6 Things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: Superstar to turn heel and join Roman Reigns' faction, Popular star to finally get pushed after five months? (January 15th, 2021)

#1 The Universal title picture takes an old turn on SmackDown

Adam Pearce stumbling

As mentioned earlier, SmackDown was centered around Roman Reigns and Adam Pearce. At first, a No DQ stipulation seemed to be signed for the match. While sitting with Apollo Crews, Roman Reigns told Paul Heyman that stipulation wasn't good enough, and he demanded a Last Man Standing Match.

"That's gonna be the last contract you'll ever sign." 😳#SmackDown @WWERomanReigns @ScrapDaddyAP pic.twitter.com/DKiiJtDmIo

— WWE (@WWE) January 16, 2021

Somehow, the contract was changed, and it took Roman Reigns till the end of the night to sign his contract. However, Adam Pearce started limping and revealed that there would be a replacement.

While we thought it was going to be Shinsuke Nakamura, it turned out to be Kevin Owens. So the match is now Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble for the Universal Championship.

WAIT A MINUTE! It's going to be @FightOwensFight and @WWERomanReigns at #RoyalRumble! pic.twitter.com/Cel7q7m3an

— WWE (@WWE) January 16, 2021

Admittedly, it's not the best direction to go on SmackDown. We've already seen this match played out, and there's little to no expectation of Kevin Owens winning the Universal title. Adam Pearce, or even Shinsuke Nakamura for that matter, would have been a fresher and more exciting feud.