SummerSlam proved to be a bit uneventful for SmackDown as it was the matches from Monday Night Raw that saw all the major movements. SmackDown saw no title change or no new champion, but they did have an awesome match to their name thanks to AJ Styles and John Cena. Also, the return of Nikki Bella was a positive for the brand.
SummerSlam has rubbed the fans in a wrong way and this is clear from fan reaction on the Internet. WWE will have to rebound with their weekly show and after Raw, it’s time for SmackDown. Here are some of the developments that we can expect from the show.
Trending
Riding on the huge momentum
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
AJ Styles vs. John Cena was a standout match at SummerSlam. Both men used their experience and skill to captivate the crowd and at the end of the day, AJ Styles came out as the better man by winning the match clean. Thanks to this, AJ is now riding on some huge momentum that WWE will use for the next feud that he might get involved in.
Rumors suggest that AJ will be facing off against Randy Orton next. But what happened to Randy at SummerSlam might delay the feud altogether. There are other candidates on the SmackDown roster that could get a shot at AJ and the picture will be clear after SmackDown.
Nikki Bella is back
One of the biggest takeaways from SummerSlam for SmackDown was the return of Nikki Bella. She returned to the mix after a long layoff from injury and her addition is a much-needed boost for the SmackDown Women’s division that recently lost Eva Marie due to a wellness policy violation.
Nikki Bella ended up on the winning side upon her return and with a new Women’s championship to be introduced into SmackDown; Nikki is now a big candidate to be the inaugural champion. The other upcoming superstars on the women’s division are likely going to react to Nikki’s return this week and they will not be happy about the same.
Lunatic needs a new challenger
Dean Ambrose retained his WWE championship in a convincing manner at SummerSlam by defeating Dolph Ziggler. Now that Ziggler got his chance and failed to capitalize on it, the chances of Ziggler getting another shot at the Lunatic Fringe are quite low.
This means that WWE will be looking for a new challenger for Ambrose and as Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan believes in giving opportunities for everyone, we might have some qualifier matches to determine the contender just like we had last time around.
Bray Wyatt is a front runner to get the shot at Ambrose as he had been close to the WWE championship scene for a long time now.
Update on Randy Orton
Randy Orton had a tough night at SummerSlam. He got dominated by Brock Lesnar throughout their match at SummerSlam and at the end of the match; Orton received a pretty bad cut on his head. With Brock Lesnar likely gone from the scenario, WWE will now have to rebuild the momentum and character of Orton from scratch.
It would be important from WWE’s side to give an update on Orton this week even if it is through a recorded video. Fans are likely to receive Orton with both hands if that is the case, and he might get some babyface mileage courtesy of what happened at SummerSlam against Lesnar.
Shane McMahon to address Brock Lesnar?
Brock Lesnar delivered a shocking performance at SummerSlam as he TKO’d Randy Orton and left the viper in a pool of his own blood. If this was not enough, Lesnar also went on to deliver an F-5 to Shane McMahon, who had come out to the aid of his superstar. If WWE lets the whole angle go without mentioning it on SmackDown, it would be a big surprise and at the same time, a waste of the situation they have in hand.
On the flipside, if Shane comes out to address what Lesnar did, WWE could make headlines with the segment and SmackDown will get the much-needed mainstream attention thanks to Brock Lesnar.
