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SmackDown Live took center stage last night to present their fallout from Clash of Champions, but with just three episodes of SmackDown Live between Clash of Champions and Hell in a Cell, WWE has a lot of build-up to squeeze into their weekly shows.
This week the build towards SmackDown's switch over to FOX on October 4th began as well since Brock Lesnar made his return to the ring for the first time since SummerSlam when he challenged Kofi Kingston to a match for his WWE Championship, which he accepted.
The rest of the show did point towards Hell in a Cell since it's thought that there will be three matches inside the steel structure this year, with two already officially announced from the Raw brand. It is thought that Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns will be a part of the third match inside the structure, as the build-up continues.
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#5. Brock Lesnar vs Kofi Kingston
Brock Lesnar has been rumored to make his return to the company for the past few weeks, since SmackDown needs a selling point ahead of their move over to Fox in less than two weeks.
It didn't come as much of a shock that Lesnar returned and went straight for Kofi Kingston as part of last night's show. The issue now is that Kingston has accepted his challenge and Lesnar could become the new WWE Champion on October 4th.
Kingston has reigned his division ever since WrestleMania and is a firm fan favourite, but it's hard to believe that he can defeat Lesnar, since he destroyed the Champion last time they met back at Beast in the East in 2015. Does this mean that Lesnar has basically swapped one title for another?
#4. Random Cameos?
It was thought that Ric Flair would make an appearance at Clash of Champions since it was in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. This obviously didn't happen since Charlotte Flair went on to lose her match to Bayley, so there was no need for her father to appear.
WWE moved on to Atlanta, Georgia and presented last night's SmackDown, which included a number of interesting cameos. Ric Flair was spotted backstage with his daughter ahead of her match with Sasha Banks, before the cameras made their way to the ring and Offset was ready to announce Flair.
Offset had a record called Ric Flair Drip a while ago, but there was no mention of this on the show, or why he was announcing Flair to the ring. There was also no reason given as to why Ric Flair was spotted backstage since it was hoped that he could perhaps become the next victim of The Fiend, but this obviously didn't happen.
Perhaps Flair will make an appearance alongside Charlotte next week on Raw where he could become a target of Bray Wyatt, and his appearance this week would then make much more sense.
#3. Ali attacked by Shinsuke Nakamura
Ali has been one of the most improved stars on SmackDown Live over the past few months, but much like Andrade, he hasn't been given the push he deserves. Instead, he has been used as talent enhancement in recent weeks and this week he was seemingly fed to Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn.
The only way that this storyline can now work is if Ali asks for a match against Nakamura following the attack on next week's SmackDown Live and is then able to defeat him. This would then allow Ali to step into the title picture and challenge Nakamura at Hell in a Cell.
Cedric Alexander was attacked by AJ Styles a week before Clash of Champions and after he was able to pin the Champion on the go-home episode, he was handed a title shot. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for Ali, who has been looking at debuting a new character ever since his switch over from 205 Live, and now needs to pick up a few wins so that he can make a name for himself on the blue brand.
#2. The B-Team return
The B-Team returned to SmackDown Live and were completely dominated by Heavy Machinery, despite the fact that they are former Raw Tag Team Champions. There was a time when The B-Team were able to excite a crowd and even though they were seen as a jobber tag team, they were able to defy the odds and win the Tag Team Championships.
It appears that WWE are looking to build Heavy Machinery right now since they have been facing jobbers in recent weeks. They are looking to build up their arsenal before they go on to challenge The Revival, but The B-Team were a team that didn't deserve to be on that list.
Not only were they jobbed out to The New Day, but they were given a jobbers' entrance as well since they were already in the ring when SmackDown Live returned from an ad break. Bo Dallas is a former NXT Champion, whilst Curtis Axel is a former Intercontinental Champion, both men come from wrestling families and deserved much better than a five-minute slot on this week's show, against a team that is yet to prove itself against real competition.
#1. Carmella?
This week's episode of Raw saw one of the best women's segments in a long time when The Four Horsewomen of WWE seemingly all faced off. Charlotte, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks have issues with one another at present, despite starting off their careers on the same page in NXT.
These four women essentially kick-started the Women's Revolution back in 2015 and it looked as though they could all face off in a four-way match in the future. Fast forward to SmackDown Live and it was obvious that Becky Lynch was going to make the save for Charlotte, much like The Queen did for her the night before, but she didn't.
Instead, it was Carmella who came out and dominated Sasha Banks and Bayley, which has led to more questions than answers. Was Becky Lynch double-booked last night? Are WWE not planning on doing anything with The Four Horsewomen? Why Carmella of all the women in that locker room who are face?
It will be an interesting few weeks heading into Hell in a Cell, since it appears that Bayley could be defending her title in a multi-person match.
