WWE SmackDown preview (Oct. 8, 2021): They missed the proper exit point on the Edge/Rollins feud

SmackDown airs tonight (Oct. 8) live from the Sap Center in San Jose, California. This is the second SmackDown episode during the three week build towards Crown Jewel on October 21.

WWE missed the proper exit point on the Edge/Rollins feud

The feud between Edge and Seth Rollins has been one of the best things going in WWE for the last two months. The promos have been compelling, the matches have been fantastic, and both men are performing at the highest level.

The angle where Seth Rollins sent Edge out on a stretcher at Madison Square Garden last month should have been a temporary exit point for their feud. Rollins could have capped it off well enough with his interview the following week where he explained that he used a legal move to finish Edge off, so what else was he supposed to do?

Instead, Rollins demanded one more match with Edge, because just like homicidal Goldberg, he presumably won’t be satisfied until he murders the guy? The idea is Rollins’ ego is so out of control that he can’t move on until Edge admits Seth is better than him and is no Edge-lite. Edge will never do that, so Rollins has no choice but to punish him further.

That led to Edge’s return last week, where he showed zero signs of injury. A silly home invasion angle ensued where Rollins drank Edge’s orange juice and lounged around his empty house like a weirdo. Edge called his AEW buddies to handle the situation, and we never saw a resolution.

This is the point where it became clear WWE missed the proper exit point on this story. With Crown Jewel coming up in two weeks, it seems likely that another match between Edge and Rollins will be booked for that card, so that’s why Edge’s return was rushed and WWE had to come up with another angle to keep this going.

Both performers are still great and their next match should deliver, but this story needed to breathe a little bit here. It’s too bad WWE’s busy pay-per-view schedule won’t allow that to happen. Hopefully tonight’s episode will get this one back on track after last week’s miss.

The title scene

There will be a contract signing tonight for the upcoming SmackDown women’s championship match at Crown Jewel. Which one of Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, or Sasha Banks will be the first woman to strike in the middle of what should theoretically be a non-violent segment?

Roman Reigns ordered the Usos to leave Paul Heyman for dead at Raw if he failed to ensure the Bloodline remained together in the WWE Draft. The SmackDown tag team champions were indeed drafted to Roman’s show in the very first round of the second night of the draft, so it appears that Paul worked his wise man magic and can now brag about his success.

Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar is not advertised for tonight’s show. If The Beast isn’t around, will Universal champion Reigns go back to kicking Montez Ford or Finn Balor’s ass one more night for the sake of asserting his dominance on Friday nights?

With Apollo Crews out of the way, Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura can probably look ahead to the King of the Ring tournament and make sure nobody tries to dispute his position as the one true king of WWE.

Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. are the only women’s team left in WWE following the draft results. But roster changes do not go into effect for a couple more weeks. Wouldn’t it be something if Shotzi & Nox finally get their shot at the Women’s tag team titles during this lame duck period where it doesn’t make much sense for them to win?

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- The King of the Ring tournament kicks off tonight with Rey Mysterio vs. Sami Zayn. Zayn has no chance in hell of winning the tourney if the rumors about the finals occurring in Saudi Arabia are correct.

- The Queen’s Crown tournament also begins tonight. Liv Morgan and Carmella are set to continue their feud in a first round match. Will the self-professed “most beautiful woman in all of WWE” pay for last week’s attack on Liv?

- Is it too much to ask WWE for the brackets for the King of the Ring and Queen Crown’s tournaments before these first round matches take place?

- Happy Corbin and his new henchman Madcap Moss have corny jokes that warrant a punch in the face. Will Kevin Owens pursue another fight with these guys following last week’s loss to Corbin?

- The new WWE rosters don’t go into effect until Oct. 22. That gives Finn Balor two episodes of SmackDown to resurface and demand an explanation for what happened to him at Extreme Rules. Good luck getting any answers, Finn.

What will you be looking for on SmackDown tonight?