The summer is heating up over on the Blue Brand.
This week, WWE "SmackDown Live" emanates live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville as the countdown to SummerSlam begins. "The Biggest Event of the Summer" will take place in 19 days on Aug. 21 live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Over on commissioner Shane McMahon and general manager Daniel Bryan's "SmackDown Live," the road to the WWE's second-biggest event of the year is already full of storylines.
Here are five things to watch for this week on "SmackDown Live."
1) Title Wave
Dolph Ziggler defeated John Cena, AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews in a Six Pack Challenge match on last week's show to become the No. 1 contender for Dean Ambrose's WWE Championship at SummerSlam. This week, the WWE will continue the build toward that feud and the "Lunatic Fringe" will react to having to face "The Showoff." Though many fans have pined for Ziggler to get an opportunity like this, he had many detractors and recently addressed them on Twitter.
2) Viper Vengeance
Randy Orton is a member of the Blue Brand, but he appeared on "Monday Night RAW" this week to spoil Brock Lesnar's return to television. "The Beast" was making his first appearance in a WWE ring since WrestleMania 32 in April and it was also his first time back since his controversial win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200. Now that Orton had crossed onto another show, it's possible Lesnar could be seeking revenge by coming to "SmackDown Live" to confront his SummerSlam opponent.
3) Styles Clash
It was a rough start to the New Era for AJ Styles as he absorbed the pin during the Six Pack Challenge match last week. Still, it seems there are big things in Styles' future. There has been a lot of speculation that "The Phenomenal One" will face John Cena at SummerSlam, and the momentum toward that bout should continue this week.
4) Riveting Returns
Some old faces have made a comeback to help make the "SmackDown" brand even deeper. Rhyno made his return on last week's show, delivering a Gore to free agent Heath Slater and making his mark. It was later revealed that former Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin is also set to return to the company soon. On the debut front, American Alpha will get their main roster careers underway.
5) SummerSlam Scores
There are a lot of scores to be settled on the "SmackDown" brand, but only one all-blue match has been announced for the show, and that's Ambrose vs. Ziggler. Orton will of course take on Lesnar, but "The Biggest Event of the Summer" is up in the air on the "SmackDown Live" side of things. Perhaps this week the WWE will announce more "SmackDown Live" matches for the Aug. 21 event this week.
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