WWE SmackDown: 5 Surprises that could happen: Unexpected title change, 9-time Champion to lose big return match?

WWE SmackDown is going to be stacked this week. It's the penultimate episode to Royal Rumble and we expect some great progression of storylines and characters. It's been an interesting few weeks for the blue brand and some much-needed strides forward have been made - especially since SmackDown hasn't had the same kind of momentum that RAW has had.

Either way, last week saw the return of Robert Roode from suspension and the in-ring return of The Usos. This week, we'll see an in-ring return from a superstar after 9 years and we couldn't be more excited.

The main event, of course, will be Roman Reigns taking on the returning Robert Roode in a tables match. This is only a few days before the ladders match between Rey Mysterio and Andrade on RAW and hopefully, we'll get a chairs match soon as well!

Jokes aside, here are some of the twists and surprises to expect from SmackDown tonight!

#5 Impromptu title match - Impromptu title change

Braun Strowman has been in the crosshairs of Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn for a while now. He's managed to put away Cesaro and last week, he did the same to the Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.

When a Champion is pinned in a non-title match, you know what that means - they instantly earn a title shot. The story, of course, would be that Sami Zayn would deny him the opportunity but given the latter's role in all of this, it seems as though his fate is to end up getting squashed.

A big surprise tonight would be if we saw an impromptu title match between Nakamura and Strowman and if The Monster Among Men walked out victorious. It could possibly end with a dusty finish but there's no ruling out the possibility.

#4 John Morrison's return ends in disaster

John Morrison has returned and seemingly had an instant impact. He praised The Miz for being one of the most underappreciated superstars on the roster and after 10 years, they have rekindled their alliance. Morrison, as you know, will be getting back inside a WWE ring after nearly 9 years to take on Big E.

Last week, Kofi Kingston faced The Miz and while the former WWE Champion was closing in on a victory, Morrison's interjection at ringside and attack on Big E resulted in The Miz getting the win via a distraction. This led to WWE booking Morrison against Big E and the multi-time tag team champion will be welcoming him back to the ring after years.

While Morrison winning would be a fair and understandable decision, WWE could take the alternate route and have him lose. It doesn't have to be by a clean finish or any such thing, but the chaos at ringside could, unfortunately, lead to his big in-ring return ending disastrously. It would do a lot more for the storyline between the four men and it could progress better.

Moreover, it sets up an interesting spot for the Royal Rumble that doesn't even have to be about any of them winning it.

#3 Mandy Rose chooses Dolph Ziggler over Otis

Otis has been having a great last few weeks. Ever since Mandy Rose accepted his holiday fruitcake, things have gone his way. She even gave him a cake of her own after what happened with Dolph Ziggler, who hasn't made much of an appearance in that capacity since.

There has been a tease of dissent between Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose, with Rose mainly acting like a heel inside the ring rather than out of it. Deville hasn't been overtly heelish herself and it seems inevitable that the two women will split even though they ideally shouldn't.

Last week, Mandy Rose took on Alexa Bliss and the former RAW and SmackDown Women's Champion was closing in on a win, only for Otis and Tucker to come out and cause an unintentional distraction. This led to Rose picking up the victory, further teasing an alliance between her and Otis.

It would be an odd-pairing storyline that fans would love to see, but that could be taken away in moments if she ends up choosing Dolph Ziggler over Otis. It would be a big heel move to make and one that would likely mean that she and DeVille will stick around for longer.

#2 Robert Roode defeats Roman Reigns...clean

Roman Reigns was directly involved in the DQ result last week when The Usos made their in-ring return against King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. It seemed as though The Big Dog was going to stand tall but Robert Roode, who had been suspended this past month, returned to action to attack Reigns and help his teammate Dolph Ziggler.

It's funny to think that just over two years ago, the three men were battling it out for the United States title and now they're all aligned together.

Robert Roode is all set to take on Roman Reigns in a Tables match main event and we couldn't be more excited about it! Reigns hasn't been the "Superman" character in 2019 that many hated him for and that's likely what has led to him regaining his popularity.

It also helps that he hasn't been in any title picture (minus that brief encounter with Shinsuke Nakamura last year) and despite all of this, he hasn't cooled down either.

Although he has been pegged as a potential favorite to win the Royal Rumble match, we could see a scenario where he loses to Robert Roode clean to put the returning Roode over as a force to be reckoned with. He could always get that win back later.

#1 The Fiend makes Kane turn on Daniel Bryan

He's back! Kane is set to make his return to WWE for the first time in 2020. Many felt he would have been a perfect fit for the role that Big Show is currently in on RAW - helping the alliance of Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe.

However, WWE chose to go with the World's largest athlete and Kane is set to take a small break from his Mayoral duties to appear on SmackDown.

But what is it that he can do? A regular squash match? A confrontation and chokeslam to a midcard heel? Or to have an interaction with someone he has a history with? Right now, the top star who he shares a big history with is none other than Daniel Bryan, who, as you know, is set to challenge "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble 2020.

Wyatt has played nothing but mind games since and last week was an example of that. This time around, Wyatt could play the ultimate bit of trickery as he manipulates Kane to do his bidding and attack Daniel Bryan. Kane has a big history with Bryan and he could unsuspectingly launch an assault with the Universal Champion being the puppet master of it.