WWE Hell in a Cell 2017: Predictions for Jinder Mahal, AJ Styles and Each Champ

SmackDown's latest pay-per-view event, WWE Hell in a Cell 2017, is scheduled for Sunday, October 8, at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

As with most of the blue brand's special shows, all of the titles will be on the line throughout the night, although only one of them will actually be in the titular Hell in a Cell match.

That match will see The New Day defend their SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Usos for what is being billed as their final bout to end the feud for good.

Meanwhile, Baron Corbin will seek to undo his recent string of bad luck by capturing the United States Championship from AJ Styles.

To round things out, Natalya will be trying to hold on to her women's title while up against a motivated Charlotte Flair, and Jinder Mahal may have nothing left to laugh about once Shinsuke Nakamura is done with him.

With all these champions up against the wall, who is going to walk out of Hell in a Cell with the belts and which challengers will come up short?

Let's gaze into our crystal ball and give our predictions for how these title matches will play out and where the belts will end up.

SmackDown Women's Champion Natalya

Credit: WWE.com

Ever since Charlotte moved over to SmackDown in the Superstar Shake-Up, it's felt like it is just a matter of time before she's the champion of the brand.

Surprisingly, all this time has gone by without her obtaining the strap, but that could all come to an end at Hell in a Cell.

Now that Ric Flair's health issues are under control, Charlotte is back to in-ring competition and was immediately thrust into the title hunt, which may be a sign that WWE will cut straight to the chase.

Natalya only relatively recently won the championship from Naomi, and for her to drop the title so fast would seem like a bit of a transitional reign and nothing more, but that's just what happens sometimes.

In the end, it's better to win the title and lose it rather quickly than it is to never win it at all, so Natalya's fans should look on the optimistic side of that equation.

Charlotte's fans, on the other hand, will be much more boisterous when she takes the title from Natalya here and starts what is likely a reign that will last well into WrestleMania 34 season.

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day

Credit: WWE.com

After having so, so many matches together on pay-per-views and on television episodes, The New Day and The Usos are finally ending their feud in one of the two Hell in a Cell matches of the evening.

Since this has been officially dubbed the finale of their program together, the smart bet is that Jimmy and Jey Uso will come up short and the titles will stay right where they are.

The New Day were always going to be the priority of the tag team division on SmackDown once moving over to the brand, similar to Charlotte Flair's situation, so for them to remain champions is a must in order for that to continue.

The Usos had their time with the titles earlier in the year and even won them back from The New Day to help prolong the feud, but it's time for them to step aside while a new team of contenders enters the fray.

The Hype Bros are teasing a possible heel turn, The Colons should be ready to go soon, there's always a chance Luke Harper and Erick Rowan re-team and we may even see a duo like The Authors of Pain move up to the main roster to help keep feuds fresh for The New Day in the coming months.

Meanwhile, since The Usos have already feuded with Breezango, the only team left for them to reasonably fight is Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, who haven't been receiving enough of a push to justify being the next in line for a title shot.

All this boils down to The New Day coming out on top and holding on to the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at least until Survivor Series, if not much longer.

United States Champion AJ Styles

Credit: WWE.com

Baron Corbin has had a pretty rough year once you actually break down his wins and losses.

While he was a contender for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 33, he was unsuccessful and bumped to the pre-show of that event.

He then followed that up with some losses to Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura, even while holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, which he failed to cash in before losing another match to John Cena.

By now, Corbin is in need of a big victory to wash off the stench of these losses, and the United States Championship is the perfect remedy for the situation.

AJ Styles has the pedigree, the experience and the popularity edge over The Lone Wolf, but The Phenomenal One doesn't need the title anywhere near as much.

Plus, if WWE wishes to put the biggest possible match from SmackDown's roster on the WrestleMania 34 card, it will have to be Styles vs. Nakamura for the WWE Championship, and in order for that to happen, Styles can't keep this title forever.

He might as well drop it now to help course correct Corbin's career, as Styles will assuredly bounce back in no time despite taking this loss.

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal

Credit: WWE.com

Following up from the AJ Styles situation, if Shinsuke Nakamura could potentially get a major push during WrestleMania season either by winning the Royal Rumble or the Elimination Chamber to earn a title shot at the biggest show of the year, he has to take a loss here.

Nakamura's ascent to the top of the division won't mean anywhere near as much if he's already won the WWE Championship earlier than that, particularly in what is such a mediocre feud like this one with Jinder Mahal.

WWE has resorted to playing the race card to try to inject some heat into this program, and it still hasn't gotten things over as much as hoped, but what attention the title hunt does garner certainly has to revolve around Mahal staying champion.

If Nakamura were to win, his greatest challengers on the heel side would be Rusev—a total loser at the moment—and Kevin Owens, who he already had a bit of a feud with several months ago.

Mahal, on the other hand, still has Styles, the possibility of John Cena, Sami Zayn and Bobby Roode, allowing much more flexibility.

It may upset Nakamura's fans, but given the circumstances, Mahal is the better option to leave Hell in a Cell as WWE champion, and unless there are some big shakeups in store for SmackDown, that is likely the scenario WWE has cooked up for this Sunday.

Who do you think will be the champions following Hell in a Cell? Tell us your predictions in the comments section below!

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.