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SmackDown, this week, came to us from Manchester in England. It was a taped show, and as taped shows usually are, it wasn't very exciting.
But that said, Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin gave it their all in the main event, putting on a solid match. The contest would end with Roman Reigns eating the pin at the hands of the King of the Ring winner, leaving the audience stunned.
And this is because we are not used to seeing Roman Reigns defeated, considering just how protected the man has been during his WWE run. So with that in mind, why did Vince McMahon choose to have Roman Reigns eat a pin on the Blue Brand?
I will attempt to answer this question in the pages that follow...
#5 Baron Corbin is receiving a massive push
Let's get the most obvious reason out of the way first at the very start of this article. Baron Corbin is getting a massive push because there is nobody in the roster who deserves a push like he does. He's excelled in every role that has been offered to him and been a very loyal foot soldier for Vince McMahon.
He was first an authority figure, a role that he embraced despite all the hate he received on a weekly basis. He was then allied with Lacey Evans in a mixed tag team program where it was very obvious that he would be asked to do the favor for Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch. Now, he's adopted a 'King' character and even after winning the crown, he put Chad Gable over with some really great matches.
Remember the green rookie who came up through the NXT system? Anyone who said he wouldn't make it is probably eating his/her works right now.
#4 For the news to leak and potentially attract more viewers
It is a very rare sight to see Roman Reigns take a pin on television. If he loses, it usually happens on pay-per-view at the hands of someone like Brock Lesnar or some other monster. Roman Reigns losing to someone like King Corbin is a very rare occurrence. And the other thing you must remember is that, as has been mentioned before, SmackDown was a taped show this week.
A lot of sites carried spoilers for the show including Sportskeeda Wrestling. I suppose the intention from WWE's end was for people to see that Roman Reigns had lost the match and tune in to see exactly what had happened. I don't know if it generated enough hype, however, and only the viewership numbers will prove if this ploy worked or it didn't.
But I'm certain this was one of the major intentions of WWE Creative!
#3 For the feud to continue for a while
We all know that the WWE Universe hasn't always been kind to Roman Reigns in the past. Even though he's been the babyface for most of his WWE run, the crowd has been very vocal about their dislike for the Big Dog thus far.
However, the best way to get someone over as a babyface is to book them in a program with King Corbin. Even though he's allegedly one of the nicest characters in the locker room, he's such a dislikeable character that he's a perennial heel.
WWE can actually carry out this program on a variety of SmackDown Live Events. The crowd will root for the babyface and boo the heel on every single occasion if this happens.
Had Roman Reigns picked up a victory at the very start, it would have meant that this very feud could have had to prematurely conclude. Now, he has to get his win back.
#2 To establish Corbin, Ziggler, and Roode as a heel trio
Long before he was Shorty G, Chad Gable was in a tag team with the 'glorious' Robert Roode. Dolph Ziggler has teamed with Drew McIntyre in the past and also tasted gold with the Scottish Psychopath. But these two men have found a lot of success as a tag team unit more recently.
But now these two men are seemingly aligned with King Corbin and were directly responsible for helping him win the match. Very simply put, it's also a very interesting hook to pull the audience in for next week's show, to find out what's happening between these three men. Are they taking over for Randy Orton and The Revival who are now on different brands after the most recent brand split?
Will Roman Reigns bring his own backup in The Usos? I know they're on RAW but we know that could always change.
#1 Lack of top heels on SmackDown
Cesaro and Nakamura are two individuals whom the audience will root for even if they are heels because they are so good when the bell rings. The same is the case with The Fiend and you can't really slot a supernatural creature as a heel or a face, can you?
This means that there is a distinct lack of heels on the Blue Brand at the moment, and this allows King Corbin to stand out, head and shoulders, over everyone else in the roster. He needs all the momentum that he can get to reign in this position.
A win over Roman Reigns certainly does not hurt, in this regard. Baron Corbin is also a much more impressive performer in the ring than he was during his NXT run and it is no surprise that Vince McMahon believes in him, more than ever.
He's certainly worthy of the top heel spot.
What did you think of the match? Be sure to rate it and other matches from SmackDown right here.
