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The New Year edition of WWE SmackDown is all set to kick 2021 off on the right note, especially after the monster viewership numbers from the week prior. The WWE SmackDown creative team will want to keep the momentum going with a whole bunch of surprises.
Here are five such surprises that could potentially take the WWE SmackDown roster by storm. Feel free to share your thoughts, views, and comments in the section below and let us know how you feel about these surprises potentially happening on this week's WWE SmackDown.
#5 Seth Rollins returns to WWE SmackDown to challenge the newly-crowned Intercontinental Champion, Big E
Not long ago, it was announced that Seth Rollins would be returning on the New Year edition of WWE SmackDown, and when he comes, he is not coming back to the mid-card. In fact, there is a brand new Intercontinental Champion, and Big E needs a feud that he can sink his teeth into to make his reign truly meaningful. Big E and Seth Rollins have been feuding right from the time when they were in NXT, and this feud could make WWE SmackDown very interesting.
When Seth Rollins took a hiatus from the WWE SmackDown brand, it was Big E who posted a mocking GIF, perhaps setting up a feud for the future!?
Under no circumstances should Seth Rollins return to WWE SmackDown and renew his feud with Rey Mysterio. That one has stretched on for far too long at this point.
Big E and Seth Rollins have also feuded during the memorable Shield vs. New Day feud, if you remember.
And despite their history, this will still be a fresh feud, especially in the light of Big E's singles push, where he feels like a far bigger star than ever before.
#4 Bianca Belair turns on Sasha Banks and declares herself to be the next WWE SmackDown Women's Championship challenger soon after
A vast majority of the WWE SmackDown audience last week was outraged when they saw that it was Bianca Belair that would be taking the pin in the big triple threat tag team match. Bianca Belair also suffered a loss against Bayley on WWE SmackDown not long ago, and people online were not very happy at all.
Vince McMahon may decide to run an angle with Belair on WWE SmackDown, where she turns heel and attacks Sasha Banks, becoming her next challenger for the title. This makes all the sense in the world, considering Belair's babyface run hasn't been booked right.
Belair likes to say good things about herself, and that is a heel trait more than a babyface one, for sure.
Plus, imagine the quality of matches if Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair take each other to the limit for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. The contests will be absolutely extraordinary, in terms of work-rate.
#3 WWE SmackDown star Sami Zayn is declared as the number 1 entrant in the Royal Rumble match
Certain WWE SmackDown and RAW Superstars have made it clear that they want to enter the Royal Rumble and win the whole thing. Sami Zayn has made persecution from those in power in the WWE think-tank his gimmick, and so a very interesting storyline could potentially play out. We could learn on WWE SmackDown this week that he is the first entrant in this year's Royal Rumble match.
This could actually work in Sami Zayn's favor if he goes on to be the iron man in the Royal Rumble match. We know that he's the top workhorse in the WWE SmackDown brand and has the cardio and the stamina to last that long in the Rumble, potentially getting eliminated by a WWE SmackDown babyface to kick off his next feud.
Plus, we know that Daniel Bryan is in the Royal Rumble match, and both men aren't very fond of one another, especially if you consider their interactions in the WWE SmackDown brand. So Bryan could certainly eliminate Zayn!
#2 Bayley and Carmella decide to form a heel tandem going forward on WWE SmackDown
Bayley and Carmella teamed up on WWE SmackDown last week to challenge Charlotte Flair & Asuka, as well as Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair in a triple threat tag team contest. Starting this week on WWE SmackDown, the two may decide to move forward as an alliance over the coming weeks and months. It will certainly give Charlotte Flair and Asuka a reason to keep coming down to the WWE SmackDown brand, over and over again in an attempt to keep viewership up.
It also gives The Riott Squad an actual team to fight on the WWE SmackDown brand, as opposed to Billie Kay and her partner for the week.
Bayley and Carmella are also the best of friends in real life and they will not mind working together with one another, especially if it means a high-profile alliance. Who knows? Maybe both of them get back into the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship hunt as they take down Sasha Banks as a pair.
#1 Aleister Black returns to take on Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown for the Universal Championship
Have you checked out SK Wrestling's exclusive conversation with WWE SmackDown star Aleister Black from a few months ago? Yes, he had gone heel for a brief period of time, but we do know that he's at his best as a babyface.
Aleister Black vs. Roman Reigns is certainly a feud in which fans will want to back the Dutch Destroyer, as he takes on the man that reigns atop the WWE SmackDown pyramid. Even if he doesn't win the feud, it will be much better than sitting on the sidelines and awaiting his turn, his current position.
We have often seen Superstars that are at odds teaming up at the conclusion of their feud. We could certainly see this happening with WWE SmackDown stars Kevin Owens and Aleister Black.
Do you think that Aleister Black has it in him to become the top star on WWE SmackDown someday in the future? Can you see him win the WWE Universal Championship?
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