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From an interesting series of Survivor Series qualifying matches to Aalyah and Murphy's storyline reaching its next phase, this week's edition of WWE SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
As a whole, the Hell in a Cell fallout episode of SmackDown was entertaining from start-to-finish, even though some questionable booking decisions were made in the eyes of many fans. While the show built towards Survivor Series, it was revealed that a few major plot points may occur on the road to the pay-per-view this year.
Which show was better this week, RAW or SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE SmackDown (October 30, 2020).
#5: A huge rematch between Sasha Banks and Bayley was made official for next week's WWE SmackDown
Bayley's record-breaking SmackDown Women's title reign came to an end at this year's Hell in a Cell event, thanks to Sasha Banks.
It's been thoroughly established that Banks' luck with long championship reigns doesn't always go in her favor. This was brought up by Bayley during Banks' post-title victory promo on this week's WWE SmackDown.
Moreover, The Legit Boss thinks she's better than Asuka, but both the fans and Bayley know that The Empress of Tomorrow has dominated Sasha Banks in recent memory, ahead of their Survivor Series clash.
These were some good points made by Bayley. The Legit Boss couldn't become a champion at a better time than now since she will be gaining a lot of mainstream attention from her role in season two of Disney+'s hit show, The Mandalorian.
Sasha Banks' first SmackDown Women's title defense from her current reign will occur against Bayley on next week's WWE SmackDown, and judging by their remarkable chemistry, it should be a great contest backed with a great story.
#4: Bianca Belair became the first woman to qualify for Team SmackDown on the road to WWE Survivor Series
On the latest episode of the Red brand, the women's RAW team for WWE Survivor Series was finalized and the members are as follows:
- Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (WWE Women's Tag Team Champions)
- Mandy Rose
- Dana Brooke
- Lana
As for the Blue brand's side of things, only a single woman could confirm her spot on Team SmackDown this week. Bianca Belair, Natalya, and Billie Kay got into a backstage argument and tried to convince Adam Pearce why they deserved to be on the Survivor Series team.
Pearce booked a triple threat match between the aforementioned stars so that the first female candidate for Team SmackDown could be determined.
Billie Kay was the one who was associated with tag teams for most of her WWE career, Natalya was the veteran, while Bianca Belair played her role as the up-and-coming star who secured a defiant victory at the end of this match.
The bout was engaging from start-to-finish, and Belair deserved her spot on the SmackDown women's Survivor Series team.
Meanwhile, Carmella has teased something big for her character next week. Could she be the second female candidate for Team SmackDown?
#3: Aalyah and Murphy are now star-crossed lovers on WWE SmackDown, much to the dismay of Rey and Dominik Mysterio
If there was any doubt regarding whether Murphy and Aalyah were supposed to be a couple or just friends, WWE SmackDown's creative staff cleared the confusion and decided to opt for the former idea this week.
As expected, a certain section of social media was disgusted as the 19-year old Aalyah embraced a 32-year old Murphy on live television, while others didn't mind the cheap entertainment solely based on the fact that WWE hasn't crossed any legal boundaries, on technical grounds.
But the acting quality in these Murphy-Aalyah segments doesn't hold a candle to Roman Reigns and Jey Uso's storyline, or even Alexa Bliss and The Fiend's equation over on WWE RAW.
Seth Rollins accepted Murphy and Aalyah as a couple and offered them to follow The Messiah on WWE SmackDown, while it became apparent that both Rey and Dominik Mysterio were made uncomfortable by this situation.
Murphy's intentions were to offer an apology to the Mysterio family, but things only got worse as a brawl broke out between all parties.
At best, the Mysterio family's feud against Seth Rollins can be viewed as a guilty pleasure on WWE SmackDown, but at the same time, all Superstars involved could be used in far more efficient ways on the Blue brand.
#2: Kevin Owens and Jey Uso earned a spot on the men's Survivor Series team for WWE SmackDown
Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler kicked-off the in-ring action on this week's edition of WWE SmackDown, and both men wrestled in a solid match before Owens delivered a Stunner and successfully pinned his opponent.
Dolph Ziggler's Survivor Series record is very impressive, so he would have been a valuable asset for the men's SmackDown Survivor Series team. However, Owens needed a quick dose of momentum after his recent shift to the Blue brand, which is why his victory from last night's show was applauded by the WWE Universe.
Meanwhile, Jey Uso was scheduled to face Daniel Bryan in the main event. After a good back-and-forth between the two stars, Jey Uso surprised the WWE Universe and picked up a clean victory over one of the best in-ring Superstars in WWE today.
Not just Bryan, but Jey Uso also holds a victory over AJ Styles in recent memory just before The Phenomenal One was drafted to WWE RAW.
At the same time, Jey Uso's Survivor Series plans were all part of his overarching storyline with Roman Reigns, which shall be further discussed in the next slide.
#1: Jey Uso "fell in line" and accepted Roman Reigns as The Tribal Chief while turning heel on WWE SmackDown
Apart from Murphy and Aalyah's controversial segment, the biggest talking point from this week's WWE SmackDown has to be Jey Uso's arc throughout the night.
An emotional version of Jey Uso couldn't help but hate Roman Reigns for what the latter did to him at Hell in a Cell. It was a fantastic segment, as expected, and Reigns gave his cousin a chance to make things right by accepting him as The Tribal Chief later in the night.
After Uso defeated Daniel Bryan in the main event, he finally understood what Roman Reigns wanted him to understand all along. It takes a lot of moral compromises to stay on top. Jey Uso had to fall in front of a bigger evil and accept it as the truth because it was the only way left for him to move forward with the least amount of consequences.
As a result, Jey Uso brutalized Daniel Bryan after accepting Roman Reigns as The Tribal Chief. It's likely that Bryan won't forget this attack anytime soon, and fans may very well get to see Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns clash before Survivor Series, or even at WWE TLC in December.
Do catch Sportskeeda Wrestling experts Rick Ucchino and Denise Salcedo as they share their thoughts on all that went down during last night's WWE SmackDown in the video linked above.
It remains to be seen what Jimmy Uso's reaction to this situation will be, but the future of Roman Reigns' Universal Championship run looks bright, and the prophecy of a Samoan faction ruling WWE is shaping up to be true as each week passes by.
