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Could there be a few major surprises on WWE SmackDown this week? Well, there better be, because WWE SmackDown will be building to SummerSlam, which is allegedly happening on a beach or a boat.
The task of rebuilding WWE's audience falls upon their shoulders now because the company has seen a remarkable dip in viewership since the pandemic first began. So what does WWE SmackDown have to do to retain the viewers that it has (the fall hasn't been as considerable as RAW, thankfully) and also attract new viewers?
Well, it has to shake the product up quite significantly with a surprise or even 5!
#5 Nikki Cross becomes the brand new WWE SmackDown Women's Champion
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Bayley and Sasha Banks own all the gold there is to be won on WWE SmackDown and WWE RAW, at least in the women's division right now. As we have seen in the past, this is a temporary solution to boost ratings because different titles should be used to elevate different stars, be it on RAW or WWE SmackDown.
And this is why I think that Nikki Cross should become the WWE SmackDown Women's Champion on this week's episode, by defeating Bayley clean in the middle of the ring.
Nikki Cross may be a much more watered-down version of her NXT persona on WWE SmackDown, but she has proved that she does her best with what she is given and has proved to be quite an asset for the company.
So, the time may finally be right for her to dethrone Bayley and kick-start a whole bunch of storylines on WWE SmackDown and RAW in the wake of the title change. Do you guys think that Nikki Cross is finally ready to become the brand new WWE SmackDown Women's Champion?
#4 Alexa Bliss turns on Nikki Cross following her win on WWE SmackDown
So, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross had to compete against one another to determine who would be the woman to challenge Bayley for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. Nikki Cross came out on top, but there was more than one occasion where it seemed like there was trouble in paradise between Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross on WWE SmackDown.
Now, fast forward to this week where Sasha Banks is both the WWE RAW Women's Champion and the WWE Women's Tag Team Champion, while Bayley holds the latter Championship as well as the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. What happens when Bayley loses the Championship and has only one title to her name, one has to wonder and ponder upon?
Will it finally cause her to snap and give us a program between Sasha Banks and Bayley for the RAW Women's Championship?
Meanwhile Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross can have quite the contest for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship as well.
#3 Bray Wyatt chooses to go after Jeff Hardy next while Braun Strowman is missing from WWE SmackDown
Man, if you are a fan of hardcore music then this collaboration between Code Orange and WWE SmackDown star Bray Wyatt should really send shivers down your spine with sheer excitement. And this may not be the only thing that happens on this week that has this effect, because Bray Wyatt may name his next opponent on WWE SmackDown.
Jeff Hardy admitted in an interview last week that he is ready to move onto something brighter and better after the conclusion of his feud with Sheamus. And honestly, there is nothing better than a potential match between The Charismatic Enigma and his WWE SmackDown antithesis in a sense of the word, Bray Wyatt.
The two men have a darker side to their persona and a face-off between the two supernatural forces should be interesting until Braun Strowman returns from the swamp after the events of Extreme Rules. Strowman can't just show up on WWE SmackDown as if nothing really happened.
#2 Mandy Rose has a confrontation with heel Lacey Evans upon her WWE SmackDown return
Ever since Lacey Evans has gone heel, she has been more at ease with her persona, and she will need to channel it in such a manner that she earns legitimate heat from the WWE SmackDown audience sitting in their homes.
The best way to achieve the same is to probably have her feud with someone like Mandy Rose, who is beloved by the audience because of her storyline with Otis from Heavy Machinery. Could we see the two of them square off on WWE SmackDown and get into a major scuffle?
We know that Otis and Mandy Rose are supposed to return to WWE SmackDown this very week and if Lacey Evans takes the fight to Rose, we could be in for a very interesting storyline indeed.
Imagine a mixed tag team scenario where someone like Sheamus or even Tucky joins forces with The Sassy Southern Belle and a very intense program breaks out on WWE SmackDown in a few weeks.
#1 Big E saves Gran Metalik from a beatdown on WWE SmackDown
As much as we all love Gran Metalik and believe that he is one of the most gifted individuals in the WWE SmackDown roster, we know that there's no way that he's beating AJ Styles, right? I mean he will put on a great performance and AJ Styles will finally put him on the map and maybe one day he can win big on WWE SmackDown but for now, Gran Metalik will remain squarely in the mid-card.
But, then, all of a sudden, Big E could show up from out of nowhere and make the save when AJ Styles lays a beat-down on his opponent once his match has concluded.
This could be the setup for Big E vs. AJ Styles at WWE SummerSlam, and the first seeds of the feud could be planted this very week on WWE SmackDown.
In conclusion, please take a minute to check Sportskeeda's Rick Ucchino in conversation with WWE SmackDown star Nikki Cross in the link posted above.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
