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In case you missed the surprises that I'd suggested for WWE RAW, you can read it here. But if there's a brand that needs a few surprises it is SmackDown Live. Last week's viewership was the lowest recorded figure for a non-holiday episode. WWE needs a few surprises to make the blue brand strong once again.
And there is certainly no reason why that can't happen, is there? I mean brand blue boasts one of the best talent rosters on the planet, in my opinion. Maybe the roster is even deeper than RAW is at the moment.
Without further ado, here are 5 surprises that could take place on SmackDown Live this week. I welcome your thoughts, comments, and opinions in the comments section below.
Here are 5 surprises to expect this week...
#5 Aleister Black teams up with a new tag team partner
So the main theme of this week's episode will be the fact that new SmackDown Tag Team Champions have to be crowned at the show. If you missed last week's show, you know that Jeff Hardy is injured and as a result, the former champions relinquished their titles.
And we also know that Ricochet is one of the top players in RAW at the moment, but that essentially means that Aleister Black does not have a tag team partner at this moment in time. Could Black essentially be paired with someone nearly as athletic as Ricochet, but someone who's lower down the totem pole than him?
The man I'm referring to is Apollo Crews, someone who's got all the tools to make it big but somehow has never clicked with the WWE Universe. This pairing with Black could potentially take him to the next level at once.
#4 Unexpected team becomes tag team champions
If you look at the SmackDown Tag Team division without the Hardyz, it is absolutely depleted and how! The thing is that all of SmackDown's firepower has now gone to WWE RAW. Cesaro and Sheamus are no longer a team and neither is The New Day, at least one that competes for tag team gold.
WWE has a chance to build two new stars this week and they can do so by putting the gold around the big waists of Heavy Machinery. Rusev and Nakamura would otherwise be the ideal candidates but I just feel like they've lost far too much steam already. Moreover, the need of the hour is to create new stars.
Heavy Machinery always gets a great reaction from the WWE Universe and I think that this could potentially be a deserving win. Do you guys think they're ready for the big time?
#3 Money in the Bank challenger replaced?
There's no reason why this needs to happen, but I think that WWE sometimes likes to joke around. Ali was injured during the Elimination Chamber match and that resulted in an opportunity for Kofi Kingston to step up and start KofiMania.
I think that WWE may just decide to do the same thing with the Money In The Bank contenders as well. While Ali may be in the lineup of contestants who will be competing for the contract. I wouldn't be surprised, honestly, if he is replaced by someone else.
I think that Buddy Murphy could actually be a very interesting candidate for this role, especially because the two men have history from 205 Live and also because WWE needs to announce his arrival to SmackDown Live in a big way. The match may become more exciting with Murphy.
It could also lead to a great feud between the two.
#2 New role for Matt Hardy
So, one thing that must be noted is the fact that we've been seeing the Bray Wyatt Firefly Fun House vignettes on both WWE RAW and SmackDown Live. The blue brand may even be the better brand to debut the act, especially if it's going to be a tag team unit. The honest truth is that SmackDown Live's tag team division is not very strong right now.
I think Matt Hardy, with his quirkiness and unconventional thought process, would be the ideal candidate to play the character of Rambling Rabbit. This is a character that was introduced in the promo package last week. Also, we all know how close Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt are in real life.
The two men could put on a product that surpasses anything WWE creative can come up with. Let's hope that this is the way they are going.
#1 Vince McMahon returns to makes Reigns' life miserable
We all know that Roman Reigns is currently midway through a program with Elias on SmackDown but the fact of the matter is that this week he'll be a part of WWE RAW as well. Something big is clearly in the works for him and this will spill over from one brand to another, in my personal opinion.
The likeliest explanation is the fact that he had laid his hands on the Chairman of the Board, Vince McMahon a few weeks ago. Which essentially means that the boss has reason to want to make his life absolutely miserable.
I think that Vince McMahon will return this week, breathing fire and brimstone and put a whole lot of obstacles in Roman Reigns' way. They may do this as a way to overcome the low ratings.
Vince McMahon vs. the top babyface is a formula that has worked in the past.
