms of the events that have occured. Two weeks ago, Daniel Bryan revealed a man with a similar face structure and beard as Rowan and claimed that he was the attacker.

Last week, Bryan demanded an apology and Roman Reigns conveniently showed them slowed down and zoomed-in footage that revealed Rowan to be the actual attacker. Daniel Bryan was shocked and appalled and began smacking Rowan in the head before storming to the ring.

He insisted that he was innocent and had nothing to do with Rowan's lies and deceit. Roman Reigns, not buying it that easily, speared Bryan to end the show. Bryan issued a statement, claiming that due to his innocence, he still deserves an apology from Reigns.

“Roman Reigns speared me last week and I understand his frustration. I know how it looks. I know a lot of people don’t like me and I know I seem guilty by association, but that doesn’t make me a liar. Erick Rowan is the one to blame and I have had nothing to do with this. Therefore, I still deserve an apology from Roman Reigns.”

Will The Big Dog apologize?

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