5 Last-Minute predictions for WWE SmackDown Live (28 August 2018)

The latest episode of WWE SmackDown Live will take place in Toronto, Ontario on Tuesday.

One of the biggest storylines heading into the show surrounds the WWE Championship, which AJ Styles retained in controversial circumstances against Samoa Joe at SummerSlam, leading to an announcement over the weekend that there will be a rematch between the two rivals at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.

As for this week’s in-ring action, Charlotte Flair will defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship in a one-on-one match against Carmella, and it’ll be The Club vs. The Bar vs. The Colons in the first match of the latest SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 contender tournament.

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Elsewhere this week, there is likely to be a heated response from Randy Orton following last week’s attack by Jeff Hardy, while the build-up to Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse at Hell In A Cell looks set to continue.

Further down the card, we can expect to see Aiden English make an appearance after he patched things up with Rusev and Lana last week, while WWE is advertising that The New Day will throw a celebration after becoming five-time tag team champions.

In this article, let’s take a look at five last-minute predictions ahead of the episode.

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#5 What next for Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella?

Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella will join forces at Hell In A Cell

The WWE Universe is understandably confused by Brie Bella’s booking recently. First of all, with no explanation given, she returned to WWE television at SummerSlam and appeared on the next night’s Raw to surround the ring, along with her sister Nikki, to celebrate Ronda Rousey’s title victory.

Then, despite apparently being a Raw roster member, she showed up on SmackDown Live to help Daniel Bryan in his battle with The Miz and Maryse, leading to a mixed tag match being announced between the four WWE Superstars/reality TV stars for Hell In A Cell.

It was then revealed on Monday that Brie will team with Nikki on next week’s Raw against The Riott Squad, while she is being advertised to make another appearance on this week’s SmackDown Live.

Suddenly, Brie has gone from retired WWE Superstar to the hottest ‘free agent’ since John Cena! It’s tough to call what she’ll do next, but let’s predict that she and Bryan will get the upper hand ahead of Hell In A Cell by striking The Miz and Maryse with a series of “Yes!” kicks this week.

Prediction: Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella stand tall against The Miz and Maryse

#4 The Club vs. The Bar vs. The Colons

The New Day won the SmackDown Tag Team titles from The Bludgeon Brothers last week

The SmackDown Live roster is more stacked than ever with tag teams that are worthy contenders to regain the tag titles at some point over the next few months.

The problem? Every duo involved in this latest #1 contender tournament, except the returning Colons, lost in another #1 contender tournament before SummerSlam, so it’s difficult to make a case for any of them to defeat The New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at Hell In A Cell.

It would be great to see The Colons win this week's Triple Threat – they were having a nice resurgence before their injury issues last year – but it’s more likely that The Club emerge as winners to progress to the #1 contender match in two weeks’ time.

Prediction: The Club progress in the tournament

#3 Charlotte Flair vs. Carmella (SmackDown Women’s Championship)

Charlotte Flair won the SmackDown Women's title at SummerSlam

There’s only one winner here, isn’t there? Carmella had a memorable run as SmackDown Women’s champion but her time in the spotlight as the top woman on the brand is over, with the Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch storyline set to take centre stage in the weeks and months to come.

Judging by past WWE logic, it looks like this match was booked for SmackDown Live this week so that Charlotte can defeat Carmella and remove “The Princess of Staten Island” from the title picture.

That way Becky can become the #1 contender and the one-on-one feud that we’ve all been waiting for can begin at Hell In A Cell.

Prediction: Charlotte Flair retains

#2 Will Randy Orton seek revenge from last week?

Randy Orton has been ruthless since his return

Randy Orton has tormented Jeff Hardy with three vicious attacks on SmackDown Live since making his return to WWE television at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view in July.

Last week’s long-awaited one-on-one match between the two men resulted in a disqualification when Jeff kicked Orton in the groin, just like Orton did to him at Extreme Rules, before attacking him all over the arena.

This might not be the safest of predictions, but wouldn’t it be perfect if these two squared off inside the cell at Hell In A Cell next month? Granted, it would be a non-title match and there are likely to be at least two other cell matches on the card, but this rivalry needs something to take it to the next level, and a HIAC stipulation would certainly do that.

Prediction: Jeff Hardy challenges Randy Orton to a Hell In A Cell match

#1 What next in the AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe rivalry?

AJ Styles retained his title against Samoa Joe at SummerSlam

It was announced by WWE over the weekend that Samoa Joe will receive another opportunity against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.

The previous meeting between the two men ended in a disqualification at SummerSlam when an enraged Styles struck Joe with multiple steel chair shots after “The Destroyer” got on the mic and talked trash to AJ's wife and daughter, who were watching on from ringside.

This rivalry has gotten as personal as it gets in WWE these days, so the safe bet for this week’s SmackDown Live is to predict that their match at the next PPV will receive a Hell In A Cell stipulation.

Prediction: A Hell In A Cell stipulation gets added to the match

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