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The final episode of WWE SmackDown Live before SummerSlam 2018 will take place in Greenville, South Carolina on Tuesday.
One of the biggest storylines heading into the show surrounds the upcoming WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, while Daniel Bryan and The Miz are scheduled to appear following confirmation that they will face each other at SummerSlam.
As for this week’s in-ring action, Aiden English will do battle with Andrade “Cien” Almas in an attempt to show Rusev and Lana that he is not a liability, and The New Day will prepare for their SmackDown Tag Team Championship match against The Bludgeon Brothers by facing SAnitY in a six-man tag.
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With SummerSlam just five days away, we can expect to see more build-up to the United States Championship match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Jeff Hardy, while Carmella is set to have a confrontation with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair ahead of their SmackDown Women’s Championship match on Sunday.
Elsewhere on the show, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose are being advertised to make appearances following a back and forth with Paige on social media over the weekend.
In this article, let’s take a look at five last-minute predictions ahead of the episode.
#5 Aiden English vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
Poor Aiden English. The former Vaudevillian can’t do anything right at the moment, can he? After inadvertently costing Rusev in his big WWE Championship match against AJ Styles at Extreme Rules, he has proven a liability week after week whenever “The Bulgarian Brute” or Lana compete in a match.
After it was confirmed that Rusev and Lana will team up to face Almas and Zelina Vega on the SummerSlam kickoff show, it was later announced that “El Idolo” will prepare for the match by taking on English on this week’s SmackDown.
If the last few weeks are anything to go by, it’s not difficult to choose the winner of this one.
Prediction: Andrade “Cien” Almas wins
#4 The New Day vs. SAnitY
The New Day have already booked their ticket to SummerSlam after defeating The Bar in a #1 contender match last week, but they still have to face SAnitY in a six-man tag match on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live.
Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods lost a tables match on the Extreme Rules kickoff show against Alexander Wolfe, Killian Dain and Eric Young last month, but it’d be a surprise if the #1 contenders for The Bludgeon Brothers’ SmackDown Tag Team titles went into SummerSlam on the back of a defeat.
There’s always a chance that this could end up being a 5-on-5 match with other teams involved. Either way, let’s go for The New Day.
Prediction: The New Day wins
#3 What next in the SmackDown Women’s Championship storyline?
WWE is advertising on its website that Carmella will go face to face (to face) with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair ahead of their match at SummerSlam.
As we alluded to earlier in the article, it looks like Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose will be involved this week after SmackDown GM Paige told Mandy on Twitter that the former Absolution duo will have a chance to “earn their opportunity” on Tuesday.
It wouldn’t be a go-home episode before a PPV without an impromptu multi-person match, so let’s predict that Sonya and Mandy will join forces with Carmella, only for Asuka to even up the numbers by helping out Becky and Charlotte, leading to a six-woman tag.
Prediction: The babyfaces win a women’s tag match
#2 What next in the Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz feud?
Since WWE started building towards Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz at SummerSlam, “The Leader of the Yes Movement” has come up a little short in multiple mental and physical battles with his long-term rival.
In the last few weeks, D-Bry has received a Skull Crushing Finale after catching a fake baby in the middle of the ring, while his surprise attack on The Miz last week on the set of Miz & Mrs resulted in him being hit in the head with a vase.
With nothing currently advertised for this segment on SmackDown Live, let’s predict that Bryan will stand tall going into the PPV by leading the WWE Universe in a chorus of “Yes!” chants after fighting back a sneak attack from “The A-Lister”.
Prediction: Daniel Bryan gets revenge on The Miz
#1 What does AJ Styles have planned for Samoa Joe?
We incorrectly predicted last week that the rivalry between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe would reach new heights with a possible brawl that would require the rest of the SmackDown Live roster to separate them.
Instead, Styles responded to Joe’s criticism of him as a husband and father with a fiery promo of his own, claiming that the former NXT champion will have trouble walking out of Brooklyn following their match at SummerSlam.
WWE is advertising that Styles has more to say to his upcoming opponent on this week’s episode, so let’s predict that this is the week that the two finally meet face-to-face and a brawl ensues.
Prediction: The locker room has to separate AJ Styles and Samoa Joe
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