5 Things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: Huge spoiler for Royal Rumble possibly revealed, 20-year veteran set to win Intercontinental title next?

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. It was the penultimate edition before the Royal Rumble 2022, and things amped up with some big stakes and big matches.

Seth Rollins even mentioned Jon Moxley fka Dean Ambrose, which was a nice moment given that he just made his incredible return to AEW TV. But that aside, it was an important episode that flew by with quality segments and stories. Here is what WWE subtly told us on SmackDown this week:

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#5. Seth Rollins' character arc and the aftermath of the SmackDown main event

Seth Rollins was in the first and last part of SmackDown this week. He brought Kevin Owens over from RAW, and it immediately led to a main event match-up. Of course, we're talking about the tag team main event as Rollins and Owens teamed up to face the longest-reigning SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos.

However, it wasn't any regular tag team bout, as there were big stakes involved. The match stipulated that if Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens won, then The Usos would be barred from ringside for the Universal title match at Royal Rumble. If Rollins and Owens lost, then the former would have had to forfeit his title opportunity at the upcoming premium live event.

The second situation was never happening. Given that WWE had to get a RAW Superstar to compete for the world title on SmackDown, it's clear that there is an overall lack of contenders for Roman Reigns.

Luckily for the company, Reigns has officially crossed Brock Lesnar to become the longest-reigning Universal Champion of all time, and the longest-reigning WWE World Champion of the 21st century.

The Architect and KO won, but it happened via a disqualification. Rollin was on the verge of a victory as he had just landed a stomp, but he would get taken out by Roman Reigns right before he could secure the pin.

For Seth Rollins, it made little difference as he still walked out victoriously, meaning that The Tribal Chief will have zero assistance at ringside for his title defense at the Royal Rumble. He laughed as Reigns walked away furiously, and the aftermath of all this is going to be interesting. Here are a few things WWE subtly hinted at:

1) Seth Rollins is essentially a babyface on SmackDown and a heel on RAW.

2) Seth Rollins' incredible record against Roman Reigns in world title matches could play into this.

3) Brock Lesnar could beat Bobby Lashley to retain the WWE title, while Seth Rollins could be the man to dethrone Roman Reigns.

The third one might seem a bit shocking, but usually, when the company crosses a record-breaking point, they don't wait too long to pull the switch. The New Day lost their RAW Tag Team titles to Cesaro and Sheamus in 2016 not long after they broke Demolition's record. AJ Styles lost the WWE title to Daniel Bryan in 2018 not long after he crossed the year-long mark.

A lot of things indicate that Reigns' incredible Universal title run is coming to an end soon.

#4. Sheamus' success on SmackDown and the next big step

Sheamus faced Ricochet in yet another rematch on SmackDown. He has been successful so far, and their feud was solely based around the botch at Day 1 where Ricochet accidentally stomped Ridge Holland's face, busting him up in the process.

This was a surprisingly one-sided bout with The Celtic Warrior squashing his opponent to pick up the win. However, it was one comment made by the commentators Pat McAfee and Michael Cole that hinted at his next big direction.

As you may know, Sheamus has accomplished all there is to in WWE, except for one thing - an Intercontinental Championship win. It's the only title that he hasn't won and it's keeping him from reaching Grand Slam Champion status.

The feud with Ricochet is done on SmackDown, or at least that is what was being indicated. It was mentioned that only the Intercontinental title is left for the Irish star to win, and it became clear that it's the direction he's heading in.

Shinsuke Nakamura's reign has been underwhelming again, which is no fault of his own. Nakamura and Rick Boogs had a backstage interaction with Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett - perhaps the most unimportant part of the show.

At this point, giving Sheamus an Intercontinental title run does no harm.

#3. Sonya Deville is set to face Naomi on SmackDown...or is she?

Are you getting infuriated every week on SmackDown with how Sonya Deville treats Naomi? If the answer is yes, then the storyline is working. Unfortunately, it seems to be one-sided for the most part, and we can only hope that the ultimate pay-off is Naomi destroying Deville and removing her from her seat of power.

This week, she had a chance to secure a title shot against SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair as she faced her in a non-title match. However, Deville was the "unexpected" special guest referee, and she called for the bell without Naomi even tapping out.

Adam Pearce was oddly calm about it all, and rather than punishing Deville for blatant abuse of power, he simply booked a match next week between her and Naomi.

There have been multiple instances where the match was supposed to happen, but it didn't for various reasons. Unfortunately, the same could happen next week as they are "finally" set to face off.

However, the pay-off may not be that abrupt. Hopefully, Naomi gets the big win when they eventually have a proper match, as it's the only right outcome.

#2. WWE officially switches feuds on SmackDown

Drew McIntyre feuded with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss on SmackDown while aligning with Jeff Hardy. The WWE legend got released, and it turned into a two-on-one feud, with McIntyre still getting the upper hand at Day 1. However, he was written off TV with an injury.

This forced another change, and Sir Kofi Kingston was the one who began to feud with Corbin and Moss last week. He suffered a shocking defeat to Madcap Moss last Friday, but got his retribution this week with a win back.

However, it was not without a little help from Big E, who was his support at ringside. We're not sure what the need to bring E over to the blue brand was, especially since he's a RAW Superstar and on a singles run.

In the case of Kevin Owens, it made storyline sense as he is aligned with Seth Rollins and had a high-stakes match against The Usos this week.

With that said, the feud with Corbin and Moss has now officially switched over, and Kofi Kingston has taken Drew McIntyre's place.

#1. Is WWE slowly building their next top female babyface on SmackDown?

Last week on SmackDown, Aliyah set the record for the fastest match in WWE history by beating Natalya. She looked to keep her momentum rolling this week in a rematch, but things didn't play out as expected.

For one, Aliyah won, but only by disqualification as Natalya's ruthless (and insecure) side came out. However, it was a set-up for Xia Li, who has been sparsely used since her debut on the blue brand.

We're not sure what the reason for the inconsistencies in her appearances are, but we can only hope that it's more frequent going forward from here. However, it's possible that WWE is choosing to build Aliyah as the next top female babyface of the company.

Apart from the Four Horsewomen, WWE established Bianca Belair as the next big homegrown star. Aliyah is not just a homegrown star, but she spent more time in developmental than most names before getting called up to the main roster.

This could be the start of something special, but will she sink or swim when being put in a big position?