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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. Next week will be the penultimate SmackDown to Fastlane 2021, and we hope that it's an upgrade from this episode.
There were a lot of things that simply didn't deliver on SmackDown, but the main event certainly did. Here is what WWE subtly told us on SmackDown this week:
#5. Daniel Bryan overcomes one major obstacle on SmackDown
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Last week on SmackDown, Daniel Bryan demanded that he be given an opportunity to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship - and not under the same circumstances of his title shot at Elimination Chamber.
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To nobody's surprise, Roman Reigns also came out in the opening segment on SmackDown, as he always does. It was for the build to the main event - which saw Daniel Bryan take on Jey Uso.
The two men faced off last week, with a Universal Championship shot on the line for Daniel Bryan. While it ended in a DQ last week, Daniel Bryan ensured that on SmackDown this week, he would get a steel cage setting.
It certainly worked in his favor, and Jey Uso was even attacked by Daniel Bryan before the match backstage. While that was more of a cheap shot, it was a good measure of revenge for what had happened to him.
Even still, there was something that felt missing on this episode of SmackDown. It wasn't even a bad main event, as Daniel Bryan and Jey Uso took themselves to the limit while Roman Reigns watched on as a spectator.
But it was the episode overall that simply lacked the edge to it - especially when looking at RAW this past week and how significant the central storyline between The Miz and Bobby Lashley played.
Daniel Bryan defeated Jey Uso and will officially challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Fastlane 2021. Unfortunately for Daniel Bryan, the chances of him winning and facing Edge are slim, so it seems to be a slight spoiler for the main event of the final PPV on the road to WrestleMania.
#4. Seth Rollins gets an offer he refused on SmackDown
Seth Rollins cut a promo on SmackDown wearing a pink-ish suit. From the sound of it, he seems keen on recruiting Cesaro in an attempt to form another group. While cutting the promo, however, he was met with an old ally-turned-foe - Murphy.
The former Cruiserweight and RAW Tag Team Champion returned to SmackDown after three months and approached his old mentor, asking him if he needed help with the Cesaro problem.
Seth Rollins, triggered by the events that happened between Murphy and the Mysterio family, told the Aussie star to get out of his sight. Murphy went on to face Cesaro in a solid singles match that was meant to establish The Swiss Superman.
Seth Rollins was on commentary as he saw Cesaro impressively decimate Murphy, turning him around and making him tap in front of Seth Rollins. Corey Graves was right when he said that there are few superstars in WWE, let alone SmackDown, that have the same momentum that Cesaro does.
Will Murphy continue to try to get back with Seth Rollins on SmackDown?
#3. The odd alliance on SmackDown
Sami Zayn and King Corbin have recently aligned on SmackDown, for some reason. Last week, they lost to The Street Profits, and this week, King Corbin refused to team up with Sami Zayn.
It led to two quick singles matches, where Corbin defeated Montez Ford, while Angelo Dawkins defeated Sami Zayn. The latter was due to a distraction inadvertently caused by the camera crew.
We're not sure what the endgame of this alliance is. While The Street Profits could be set up to challenge for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship again, there doesn't seem to be any objective in place.
Perhaps a Sami Zayn face turn? It's hard to imagine, given where he is currently at. But a WrestleMania payoff doesn't seem to be on the cards. Instead, we can see both Corbin and Zayn remaining the same and having a heel vs. heel match instead.
It's good that they won't be aligning together since it feels thrown together.
#2. Apollo Crews takes a step up on SmackDown
Last week on SmackDown, we saw Apollo Crews embrace his Nigerian heritage. He even momentarily changed his accent to an African one. This week on SmackDown, Apollo Crews doubled-down on his appearance, even having a traditional spear and two bodyguards.
He emphasized on that African accent, and he said that it's the way he speaks. Apollo Crews spoke about his childhood, revealing that he used to be ashamed of his Nigerian Royal Heritage.
He has now fully embraced it, and Apollo Crews demanded an Intercontinental title shot from Big E. The Intercontinental Champion will return to SmackDown next week, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. We can see Apollo Crews getting his receipt, but an IC Championship match at Fastlane could be in the works.
The big question is how far this new Apollo Crews can get in WWE. He has an edge to his character; now we simply need to see the execution of it.
#1. SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks' Reginald problem
Bianca Belair faced Shayna Baszler on SmackDown. Sasha Banks came out to ringside as she witnessed her WrestleMania opponent cleverly get one over one-half of the Women's Tag Team Champions.
Reginald was once again at ringside, and after the match, Bianca Belair told him that he was Sasha Banks' problem. Earlier on SmackDown, Reginald was seen with Carmella, and he insisted that everything he was doing was for her good, even though she didn't buy it.
Sasha Banks told Reginald not to get involved in her business before proceeding to slap him.
Reginald tried approaching the SmackDown Women's Champion backstage, but he was rejected. Afterward, he came across Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, with the latter telling her partner that "he's kinda cute".
Now, where could this be leading? While we initially thought it was leading to a Triple Threat Match for the SmackDown Women's title, the story could take another turn. Will Reginald shift his alliance from Sasha Banks to Nia Jax?
