3 Ways that SmackDown can react to NXT this week

WWE SmackDown had a huge tonal shift this week. The Blue Brand had a huge deficit of talent available due to the issues surrounding WWE on-air performers and crew in Saudi Arabia.

Changes had to be made to the format of the programme, with only the likes of Sami Zayn, The Miz and Daniel Bryan being recognisable names to the casual audience. This change centred around the NXT brand asserting their dominance and starting a 'war' heading into the upcoming Survivor Series Network event. It will be interesting to see how WWE books the coming weeks of television, with the idea of brands featuring talent from other rosters it could freshen up the presentation.

With SmackDown having a depleted roster this past Friday and NXT seemingly taking advantage of this (from a storyline perspective) I wanted to look at three ways that SmackDown could react to NXT this week. Here's what I felt could happen.

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#1 Invade Full Sail

It's a fairly obvious point, but some of the bigger Superstars on SmackDown will have to invade NXT this week. It's a perfect power play from WWE, it's a good way to bring some main roster talent to Wednesday night without it seeming forced or unnatural.

We've seen WWE use the invasion angle for Survivor Series to varying success. Last year, Becky Lynch used the platform to enhance her Man persona. Unfortunately, Lynch's nose was broken on that night and it jeopardised her bout against then RAW Women's Champion, Ronda Rousey.

NXT will be getting an infusion of more mainstream Superstars this week if WWE decides to go down that route. With Triple H leading the 'war' against RAW and SmackDown it seems fairly likely that WWE will want to bring some much-appreciated hype and star power to Wednesday Nights on USA Network.

# 2 Collude with RAW to take out the threat

Can the two brands come together?

When WWE bought the rights to the WCW and ECW brands back in 2001 they opted to start almost straight away with an invasion angle. The two companies at first seemed as though they were working in isolation, with Paul Heyman leading the extreme group of ECW to attack WWE Superstars on RAW, declaring that "this invasion just got extreme."

Triple H's appearance last night on SmackDown had a very similar vibe to that promo from the former ECW owner. The Game had taken his rebel group onto WWE's biggest weekly stage and made a real statement, showing that NXT is a brand not to be taken lightly.

With that in mind, the SmackDown group could easily appear on RAW this Monday to create a makeshift alliance. NXT were positioned as extremely dangerous on Friday, so it would be advantageous to the brand to make it seem even more of a threat by getting RAW/SmackDown to collude and try to take down this 'outside' threat.

# 3 Do nothing and wait till it is closer to Survivor Series

The Blue Brand can wait a little longer before launching an attack

Alternatively, WWE can opt to have SmackDown stay clear of NXT this week. It's almost too obvious that the Blue Brand would be looking to exact some revenge on Wednesday, so why not keep the surprise for later down the line when the Survivor Series event is looming.

A random attack later from SmackDown could prove to be creative television and create a buzz post-show for NXT. The most important factor there is the idea of a buzz after the fact. If WWE opts to have main roster Superstars on NXT then they should promote it ahead of time, even if it is just a threat from RAW/SmackDown saying that they are going potentially going to show up.

Whilst the demographic for NXT differs from that of RAW and SmackDown there's no doubt that WWE would love to have some of their bigger mainstream Superstars appear on Wednesday night on USA Network.