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Sheamus! Ziggler! Orton! Del Rio! Spin the Bottle! World Heavyweight Championship!
Sheamus defeated Alberto Del Rio for the fourth time in five months at Night of Champions on Sunday (Sept. 16, 2012) to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The only reason it wasn't five matches in five months is because Sheamus gave Del Rio a concussion a week before their planned match at No Way Out. That is just far too much time for a feud to run, especially when the title doesn't change hands once. As amazing as Ricardo Rodriguez and David Otunga have been, they are only bit players. Sheamus and Del Rio needed to do the heavy lifting, and more often than not they failed to capture the fans' excitement.
Hopefully, though, things are changing! Sheamus is still the champion, but that can be taken from him in a moment's notice. Dolph Ziggler holds the 'Money in the Bank' briefcase, which grants him the right to challenge for the title at any time and place. Considering the average cash in occurs within two and a half months after winning the briefcase, Ziggler's time looks to be coming up soon.
On top of that, Randy Orton is still the most popular wrestler on the "Blue Brand." Although he will be starring in the second of three direct to home video titles that WWE are producing with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, entitled 12 Rounds: Reloaded, it looks like "The Viper" will still be appearing on SmackDown throughout filming. Maybe WWE isn't looking to give him the title right now. I would be shocked, though, if he isn't somehow in the main event mix.
Of course, there is always the chance that Alberto Del Rio will once again challenge Sheamus for the title. Which would be just... terrible?
Things are very much up in the air for SmackDown. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out.
The rest of the show after the jump.
Bryan! Kane! Hell No? Hell Yes! Tag Team Championship!
Daniel Bryan and Kane successfully retained the Tag Team Championship against Kofi Kingston and R-Truth last Monday (Sept. 17), and it looks like the duo will be getting a serious push working together. I fully believe that this is the best thing for the tag team division as a whole. These two wrestlers seem to actually care about the belts. The fact that they have the most entertaining angle means that the fans will care about them, as well. The team that is finally able to defeat them will truly get over, something that no group has done so far. The entire division has been a race to the middle. I think adding a few stand-out characters will work wonders.
However, Bryan and Kane do need a few tweaks if they are going to be together for a while. First off, is the matter of a team name, almost every great tag team has a team name. The backstage segments of them debating what to call themselves are right in their wheelhouse. The comedy basically writes itself.
Second, is a combined entrance; how awesome would a mash-up of Bryan's remixed Flight of the Valkyries and Kane's pyrotechnic be? Easily one of the most intense entrances in WWE, that's how awesome!
Eve! Layla! Kaitlyn! Mysterious Attacks! Conspiracy! Divas Championship!
Following Kaitlyn being attacked backstage at Night of Champions and Eve Torres taking her place to defeat Layla for the Divas Championship, Michael Cole aimed some heavy accusations at the SmackDown Assistant General Manager on Monday Night Raw. He wondered aloud if it was Eve who was behind Kaitlyn's injuries. That is a pretty serious claim to make with no evidence, but Cole don't care. He's going to ask the hard-hitting questions and demand answers when he sees potential wrongdoing. That's just the type of guy he is.
We will probably find out that it was indeed Eve who was behind the attack, but I would love if WWE finds another twist to this angle. Maybe Eve hired Derrick Bateman to carry out the her plan? Perhaps AJ Lee was jealous that her former best friend was getting some love while the Raw General Manager was being harassed and embarrassed? Or it could be that Maxine has come back to extract her revenge? All are possibilities!
But it will probably be revealed that Eve was the lone assailant. Oh well. At least the Divas are getting a decent storyline for once.
One More Thing!
There will be a WWE Hall of Famer returning to WWE tonight. I won't give away any spoilers, but it is safe to say that I think you know him.
Hopefully, this has helped get you prepared for the night's activities. Leave a comment about what you are looking forward to, and please join Nolan, myself, and the entire Friday Night gang during the live blog right here.