WWE SmackDown Live Preview: July 25, 2017

Never say never in the WWE.

Also follow: WWE SmackDown Results, July 25 2017, Live Updates and Commentary

That tenet was only reinforced when, of all people, The Great Khali showed up to pin down Randy Orton while Jinder Mahal managed to escape from the Punjabi Prison.

Now, after being screwed out of another title match, how will the Viper rebound? Or is it time for Jinder Mahal and the WWE title to move on to a new challenge?

Speaking of which, AJ Styles didn't manage to see off the challenge of Kevin Owens at Battleground, losing the US Title - albeit under controversial circumstances. Will the brash and truculent Champion give him another opportunity at the gold? Or is the rivalry between the two over as quickly as it started?

And what of WWE SmackDown Live Women's Champion Naomi? After Natalya was named the number one contender, will the hostilities between the two women reach fever pitch?

Combing through all these points and more, here is our preview of this week's episode of SmackDown Live.

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#1 Viped out

Was this Orton's last shot at WWE gold?

The Viper was thwarted again in his attempt to capture the WWE Championship, but this time, it took the return of the creator of the Punjabi Prison, The Great Khali, to ensure that his countryman Jinder Mahal retained the title.

Every time Randy Orton has tried to recapture the WWE Championship from Mahal, the numbers game has come to his opponent's aid. And with the Great Khali in the mix now, the odds became that much more insurmountable.

Will that be the final straw that breaks the camel's back? Randy Orton is surely out of opportunities to challenge for the WWE Championship, and even if he did manage to get another shot, what's to suggest that he can overcome the numbers deficit this time around?

The worrying question, however, is whether anyone can stop Jinder Mahal and co. when even Randy Orton couldn't.

#2 Will the Queen of Harts feel the Glow?

Will Natalya live up to the standards of her family?

After being in a state of flux for a while, the Women's division on SmackDown Live finally attained a measure of resolution when Natalya emerged as the undisputed number one contender for Naomi's SmackDown Live Women's Championship at Battleground.

In between giving Lana repeated title opportunities and Charlotte Flair being denied an automatic shot despite having dominated the Women's division on Raw, Natalya's emergence is suitable common ground.

Will the Queen of Harts manage to follow in the richly adorned tradition of her predecessors by capturing the Gold or will Naomi's 'glow'ing reign continue from strength to strength?

Meanwhile, how will Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch regroup?

#3 The face that runs both places?

Big match John, indeed

John Cena (predictably) disposed of Rusev through a couple of tables en route to winning the Flag Match at Battleground, but is this the last he's seen of the Bulgarian Brute?

Rusev held back his SmackDown Live bow until he found suitable opposition in John Cena but now that he lost the match, he will be eager to set right his record on the Blue brand.

Will the Bulgarian Brute set out for revenge on John Cena? Or will he move past their rivalry and focus his energies on someone else?

Meanwhile, was this the last we've seen of John Cena on the Blue Brand? He did come in as a free agent and now that he's achieved his target of defending USA's honour against Bulgaria in a Flag Match, will he switch his attentions to Raw?

#4 It's a New Day...yes it is!

The New Day raised their game!

The longest reigning Tag Team Champions on RAW have now gotten one step closer to achieving the same on SmackDown after they dethroned the Usos at Battleground.

Apart from bringing the power of positivity to the Blue brand, the New Day have also freshened up the Tag Team scene on the show, breaking the stranglehold of the Usos and - hopefully - giving more tag teams the opportunity to shine.

But will the Usos be in a forgiving mood? The former champions do have a rematch clause that they can activate and knowing how competitive they are, we could see them trigger it as early as this week.

Will the Usos manage to win back the Tag Team titles? Or is this - forgive the pun - the dawn of a New Day in SmackDown Live?

#5 Kevin Owens gets it done... again

It's not the last we've seen of this rivalry

Kevin Owens threatened to black himself out on social media after losing the US Title to AJ Styles in a Live Event at Madison Square Garden... but how things change in a space of few weeks!

Now back with a vengeance (just take a look at his twitter feed), it's little surprise that Kevin Owens is in a buoyant mood after his victory over AJ Styles at Battleground.

However, it wasn't the cleanest of victories and AJ Styles is well within his rights to dispute the ending of the match. The referee clearly wasn't thinking straight after being knocked out briefly due to a collision and was just coming back to when he thought he saw a pin attempt.

What it was, in actuality, was AJ Styles having KO in a submission hold.

Owens would be totally happy to claim that as a legitimate victory but Styles - and indeed Shane McMahon - may have something to say to the contrary.