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From Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman opening the show to another tease for Alexa Bliss and Bray Wyatt's storyline, this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
The blue brand put on a fantastic episode last night. Not only was it engaging from start-to-finish, but some new developments ensure that fans will be excited to see what happens next on SmackDown. Unexpected plot threads emerged on the road to Clash of Champions, and two major teases could potentially lead to an intriguing outcome in the near future.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE SmackDown (September 4, 2020).
#5. Bayley betrayed Sasha Banks to end their long-running friendship on WWE programming
The Golden Role Models faced Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler in a Women's tag team titles rematch on this week's edition of WWE SmackDown.
The bout itself was a pretty good back-and-forth contest. This time around, it was neither Sasha Banks nor Bayley's fault that their team lost against the champions. Nia Jax proved to be a difficult obstacle to overcome, as The Irresistable Force pinned both best friends at once.
In a twisted turn of events, Bayley launched an assault on Sasha after the match. It wasn't just a couple of shots to make the message clear, as the SmackDown Women's Champion beat her former best friend to a point where Sasha had to be stretchered into an ambulance.
Anyone who has been following The Golden Role Models' recent antics knows that Bayley and Banks have been at the top of their game on WWE SmackDown. There is no doubt that they could have created more memorable moments as a unit.
For what it's worth, a Bayley vs. Sasha Banks sounds compelling right now, simply because of the way WWE has built up to this moment.
#4. John Morrison stole Otis' WWE MITB briefcase only to be swerved later in the night
Heavy Machinery, Otis and Tucker, faced The Dirt Sheet hosts, The Miz and John Morrison, on Friday's WWE SmackDown. Otis turned out to be the MVP of this match, as the Money in the Bank briefcase holder outshined all the other Superstars in this bout.
Otis hit a Vader Bomb on The Miz to secure the victory via pinfall. After the match, John Morrison stole Otis' MITB briefcase and Tucker became incensed with rage even though Otis himself seemed unusually calm.
Later, the reason why Otis was so calm became clear, as viewers learned that Otis actually kept the actual MITB contract inside his lunchbox. Meanwhile, Morrison found out that the briefcase contained nothing but a sandwich and a bunch of supplies.
This whole arc seemed a bit silly, but it fits within the context of what the audience knows about Otis. The WWE Universal Championship scene is on a another level with Roman Reigns at the helm, but Otis could have a temporary WWE feud with John Morrison over the actual contract in the meantime.
#3. Bray Wyatt announced that someone "brand new" is coming to the Firefly Fun House next week
After WWE Payback, it doesn't seem The Fiend vs. Roman Reigns will be an immediate possibility right now. This opens up new creative avenues for Bray Wyatt in terms of a non-title storyline.
Of course, the most apparent direction for Wyatt is an angle with Alexa Bliss. Wyatt announced that someone new will be appearing in the Fun House next week, and Bliss would be the most obvious choice.
Later, Alexa Bliss caught up with Nikki Cross backstage and apologized for everything with a quick hug. Afterward, most viewers couldn't help but notice that Ramblin' Rabbit was in the background this whole time.
Another new addition to WWE's women's division?
In the latest edition of Sportskeeda's new show, 'Smack Talk' (linked above), Tom Colohue presented a situation where Nikki Cross could end up being the new Firefly Fun House guest next week.
There was one other major tease on this week's WWE SmackDown, where a vignette featuring a mystery person left the WWE Universe to speculate numerous outcomes on Twitter. Who could this woman be?
#2. Big E was removed from the main event of WWE SmackDown after being ambushed by Sheamus
Big E vs. Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin vs. Sheamus was supposed to be the main event of this week's WWE SmackDown. The winner would become the number one contender for Roman Reigns' Universal Championship.
Big E wanted to surprise the birthday boy, Xavier Woods, backstage but The Celtic Warrior ambushed him instead. Big E defeated Sheamus at WWE Payback, so the immediate conclusion was that The Celtic Warrior did this to get back at him.
The attack itself incapacitated Big E for the rest of the night, which immediately meant that Big E wasn't going to compete in the main event. Instead, Roman Reigns instructed Paul Heyman to pull some stings, and somehow, Jey Uso replaced Big E for a shot at the Universal Championship.
This gesture was an interesting development as it humanized an otherwise heel Roman Reigns. WWE fans also got to witness a hilarious moment with King Corbin as he called out the blatant nepotism at display during the main event.
#1. Jey Uso became the no. 1 contender for Roman Reigns' WWE Universal Championship at Clash of Champions
As Paul Heyman said at the beginning of this week's WWE SmackDown, neither he nor Roman Reigns could utter the names of the competitors of last night's Fatal Four-Way main event.
While The Big Dog may not see them as worthy competitors, fans sitting at home know that Big E was the only interesting candidate when compared to the names Matt Riddle, King Corbin, and Sheamus.
With Big E out of the picture, WWE swerved everyone and put The Big Dog's cousin, Jey Uso, into the mix. So it's a cousin vs. cousin clash at WWE's upcoming pay-per-view event, and without a shadow of a doubt, it was a development that nobody saw coming at this point.
While some may see this as an act of benevolence on Roman's part, the Universal Champion may obliterate his cousin on purpose at Clash of Champions.
It would further solidify Reigns as a more effective heel. This angle also creates more anticipation for Big E vs. Roman Reigns, a showdown that everyone is clamoring for.
Which show was better this week, WWE RAW or SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
