It was the penultimate episode of SmackDown to WWE Hell in a Cell 2021, and a lot happened to build hype to the pay-per-view. The central storyline, of course, was around Roman Reigns, who had tension with Jey Uso and beef to settle with Rey Mysterio.
Other than that, we've seen a lot of development on this week's show, and there's little doubt as to which brand has done better in the build heading into Hell in a Cell 2021.
One more Hell in a Cell match was more or less made official, and it will either be the opening match or the main event. Here are the best and worst bits from SmackDown this week:
#3 Best: An entertaining Intercontinental title picture on SmackDown
Apollo Crews teamed up with Sami Zayn to face Kevin Owens and Big E on SmackDown. It was a fun little match and Zayn ultimately ended up taking the pinfall and his team lost.
As Owens and Big E walked away from the ring celebrating, Crews put a halt to that. He demanded that they give him their attention and called Sami Zayn an idiot for having taken the fall. Instead, he proposed a match next week, and instead of The Great Liberator, it will be Commander Azeez making his (literally) huge in-ring debut on SmackDown.
A lot is going on about this storyline that is being done right. Firstly, you have a strong heel Champion in Apollo Crews, who has taken huge strides on SmackDown this year.
You have two rivals in Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn who are mixed into the picture (and not for the first time), while Big E seems to be in the background as well.
We assume that a Fatal Four-Way direction will continue from here and if so, we hope that it culminates at Hell in a Cell 2021. The feud is too entertaining not to warrant a multi-man title match.
#2 Worst: The Roman Reigns story on SmackDown
It's rare for us to say this, but the Roman Reigns storyline on SmackDown this week left a lot to be desired. The tension with Jimmy Uso kept dragging on, and there wasn't much clarity about what the next step was going to be.
Even the feud against Rey Mysterio wasn't built too well. Mysterio openly said that although he knows The Master Of The 619 will likely lose, he "still wants to fight". Why build a challenger who doesn't believe they're going to win? It was instant credibility thrown out of the window on SmackDown from the Lucha legend.
#2 Best: Liv Morgan's victory
Liv Morgan faced Carmella in a rematch, and this time around, she picked up the win on SmackDown. It was a good victory and a decent but short match overall. The only weird part about it was the post-match shenanigans by Carmella as she demanded that Greg Hamilton still declare her the most beautiful woman in WWE.
Either way, a Liv Morgan win is always great and hopefully she gets regular TV time and builds on her momentum.
#1 Worst: The Shinsuke Nakamura-King Corbin storyline
Shinsuke Nakamura and King Corbin faced each other for the fourth time, and the scores are now even at 2-2 after the Japanese star won on SmackDown this week. It was thanks to Rick Boogs that Nakamura managed to pick up the win with relative ease, and the feud is set to conclude soon in a battle for the crown.
While that part is good, the feud has gotten stale and it was an unnecessary part of the show.
#1 Best: Cesaro's return on SmackDown
Seth Rollins was a guest on Ding Dong Hello! and the segment was just him and Bayley laughing about their triumphs. After The Role Model played a video of Rollins' recent beatdown on Cesaro, the door knocked.
Cesaro returned for the first time since the attack and took out Seth Rollins. The overall segment wasn't great, but The Swiss Cyborg's return was a great payoff. Hopefully, he beats Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell and resumes his Universal title pursuit against Roman Reigns on SmackDown.