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With SummerSlam inching closer every day, WWE has decided to increase the pace of their storylines to ensure they pack in as many superstars as possible into the big event. After all, it's the Biggest Party of the Summer!
As the number of segments and their intensity have increased, the frequency of mistakes committed has also increased. On the other hand, there are many questions fans have on their minds with each passing episode of Raw and SmackDown, and this week was no different.
Will Roman Reigns have as big a match at SummerSlam just like in Charlotte Flair's case? Will all the titles be defended at the event? We take a look at the 5 biggest questions on our minds after this week’s episode of SmackDown Live.
#5. Aleister Black, anyone?
Aleister Black and Cesaro managed to put on a magnificent performance in the middle of the card at Extreme Rules. The two men managed to entertain the crowds for almost ten minutes without anything on the line.
This makes one wonder - what happened to the entire Aleister Black and knocking on doors gimmick? Was it a one-off thing, or did WWE have greater plans which were scrapped by Eric Bishoff?
Whatever the reason may be, it had the potential to go well and Black could have opened his doors to another competitor for SummerSlam. Black is an NXT sweetheart who has a diehard fanbase who would have loved to see him work at the 'Biggest Party of the Summer'. WWE seems to be taking the slow-burn route with Black but one thing is beyond doubt - the man should have been higher up the card on SmackDown Live by now.
See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page
#4. Why can’t rivals for a title get along?
Last week, we watched Ember Moon deliver an Eclipse to Bayley and end her night in a way no one would have imagined. This laid a dent in their friendship which continued to haunt Bayley on SmackDown this week.
Bayley returned the favor to Moon after they lost in a tag team match against Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, making things bitter from both sides.
Similarly, we’ve been watching how Natalya and Becky Lynch’s friendship has ceased to exist with the Raw Women’s Championship coming into the equation.
This now makes us wonder whether friends cannot get along when a title is on the line. We know that WWE prefers to have clear-cut babyfaces and heels in their storylines, especially when titles are involved, but we've also seen two babyfaces put on good matches on various occasions.
Similar to how AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura battled each other at WrestleMania last year, WWE could have taken both women into the match as faces only to turn one after the end of the match to stretch this storyline a little longer.
#3. Where is the Women’s Tag Team Championship?
Where are The IIconics and the Women’s Tag Team Championship?
Yes, we do see them in a few segments, but why are they never in the ring? The Women’s Tag Team Championship has been getting lesser screentime and social media hype as compared to the 24/7 Championship, which is a worrying trend. The charm of the 24/7 Championship might rub off after some time while the Women’s titles should remain a constant feature for years to come.
With that in mind, we haven’t seen the champions defend their titles much at all. Compared to the number of tag teams WWE had forged together when they launched the titles, we are now only left with a handful of teams who aren’t getting hyped at all.
The Women’s Tag Team Championship could have been so much greater had they been defended across all three brands and had a good storyline going into SummerSlam. Currently, no one knows which direction The IIconics or the titles are heading.
#2. Why was the advertised match canceled?
WWE had advertised a match between The New Day and the team of Drew McIntyre and Elias which was canceled later on. McIntyre went on to battle Kevin Owens early on in the night and took a stunner from The Prizefighter before losing the match.
As for The New Day, their challengers were changed to The OC. Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods were slated to face AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. While the match seemed too good to be true and would have given us a Survivor Series sort of a feel, WWE decided to nix this match as well. We were then treated to a really good match between United States Champion AJ Styles and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston.
While we can’t complain about the bout between these two great superstars, the fans felt a little cheated as WWE tracked back on some really good booking which we’d been looking forward to.
Whether or not WWE has great plans for these two great factions going ahead remains to be seen but, it would have been better if they wouldn’t have canceled the advertised match.
#1. Who could Roman Reigns’ attacker be?
The biggest question coming out of SmackDown Live tops our list this week. Who attacked Roman Reigns?
Being the top babyface in the company, Reigns has surely made some enemies and his career makes many superstars in the company envious of him. This would have been the reason he was attacked on SmackDown while making his way to announce who he’d like to face at SummerSlam this year.
While many superstars come to mind, the names of Buddy Murphy and Samoa Joe currently top the list. However, do not be surprised if it was someone else who attacked Reigns and the blame falls on another superstar.
WWE seems to have taken an interesting angle for The Big Dog so late into the SummerSlam buildup. With less than two weeks left to build on the storyline, they will have to do something massive for their biggest superstar.
Hopefully, we will find out the answer to this question next week on SmackDown.
