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It was a solid episode of SmackDown this week. Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. We have a lot to get into, but three notable but not-so-important parts of SmackDown include the obstacle course won by Bianca Belair against Bayley, Dominik Mysterio's loss to King Corbin, and the fact that Sonya Deville didn't let the Street Profits get an immediate rematch due to Montez Ford's leg injury.
We have to give a shoutout to Bianca Belair, who ended up carrying Otis on her shoulders.
Here's what WWE subtly told us on SmackDown this week:
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
#5 The Roman Reigns story continues on SmackDown
Roman Reigns opened SmackDown as he always does, with Paul Heyman by his side. It was the entire aftermath of last week, where Adam Pearce seemingly faked an injury and had Kevin Owens replace him in the Royal Rumble.
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Things ended up playing out in the most interesting way possible, and the Adam Pearce match we've been waiting for was teased on SmackDown once again. Except for this time, it wasn't against Roman Reigns - it was against Paul Heyman.
Roman Reigns gave the mic to Paul Heyman to verbally decimate Adam Pearce, but it ended up becoming a challenge to a match instead. So, the main event of SmackDown was Paul Heyman vs Adam Pearce.
Paul Heyman wanted to get out of the match and asked Roman Reigns, but the Universal Champion told him to be a man and face Adam Pearce. Paul Heyman ended up doing what Adam Pearce did last week on SmackDown and faked an injury. Using the "Card is subject to change" line, Roman Reigns came down and laid the beatdown on Adam Pearce.
There was no finish since Kevin Owens interrupted and attacked Roman Reigns. SmackDown ended with The Tribal Chief going through a table. Technically though, Adam Pearce made his in-ring return after six years away from the ring - even if it was for a short while.
#4 SmackDown's Cesaro is on a roll ahead of the 2021 Royal Rumble
A comment was made on SmackDown, stating that a Superstar having momentum heading into the Royal Rumble can often be counted as a favorite. Few Superstars have the momentum that SmackDown's Cesaro does at the moment.
While Cesaro seems to have quietly split from Shinsuke Nakamura, he has been on a roll. Last week on SmackDown, he defeated Daniel Bryan - one of the biggest wins of his WWE career.
This week, he faced one-half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler. Cesaro would always be a favorite, and he dominated The Showoff to pick up another win on SmackDown. Even Daniel Bryan sounded impressed on commentary.
Cesaro is finally getting a big push on SmackDown ahead of the 2021 Royal Rumble. We don't expect him to win the Rumble match by any means, but it's great that WWE has finally decided to put in more effort to pushing him.
Whether it will be a sustained push or not, we're yet to see. But he's a good star
#3 The Billie-Riott Squad conundrum on SmackDown
WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Asuka and Charlotte Flair appeared on SmackDown, even though they're both RAW superstars. It was made clear that the holders of the Women's Tag Team titles could appear on any WWE brand.
The outcome was quite predictable, but it turned out to be a good showing for Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. A lot of emphasis was given to Liv's overall performance, and she deserves raise for constantly improving.
Billie Kay was ringside as well, and while she attempted to help her friends win the match, it backfired, and she ended up costing them on SmackDown instead. Backstage, Billie Kay was upset but perceived it as just a setback that the three of them could overcome together.
Ruby Riott insisted that they weren't a trio, and said that it was better with just her and Liv Morgan. While we don't disagree, Billie Kay has been brilliant on SmackDown. We expect her to eventually reunite, with the payoff likely being her helping them win a major match or title.
#2 Sami Zayn forces himself into the Intercontinental title picture on SmackDown
While Apollo Crews (unfairly) earned an Intercontinental title shot against Big E at Sami Zayn's expense on SmackDown, the former Champion was never going to take it lying down. The Great Liberator came out to protest on SmackDown before the Women's Tag Team match, and he stayed there for a while.
It was only during the Big E vs Apollo Crews Intercontinental title match on SmackDown that Sami Zayn removed the handcuffs. He interjected and hit both men with the Helluva Kick, indicating that he was forcefully inserting himself into the Intercontinental title picture.
The match on SmackDown ended in a DNF, and there are now three men in the mix for the Intercontinental gold. However, all of the men are expected to be in the Royal Rumble match, so we can expect a Triple Threat feud to take place sometime after Royal Rumble 2021.
It could even be a way to get the Intercontinental title off Big E. The only reason they would do this is to give him a bigger push for WrestleMania. If it's a Triple Threat, Big E doesn't need to be pinned to lose the title.
#1 The SmackDown Women's Champion keeps improving
There are few wrestlers on the RAW or SmackDown roster that have improved as rapidly as Sasha Banks has. She, along with the other women has set the bar for women's wrestling so high up, that we've almost begun to take for granted just how good she is.
Reginald (Carmella's bodyguard) looked extremely rusty in the ring, but he had some good counters and offense. Ultimately, the match was a showing for the SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks, and that's exactly what it was as she ended up submitting him with the Bank Statement.
She even had a tense moment with former SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella at ringside, but it didn't spiral into anything worse.
The match was a display of just how much Sasha Banks has improved in the ring. Even when she debuted in 2015 on RAW, she was considered one of the best in-ring workers of the roster - male or female. This only further proved that she is one of the best in the world.
Sasha Banks faces Carmella at the Royal Rumble 2021 PPV in a defense of the SmackDown Women's Championship.
