'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This week’s WWE SmackDown episode had two relatively similar segments to open the night, in which we saw established superstars mock legendary superstars. While Charlotte Flair’s night ended with a slap across the face from Trish Stratus, we expect Dolph Ziggler’s night to end on a worse note on Sunday.
Just like every other televised episode of RAW and SmackDown, we were left with a few major questions at the end of the night. Whether it is regarding the bookings, the segments, or the superstars involved, we’ve never ended an episode with all corners covered.
In this article, we will run through four biggest questions which we have from this week’s episode of SmackDown, and how they could affect the superstars and the storylines going forward.
#4 Why Ali?
We’re sure Dolph Ziggler wouldn’t be too thrilled about being booked against Goldberg for SummerSlam, but the Showoff wouldn’t let the fear show on his face. This week's RAW confirmed that Ziggler would face Goldberg at The Biggest Party of the Summer.
On SmackDown, Ziggler was scheduled to take on Rey Mysterio. Ziggler mocked Goldberg’s entrance and then attacked the future Hall of Famer Mysterio even before the match could begin.
It was Ali who made the save which fits well with his character, and a match was scheduled between Ali and Ziggler. After a decent match, it was surprising that Ziggler picked up the victory on Ali. Ali was being built up as a contender for Shinsuke Nakamura’s Intercontinental Championship not too long ago, and the loss will affect his chances.
Instead, WWE could have given the spot to someone like Apollo or No Way Hose which would have worked equally well as Ziggler didn’t need a big victory before his clash against Goldberg.
#3 Where's WWE headed with Ember Moon?
After an odd bit of booking on RAW, where the teams of Becky Lynch and Charlotte took on Natalya and Trish Stratus, WWE continued to think less and do more.
This week’s SmackDown saw the two top championship challengers square off, as Natalya continued her fierce rivalry against Ember Moon. In an even weirder booking, the fight carried over to the arena floor and Natalya applied the Sharpshooter to Moon on the floor. SmackDown women's champion Bayley made the save to end the segment.
With this, we wonder where exactly WWE is going with Ember Moon. When she first arrived on the main roster, we knew she was strong enough to not need anyone else to help her or give her chances.
Now we’ve seen her being handed a title shot without earning it, and then falling to a pinfall loss to Alexa Bliss not much later. This week things got even more bizarre as she needed to be saved by her opponent at SummerSlam who will be defending her title against Moon.
Where exactly is WWE taking Ember Moon with all this, and how are fans going to even think that she has a chance of beating Bayley for the title?
#2 Why did Rowan attack Reigns?
The biggest question on everyone’s mind today is, why did Rowan attack Roman Reigns? While it’s not 100% confirmed that Buddy Murphy was telling the truth when Roman Reigns interrogated him, it feels like Rowan and Daniel Bryan were definitely behind the two life-threatening attacks on Reigns.
Bryan was scheduled to make a career-changing announcement a few weeks back, but WWE seems to have completely jumped over that storyline. Instead, now we have one of SmackDown’s best tag teams going after the man who’s made SmackDown his yard.
The creatives ended the episode with an excellent cliffhanger, as two men Reigns did not suspect at all have been revealed as his attackers. How will this affect Reigns? Why did Rowan attack The Big Dog? What role did Bryan play in the attack? Hopefully, we will get the answers to all these questions at SummerSlam, unless WWE has a few more surprises for us.
#1 Is this the Reigns we were waiting for?
The biggest question on Roman Reigns fans’ minds is - is this the Roman Reigns we’ve been waiting for for quite some time?
The attacks on the superstar seem to have shaken him up completely, and taken out the real character in the Big Dog. His promotion in the middle of this week’s episode was as solid as ever and covered a lot of ground ranging from his recent past to his return to the ring.
Reigns even apologized to Samoa Joe for dragging his name through the mud since it is now clear he had nothing to do with the attack. This was as real and honest a promotion as we’ve seen from the superstar since his leukemia revelation one.
This was followed up with an intense segment to end the night where he went after the man he believed was behind the attacks. The anger was very visible, and once again Reigns was the cornerstone of a terrific new storyline.
It feels like WWE has given Reigns more breathing space or gone back and seen what works best with the superstar, and this could possibly be the best version of Roman Reigns we have seen till date.
