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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. It was the penultimate SmackDown to WWE TLC and we had an epic championship main event.
Apart from that, there was a lot of good storyline progression and TLC got a lot more interesting on the SmackDown side.
#5 A major injury heading into SmackDown's marquee TLC match?
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We're enjoying the Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens feud. It's interesting how they had a rivalry over four years ago and the roles were completely reversed. At the time, even thinking about a heel Roman Reigns was unimaginable.
With the roles reversed, the feud seems a lot more suitable. Kevin Owens is vocal and confident, but he is still an underdog. In no way do we expect him to dethrone Roman Reigns and become the face of SmackDown, but we expect him to come close.
Kevin Owens cut yet another fantastic promo on SmackDown featuring his friends - Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. KO climbed the ladder and Jey Uso came to attack him. The former Tag Team Champion ended up getting a pop-up powerbomb through the table and Owens, visibly injured with a buckled knee, called Roman Reigns into the ring.
Paul Heyman talked Roman Reigns out of it, saving a confrontation for later and not on this episode of SmackDown. The Special Counsel kept insisting that he do it on his own terms and call his own shots, rather than letting Kevin Owens do so.
The knee injury will be a major factor heading into TLC and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Either way, it gives Kevin Owens a full-fledged underdog role in this feud, one that he seemingly thrives in.
#4 The Street Profits' SmackDown Tag team title reign is in major jeopardy
When talking about the tag team of the year, there's no doubt it has been The Street Profits. The duo have been the centerpiece of WWE's tag team division on both RAW and SmackDown. They were dominant on the red brand for eight months, never losing their titles in the limited feuds they had.
They would move on to SmackDown and exchange titles with The New Day, continuing the dominance of the tag team division. However, their feud against Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler has yielded opposite results.
It appears as though the latter has The Street Profits' number and they've been getting consistent victories over the SmackDown Tag Team Champions. It's leading to a match on SmackDown next week. While we expect the Street Profits to retain, it wouldn't be surprising to see a sudden title change.
Perhaps the tag team title picture needs some fresh faces. But for now, WWE has entrusted The Street Profits with the biggest role in the tag team division.
#3 Sami Zayn and Big E cross paths yet again on SmackDown
It's been clear for a while now that Big E is next in line for Sami Zayn and the Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown. It's perhaps the most important feud for him since separating from The New Day on SmackDown.
It started off with Sami Zayn complaining about the lack of merchandise for the Intercontinental Champion. However, the SmackDown non-title match did not have a clean finish, indicating that the duo will likely take the feud to TLC.
It will be interesting to see if WWE decides to go with Big E as the Intercontinental Champion again. Sami Zayn is doing an incredible job as the heel Champion right now, and in hindsight, beating Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles was a great decision that WWE made on Sami Zayn's behalf.
Next week is the go-home show on SmackDown, and if we see Big E stand tall again, then it could be an indicator that Sami Zayn will retain the title.
#2 Otis and Chad Gable - a step in the right direction on SmackDown
We like the fact that Otis and Chad Gable are a duo on SmackDown now. While Otis can't be described as underutilized, that is the perfect word to sum up the last three years of Chad Gable's career.
Post-Money in the Bank, Otis needed direction and the break-up with Tucker was done to justify him losing the Money in the Bank briefcase. At first, it felt like a bad situation, especially since WWE has nothing for Tucker at the moment.
The same can't be said for Otis on SmackDown. The duo of him and Chad Gable have shown promising signs over the last couple of episodes and although they lost to Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura this week, we could be seeing the start of an effective tag team.
It appears to be going in an interesting direction on SmackDown, and as long as Otis and Chad Gable get regular TV time, then that's a win. With the former Heavy Machinery member around, screen-time is almost guaranteed for Gable on SmackDown.
#1 Is Sasha Banks poised to lose her SmackDown Women's Championship?
The main event of SmackDown was a great one. Sasha Banks faced Carmella in a Women's Championship match. It was supposed to happen at TLC, but they had it in the SmackDown main event instead.
It had a big fight feel to it and the build to the match was fantastic. The duo opened and closed SmackDown, with the first segment involving Carmella no-showing the contract signing.
It shouldn't come as any surprise that the women stole the show on SmackDown. It was a good preview about what is to come since Sasha Banks lost the match by DQ.
Post-match, Carmella smacked Sasha Banks' back with a champagne bottle and it indicated that we will see them clash again at TLC. The Boss may have broken the initial title defense curse, but her reign as the SmackDown Women's champion could end as soon as TLC on December 20th.
Will Carmella capture the title again? Or will Sasha Banks assert herself as the queen of SmackDown once more?
