WWE SmackDown Preview: Possible title change, The Fiend's next opponent revealed? (January 31st, 2020)

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE SmackDown Preview. It's the first episode after the Royal Rumble 2020, which means that the road to WrestleMania 36 begins on the Blue brand. While we feel that RAW has generally been a better show, all of that could change.

The runner-up of the Men's Royal Rumble match was SmackDown star Roman Reigns - who ended his feud with King Corbin earlier in a Falls Count Anywhere match. There have been a lot of rumors as to what lies ahead on the road to the show of shows, but tonight will start an exciting build.

No Championship changed hands and tonight, we have a major title match, possible title contenders decided, a new opponent for the Universal Champion Bray Wyatt, a major Royal Rumble 2020 rematch and more. Let's jump right into this week's WWE SmackDown Preview.

While you wait for the show, gear up by listening to what Kurt Angle has to say regarding NXT competing against RAW and SmackDown.

---

#5. Braun Strowman challenges Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship

A deserved title match

It's finally happening. After avoiding Braun Strowman on multiple occasions and then losing to him in a non-title match, Shinsuke Nakamura will defend the Intercontinental Championship against The Monster Among Men.

It's safe to assume that Strowman is the favorite, but the presence of Sami Zayn and Cesaro at ringside will prove to be a big hindrance. Either way, Strowman has victories over both Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura and tonight, we don't expect the shenanigans to pay off.

It's the first SmackDown after the Royal Rumble and there has to be something big to kickstart the road to WrestleMania. We can see a scenario where it's a squash match and Strowman wins the Intercontinental Championship.

Many have criticized Nakamura's title reign as an "underwhelming" one, an opinion that was more strongly echoed during his United States Championship reign in 2018.

#4. What's next for The Fiend?

The Fiend

The Fiend seemingly ended his rivalry with Daniel Bryan. In yet another outstanding match between the two, the Universal Champion proved to be an opponent that Bryan is unable to overcome. The same was the case many years ago and the former WWE Champion has no claim to another match.

We're more interested in knowing what lies ahead for Daniel Bryan. The entire series with The Fiend saw him lose and gain a lot of his identity but when it was all said and done, he wasn't able to overcome The Fiend no matter how close he seemingly came.

And so we expect The Fiend to walk into WrestleMania 36 as the Universal Champion, but before that, he likely has one more small rivalry in store. We fully expect Kane, Daniel Bryan's ally, to be the one to try and stop him.

While he's well past his prime and will stand little to no chance of winning, we can see it being the program for the coming month.

#3. A Royal Rumble rematch

Shorty G vs Sheamus

This is going to be a good one. We had hoped that we would get to see Sheamus vs Shorty G on the main card, but it was understandably put on the Kickoff show. There were a lot of matches, to begin with, and to sort out time constraints (as well as give fans a reason to tune into the Kickoff show), it had to take that spot.

Sheamus defeated Shorty G, or Chad Gable, as we would like to call him. They're going to get a better spotlight on free TV and they'll likely have more time in the ring as well. It's going to be an interesting contest with high stakes. Ultimately, it's all about having major momentum ahead of the road to WrestleMania 36 and Sheamus made it clear in his interview with Sportskeeda's own Gary Cassidy that he's gunning for the only accolade he's yet to win in WWE - the Intercontinental Championship.

This match could determine the next challenger for the Intercontinental Championship.

#2. A six-man tag team rematch

This needs to end

Admittedly, this is the one match that we're not very thrilled about seeing on the SmackDown card tonight. It's a rematch from last week's six-man tag team match that saw "The Bloodline" - Roman Reigns and The Usos against King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode.

The match went on for half an hour and it felt like it took up half the episode last week. Ultimately, Reigns beat King Corbin at the Royal Rumble opener in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Why there needs to be a rematch, we're not sure. The Usos got the victory for their team last week clean and Roman Reigns beat Corbin clean. This likely means the conclusion of the feud (or so we hope), as we simply don't see any point in this continuing. The winner of this match might be considered the "winner" of this feud and in all likeliness, it's going to be Reigns and The Usos.

There are bigger and better things waiting for both men on the road to WrestleMania.

#1. A Fatal-4-Way Tag Team Match to determine the SmackDown Tag Team Title #1 Contenders

The next top contender?

This is going to be exciting. Though we don't expect it to close the show, it has all the makings of a perfect main event. It's a Fatal-4-Way match to determine The New Day's SmackDown Tag Team Championship opponents at Super ShowDown on February 27th.

Heavy Machinery and The Lucha House Party have never been serious title contenders, which is why they'll hope to have a breakout moment. Otis can perhaps hope for some assistance from Mandy Rose to return the favor.

However, the major chunk of attention will be on The Revival and the old reunited tag team of John Morrison and The Miz. As you probably know, it's Morrison and The Miz who have been gaining serious momentum, with Morrison scoring victories over both Big E and Kofi Kingston while The Miz also beat the former WWE Champion.

With the momentum on their side, we expect this match to go their way and for them to become the next tag team title contenders. If all goes well, they could enter WrestleMania as the Tag Team Champions.