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This week's episode of SmackDown Live was the second last episode before Clash of Champions and WWE fans were witness to yet another blockbuster episode. While a new match was made official for the pay-per-view, the Blue Brand was filled with some outstanding matches as part of a few segments.
The show began with the SmackDown Women's Champion, Bayley, who made a shocking heel turn on RAW earlier joining forces with The Boss Sasha Banks to deliver some devastating chair shots to Charlotte Flair. The King of the Ring quarter-final rounds concluded as Chad Gable picked up a win against Andrade while in the other match, Elias defeated Ali.
Erick Rowan attacked Roman Reigns after the former was revealed as the mysterious attacker that put an end to the storyline. Aleister Black finally came out of his darkroom to face Shelton Benjamin while the women's Tag Team Champions, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross faced the team of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.
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In yet another segment, the intense rivalry between Randy Orton and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston continued as the latter was humiliated again by the team of Orton and The Revival.
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Here we discuss four things WWE made clear on SmackDown Live this week.
#4 Fire & Desire will challenge the Women's Tag Team Champions
With less than two weeks left for Clash of Champions, the Women's Tag Team Champions still don't have challengers. Except for the US Title and the Women's Tag Team Titles, all the title matches are set for the show. Since every title will be on the line at Clash of Champions, the Women's Tag Team Titles will be defended as well.
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross fought the team of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville on SmackDown Live this week. It was a non-title match but Deville & Rose defeated the current champions.
The IIconics have not been on TV after losing their rematch at SummerSlam, while the Kabuki Warriors are not in the title picture. After securing a victory over the Champions, Rose & Deville are likely to get a title shot at Clash of Champions.
#3 Charlotte Flair is unlikely to stay heel for a long time
On this week's episode, Bayley continued to show her new evil side when she confronted Charlotte Flair. The Hugger surprised everyone on RAW prior to this episode as she joined hands with Sasha Banks as the former Tag Team partners teamed up to decimate Becky Lynch on the Red Brand, and a similar display was on show on SmackDown Live.
The SmackDown Women's Champion opened the show this week and justified her actions from RAW. Midway through Bayley's speech, Charlotte Flair interrupted her but Sasha Banks also showed up on the Blue Brand. The Queen first attacked Bayley and then Banks but the two best friends stood tall as Banks delivered some vicious chair shots to her old rival.
Bayley's heel turn is certainly a breath of fresh air but lest we forget, The Queen is also a heel. Lynch and Charlotte might team up to battle Bayley and Banks, in what can be an exciting matchup. As of now, a face turn of Charlotte Flair is inevitable, and it could happen in the next few weeks.
#2 Chad Gable could be the dark horse to win the King of the Ring tournament
Chad Gable reached the second round of King of the Ring, following an impressive win over Shelton Benjamin. Gable met Andrade in the quarter-final this week, and he successfully vanquished the former NXT Champion to reach the last four. Gable will take on Elias, who also advanced to the next round in a semi-final clash.
Gable and Andrade certainly produced one of the best matches of the night with a number of amazing manoeuvres. Both men delivered vicious Suplexes to each other. Even though Zelina Vega distracted the referee, Andrade could not utilize it as the latter was pinned by Gable.
Before heading into the semifinal of the tournament, Gable has notable momentum, and it will not be implausible to call him a dark horse. There is no denying that Gable is extremely talented but he hasn't achieved significant success in his singles career. If Gable manages to win the tournament or even enters the finals, he could reach a new height in his career.
#1 Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan will probably meet each other at Hell in a Cell
The mystery behind Roman Reigns' attacker found an answer last week when Erick Rowan was divulged as the mysterious attacker of the Big Dog. A match between Reigns and Erick Rowan was announced for Clash of Champions, hence, Daniel Bryan will not face the former Universal Champion.
Despite being a heel, Bryan tried to prove his innocence on SmackDown Live, as he refused his association with Rowan in this attack. When Reigns came out to confront Bryan, he was hit by the former Wyatt Family member. Interestingly, Bryan tried to rescue Reigns, and Rowan knocked him away. Both Reigns and Bryan were assaulted by Rowan to close the show.
While it looked like the alliance between Bryan and Rowan ended on SmackDown Live this week, however, we could see a major twist. There is no way that such an exciting storyline was created to build a feud between Erick Rowan and Roman Reigns.
While Rowan is set to face the Big Dog, Bryan could reveal his true intentions after Clash of Champions which could lead to a titanic battle between Reigns and Bryan at Hell in a Cell.
