WWE SmackDown Live Preview: October 3, 2017

Kevin Owens has come unhinged!
Kevin Owens has come unhinged!

With just a week to go till Hell in a Cell, traditionally one of WWE's most action-packed and eventful offerings, SmackDown Live picks up on a host of interestingly poised storylines.

PWinsider reports that WWE has planned a women's tag team match for this week's episode as Carmella and SmackDown Women's Champion Natalya are expected to take on the team of Charlotte and Becky Lynch.

However, the bitter feud between Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens has everyone's attention.

Such is the propensity with which Kevin Owens loathes that it didn't matter if his victim was Sami Zayn or Shane McMahon last week. The Prizefighter needed to make a statement... and a vicious one at that.

Will Shane McMahon respond in kind this week?

And Rusev's great Bulgarian celebration was gatecrashed by a pissed off Viper, leaving him in no doubt that such frivolities are better put aside until they've actually settled their beef once and for all.

But will the two volatile Superstars be able to make it one whole week without getting their hands on one another?

Find out as we run through all these points and more, on our preview of this week's episode of SmackDown Live.


Will Jinder hinder Shinsuke?

Jinder Mahal will want payback for this attack
Jinder Mahal will want payback for this attack

After stringing together classless segments of mockery aimed at Shinsuke Nakamura weeks on end, Jinder Mahal realized that he couldn't, after all, get away with poking the bear repeatedly.

While Nakamura managed to beat down Jinder and co. last week, the Champion will be eager to make the numbers on his side count just days before Hell in a Cell.

Will Jinder Mahal and his entourage be able to get their hands on the King of Strong Style and ensure that he doesn't make it to the pay-per-view at a hundred percent?

Or will the Japanese phenomenon find a way to steer clear of trouble and bide his time until it's just him and the WWE Champion locked inside the demonic steel structure?

Three's a party

Will we see a Triple Threat at Hell in a Cell?
Will we see a Triple Threat at Hell in a Cell?

Baron Corbin's ring awareness and underhanded tactics may have garnered him a victory against Tye Dillinger in what was, for all intents and purposes, a US Title eliminator...but is the Champion AJ Styles agreeable to giving him a Title shot based on that?

Styles and Corbin have had their fair share of run-ins, notwithstanding the Lone Wolf spearing Tye Dillinger onto the Champion at ringside last week, but is their bad blood enough to merit a match on the Hell in a Cell card?

And after losing the match in a count out, one can imagine that Tye Dillinger would be itching to get one back over Baron Corbin this week on SmackDown, so he can force a possible US Championship match at HIAC into a Triple Threat scenario.

RKO vs Machka

Foreshadowing to Hell in a Cell?
Foreshadowing to Hell in a Cell?

The parties that Rusev throws in the WWE seem to have a penchant for attracting unwanted attention, what with Roman Reigns crashing his huge marriage celebration with Lana and Randy Orton flooring him with a nasty RKO last week on SmackDown Live, even as he was being honoured by the Mayor of Plovdiv.

Not only that, Aiden English - who kindly agreed to lend his baritone to galvanize the night's festivities - was also on the receiving end of Orton's wrath.

Did Orton's attack rattle Rusev sufficiently to throw him off just days before they meet in Hell in a Cell?

Or did the WWE's Apex Predator bite off more than he can chew, antagonizing not one, but two Superstars at the same time?

A Glorious Show(off)

Can Bobby Roode make his name off Dolph Ziggler?
Can Bobby Roode make his name off Dolph Ziggler?

Dolph Ziggler's picked up the annoying habit of mimicking other WWE Superstars of late and while the rest of the locker room seemed to turn a blind eye to his antics, SmackDown Live newcomer and former NXT Champion Bobby Roode didn't.

The Glorious one saw opportunity where others feigned indifference and strode out to challenge the Showoff to a match at Hell in a Cell.

And whatever else he may be, Dolph Ziggler isn't one to back down from a challenge.

With both parties agreed on facing each other at the pay-per-view, will they be able to maintain their composure in the lead-up to the event?

Or is Bobby Roode's infectious confidence and the massive chip on Dolph Ziggler's shoulder headed for an inevitable collision on SmackDown Live?

No calm before the storm

The build up to Kevin Owens' match at HIAC has been hellacious
The build-up to Kevin Owens' match at HIAC has been hellacious

Sami Zayn attempted to talk some sense into Kevin Owens last week on SmackDown Live and we all saw how that ended for him.

Despite outwardly appearing to be cold and calculated in his decision making, Kevin Owens is a man who's snapped. And he doesn't seem to care how many people, or who for that matter, he takes down with him.

After a feral attack on Vince McMahon was followed by an equally savage one on Sami Zayn, is Shane McMahon next at Hell in a Cell?

Or given how close the duo was to getting it on last week, can they even hold off until the pay-per-view swings by?

Find out as right here on Sportskeeda as we bring you all the live play-by-play action, results and highlights of Smackdown Live.

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