Top SmackDown Rumors: 6-time Champion to return and get a major push; Roman Reigns responsible for controversial backstage decision; Early plan for Royal Rumble (28th November)

Welcome to this week's edition of the top SmackDown Backstage rumors which could have a major impact. After a spectacular Survivor Series, SmackDown got a new direction starting this week.

It looks like we are heading towards a match between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns at the TLC pay-per-view. However, a feud between these two may not be a long-term plan and WWE has someone else in mind to face The Tribal Chief at Royal Rumble.

This article will also take a look at the backstage 'mess' that happened on SmackDown this week and the reason behind it. Apart from that, we will also see how Roman Reigns was responsible for Brock Lesnar breaking The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak.

So without further ado, let us take a look at the biggest rumors surrounding SmackDown Superstars:

---

#5 Reason why Brock Lesnar was chosen to end Undertaker's streak instead of SmackDown's Roman Reigns

The WWE Universe came to a standstill at WrestleMania 30 when the unthinkable happened. Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania, thus breaking the unparalleled undefeated streak of the Deadman at The Show of Shows. Surprisingly, the reason behind Brock Lesnar going over at WrestleMania was linked to SmackDown Superstar Roman Reigns getting a push.

McMahon's idea for the Lesnar win, leading to Reigns getting revenge for the fans on the guy who broke the streak idea fell apart when the crowd was so against Reigns in the build for Lesnar in 2015.

Vince McMahon wanted Brock Lesnar to get tremendous heel heat so that The Big Dog could get a favorable reaction from the crowd during his feud with The Beast Incarnate.

The fans, however, outrightly rejected Reigns as the top babyface and continued to boo SmackDown's current Tribal Chief. Roman Reigns finally turned heel this year and has been doing a fantastic job as the Universal Champion on SmackDown.

#4 Jimmy Uso to get a major push on SmackDown after his return

SmackDown Superstar Jey Uso has impressed everyone from fans to critics during his current singles run. Although Jey Uso has remained a tag team player throughout his career, his brother Jimmy Uso's absence due to injury has led to Jey getting the spotlight on himself.

As per WrestlingNews.co, Jey Uso has impressed everyone backstage including Vince McMahon, and will continue to have the spotlight on him on SmackDown. It has also been reported that Jimmy Uso will get a big push as soon as he makes his in-ring return.

''WrestlingNews.co first reported several weeks ago that fans could expect to see some changes in Jey Uso in the coming weeks. Jimmy Uso is expected to join Reigns and Jey when he is cleared for in-ring action.''

The report also states that while the main goal is to elevate Roman Reigns, WWE is planning to give a major push to 6-time Tag Team Champions The Usos as well so that they can reach the 'next level'.

#3 Reason for backstage chaos on SmackDown

As per backstage reports, SmackDown had been in a world of chaos before the show went on air. The reason was that there was nothing planned for the show and everyone was clueless until Vince McMahon showed up.

This was the reason that nothing was advertised for SmackDown this week as even the writers did not know what would be happening on the show. Wrestling Observer reported that their source told them that this was nothing new and that it has been the story for the past few weeks.

''Nobody knew anything, which is why nothing has been advertised. Vince McMahon arrived at about 12:30 p.m. Another person confirmed people not knowing anything until Vince came, but said that has been the case almost every week of late, and it's nothing new.''

It has been reported as of late that Vince McMahon has torn scripts at the last moment and rewrote the whole show. As per the report, Vince McMahon had arrived at the taping at 12:30 PM and nobody had any idea about what would happen on SmackDown before he arrived.

#2 SmackDown Superstar Roman Reigns to face Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble

Judging by the events of this week's SmackDown, it looks like The Tribal Chief will be taking on 'The Prizefighter' Kevin Owens at TLC. This comes as a bit of a surprise as it looked like WWE was building towards a feud between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns.

While that may not be happening anytime soon, WON has stated that it is still the plan to have the former WWE Champions fight each other soon. It is being stated that their program will begin after TLC, so it can be assumed that they will be facing each other at Royal Rumble.

Right now regarding Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan for the Universal title, that match is scheduled to take place at some point, it could be TLC, but it's leaning toward a later date.

CSS had stated that while Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan is the eventual plan, the feud between Jey Uso and Daniel Bryan may not be over yet. It is possible that the two men face each other at TLC before Daniel Bryan takes on SmackDown's 'Head of the Table'.

#1 Reason why SmackDown Superstar Big E was not part of Survivor Series

SmackDown suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of Team RAW in the men's traditional Survivor Series match at the pay-per-view. Team RAW managed a clean sweep and eliminated all five members of team SmackDown without even a single member from their team getting eliminated.

Initial reports had suggested that Big E would be the final member of Team SmackDown, but it was Otis who ended up as the fifth member of the blue brand's team. The possible reason for that could be that WWE is trying to protect Big E and having him lose in a clean sweep would not have helped his career.

Big E was not in the battle royal because they saved him for that ring entrance with the New Day match in costume, I guess. And he might as well not be in because, for both of those guys quite frankly, because they were not going to win.

As per Dave Meltzer of WON, the reason Big E wasn't part of the pre-show Battle Royal was that WWE wanted to save him for The New Day's entrance on the main show.