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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. It was the final SmackDown of the Thunderdome era as we return to live crowds a week from now.
The show will kick off in Houston, two days before Money in the Bank. Speaking of the MITB pay-per-view, a big change to the card was made while the final two spots in the Men's ladder match were filled. Here's what went down in an eventful episode of SmackDown!
#5. The Seth Rollins-Cesaro feud seemingly concludes on SmackDown
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It's been five months since the Seth Rollins-Cesaro rivalry began, and both superstars have faced each other numerous times on pay-per-views and SmackDown.
While Cesaro largely got the better of Rollins, there has reportedly been a change in plans for SummerSlam, which is why Cesaro lost twice in a row. This time, it was a Money in the Bank qualifier.
Cesaro was busted open, but the referee didn't put on a glove, which makes us believe it was a part of the storyline. Cesaro fell short of finishing his rival on SmackDown, who took up the final spot in the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match.
The field is now set. It's stacked with talent this year, with the list of superstars including Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, John Morrison, Riddle, Big E, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Seth Rollins.
After the match, Seth Rollins was elated and even hugged Kayla Braxton. However, he unexpectedly came face to face with Edge, who reminded him of what happened in 2014.
In late 2014, The Authority was barred from WWE. The only person who had the power to reinstate it was John Cena, who was put in a tricky position by Seth Rollins. At that point, Edge's neck was still vulnerable, and Rollins pinned him to the mat and threatened to snap his neck unless Cena reinstated The Authority. Edge reminded Rollins of that incident.
Their face-off was intense and a clear preview of what's to come at SummerSlam 2021. In the meantime, it seems like Cesaro has lost his push on SmackDown.
#4. An interesting progression in the main storyline on SmackDown
The Edge-Roman Reigns storyline on SmackDown got hotter this week. Edge once again wanted to call out Roman Reigns, but once again got an Uso (or more accurately, both of them).
Following Jimmy's real-life issues, it was surprising that WWE didn't write him off instantly. Instead, he was heavily featured throughout SmackDown, to the point where he now officially seems to be on the same page as his brother and his cousin.
The Usos tried to do Reigns' bidding by storming Edge's locker room, but The Rated-R Superstar wasn't there. This was moments before his confrontation with Seth Rollins.
Edge eventually went out to call Roman Reigns alone, and the Universal Champion told The Usos to stay put while he attended to business. The Usos, thinking it was a trap, appeared in the final segment against Roman Reigns' wishes.
They were close to interfering, but The Mysterios appeared out of nowhere and attacked the brothers with a steel chair. They assisted Edge in taking out The Usos while Roman Reigns watched on helplessly from the ramp.
Not that he made any effort to stop it. Reigns merely watched as Rey Mysterio assisted Edge who shoved a rod inside both Usos' mouths. It was a strong message sent and a tease of a six-man tag team match for SmackDown. If so, Edge and Rey Mysterio's will reunite as a tag team after 19 long years. It won't be a permanent one, but it should be nostalgic.
#3. The SmackDown Women's title picture gets shaken up
It was announced hours before SmackDown that Bayley suffered an injury during a training session and will be out for nine months. That's a huge blow to the women's division, especially since Bayley was set to challenge Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's title at Money in the Bank.
Sonya Deville broke the news on the show and revealed that the SmackDown Women's title match at Money in the Bank has been moved to two days before. Replacing Bayley will be 2-time Money in the Bank winner Carmella.
This drew a lot of initial confusion since Carmella was already in the Money in the Bank ladder match. Liv Morgan once again stormed out at the injustice and let Deville know of her frustrations.
Deville shut Morgan up by announcing that she was going to replace Carmella in the Women's Money in the Bank ladder match. As of now, there are still two spots open for the women's ladder match.
While the SmackDown Women's title match will be interesting, the result seems all but predictable. Perhaps it'll set up the return of Sasha Banks next week and a potential SummerSlam program for Belair.
#2. Baron Corbin's downward spiral continues on SmackDown
There's an interesting story unfolding since Baron Corbin lost his crown to Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown. The week, the two men faced off for possibly the final time in a while, with the winner entering the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match.
Last week on SmackDown, Baron Corbin's car was towed away. This week, we found out that Nakamura and Rick Boogs now have it in their possesion. To add insult to injury, Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Corbin on SmackDown to qualify for the Men's MITB ladder match.
The result was predictable but right. Not only did Nakamura and Corbin have their best match by far on SmackDown, but it furthers the downward spiral of Baron Corbin.
He was so sad that it seems that the people in the back forgot to put his entrance music when he made his way to the ring. After failing to qualify for MITB, it's a long way back up for the former United States Champion.
#1. The newest arrivals on SmackDown
Natalya and Tamina seem to be out of Tag Team title challengers on both RAW and SmackDown. With rumors that WWE was going to inject both brands with fresh talent, there are a lot of exciting debuts to look forward to.
One huge future debut is of former NXT UK Women's Champion Toni Storm. The 25-year-old Australian is considered one of the best talents across the WWE Women's division. But Storm's SmackDown debut doesn't have a date.
What does is the debut of two NXT superstars Shotzi Blackhart and Tegan Nox, and it occurred this week. Both women are highly touted as the next big things, and tonight looked like the official main roster call-up for them. It also means Ember Moon's partnership with Shotzi Blackhart on NXT has quietly ended.
The team of Blackhart and Nox defeated the Women's Tag Team Champions on debut, causing an upset. We expect them to enter a title program right away, even if they aren't going to win it.
WWE still has a long way to go to establish the Women's Tag Team division, but this isn't a bad start.
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