5 Things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown before Hell in a Cell: Big betrayal to take place before Money in the Bank, Major HIAC match result spoiled?

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. It was an enjoyable go-home episode of SmackDown to Hell in a Cell and just like the last pay-per-view, the blue brand has done better with the build.

The SmackDown before Hell in a Cell was special because it was announced that the match between Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio was going to happen on free TV rather than the pay-per-view.

While we'll cover all the segments, Seth Rollins vs Cesaro was made official for Hell in a Cell and the two had a sit-down backstage that ended with the latter shoving Rollins down. That aside, let's look at what happened on SmackDown this week:

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#5 Roman Reigns remains on top of SmackDown, but what's next?

Roman Reigns has a shadow looming over him

As quickly as Roman Reigns' SmackDown feud with Rey Mysterio started, it also ended. Mysterio challenged Roman Reigns to a Hell in a Cell match this Sunday. However, it was confirmed a day before this week's SmackDown that the match would be shifted to the blue brand on FOX and not the pay-per-view.

It was a bit of a surprising decision, but another match had the Hell in a Cell stipulation from SmackDown. Rey Mysterio first came out on SmackDown to ensure that the match was happening and Roman Reigns confirmed that it would.

It was a tense build to the main event, and once things began inside the cell, Roman Reigns found himself on the back foot. In this historic Hell In A Cell match on SmackDown, Roman Reigns managed to overcome Rey Mysterio.

It wasn't up there with the all-time great Hell in a Cell matches, but it wasn't bad either. What isn't flattering is seeing several commercial breaks in the middle of a Hell in a Cell match.

Either way, another notable incident was the absence of Jey Uso. Jimmy Uso came up to Roman Reigns and said that while he doesn't agree with everything he says, a lot of what he does is right. His duty was to find the absent Jey Uso, but he couldn't.

Ultimately, Jimmy Uso came out and raised Roman Reigns' hand. A huge betrayal seems to be brewing. Otherwise, why would Jimmy Uso freely go to his cousin? Perhaps that's the direction for Money in the Bank 2021.

#4 Bayley is going to hell, but was her fate sealed on SmackDown?

Bayley

After Roman Reigns vs Rey Mysterio was booked for SmackDown instead of Hell in a Cell, there was speculation that WWE would go with another match on SmackDown.

The answer was the SmackDown Women's Championship bout. Bianca Belair came out and challenged Bayley to a Hell in a Cell match. It was a good promo and the longest-reigning SmackDown Women's Champion, Bayley, came out and launched an assault - standing tall before her face was replicated on all screens of the ThunderDome.

It was a simple segment done right, and Bayley accepted the challenge. So for the second year in a row, Bayley is going to hell. The difference between this year and last is that in 2021, she will challenge for the title and not walk in as the Champion.

While her fortunes could change, the segment essentially spoiled the result for the match. Bianca Belair is almost guaranteed to walk out of Hell in a Cell with her SmackDown Women's title intact.

#3 Baron Corbin secedes his throne on SmackDown

King Nakamura without an asterisk next to his name

Shinsuke Nakamura may have been The King Of Strong Style before, but after SmackDown, he has officially been crowned. The feud between Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown took place over the course of more than one month and in that time, they garnered two wins apiece.

It was an unofficial best of five series on SmackDown, and it culminated this week, with the stipulation stating that the winner gets the crown. Shinsuke Nakamura managed to pick up the victory and became the new king of WWE.

This means that King Corbin is now back to being Baron Corbin, and King Nakamura is the newest one on SmackDown.

It will be interesting to see how this ties up with the rumored King Of The Ring tournament that's expected to take place at some point soon.

Perhaps this storyline will simply transition into a King Of The Ring tournament soon. But it's good that Shinsuke Nakamura won the rivalry on SmackDown. He needed it more than Corbin did.

#2 Otis could be in line for a big push on SmackDown

Otis was supposed to face Angelo Dawkins on SmackDown, but the match never happened. The Alpha Academy has been interesting to watch on SmackDown and Chad Gable and Otis have made a lot of progress.

Recently, they picked up a feud with former SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits. So far, they've looked much better thanks to Otis. But Chad Gable should be given credit as well.

A non-title feud like this is needed because SmackDown is quickly falling short of tag teams and title contenders. The Street Profits dominated the WWE Tag Team division throughout 2020 and they won't be affected by a loss.

If anything, Ford and Dawkins should put over The Alpha Academy to establish the latter team as legitimate SmackDown Tag Team title contenders.

It was good to see Otis playing the role of a wrecking ball and decimating Angelo Dawkins. It's a far road from where he was this time last year in 2020.

Will The Alpha Academy emerge into title contenders?

#1 Who will challenge for the Intercontinental title next on SmackDown?

Commander Azeez made a huge impact

In recent times on SmackDown, the three men that have challenged Apollo Crews' Intercontinental title were Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Big E. The latter seemed to exit the title picture, but he was involved in tag team matches with Kevin Owens.

After Sami Zayn took the fall last week, Apollo Crews booked a tag team match, replacing The Great Liberator with Commander Azeez. This decision ultimately paid off as the debuting Azeez got the pinfall over Kevin Owens.

This was, however, due to a distraction from Sami Zayn. Backstage on SmackDown, a furious Kevin Owens demanded to the authority figures to make a match with Zayn official for Hell in a Cell 2021.

It's going to be interesting to see how the match plays out and how it will eventually tie into SmackDown again. All three men still seem to be in the running for the Intercontinental title. As of now, Apollo Crews has no match at Hell in a Cell. At most, he might get a spot on the Kickoff show.

But is Big E still in the running on SmackDown? It's yet to be seen.