WWE SmackDown: 5 Things to Watch for During This Week's Edition

With SummerSlam having come and gone, there is still plenty to settle on SmackDown this week, not least of which is the world heavyweight championship picture.

After a controversial result in the SummerSlam match between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio, SmackDown general manager Booker T will certainly have some decisions to make this week. Will Del Rio be granted yet another shot at the title due to the messy finish to the match, or will Booker decide to go in a different direction?

That won't be the only thing worth checking in on, either. Booker also has a new assistant in Eve. Booker and Eve are sure to clash with each other at some point, so it will be interesting to see how well they work together this week.

On top of that, SmackDown continues to serve as a platform on which midcard stars develop and thrive. There will be plenty such wrestlers to keep an eye on this week, including the new United States Champion Antonio Cesaro.

Here are the top five things that you should be on the lookout for while watching this week's post-SummerSlam edition of SmackDown.

How Will Booker T Address Alberto Del Rio's Grievance?

Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio have been feuding over the world heavyweight championship for the past few months, and it looked like things were finally going to come to a head at SummerSlam.

Sheamus retained the title yet again, but he did so in controversial fashion. Sheamus hit Del Rio with Ricardo Rodriguez's shoe, which was intended for Alberto, and then pinned him despite Del Rio's foot being on the ropes.

Referee Mike Chioda didn't see Del Rio's foot, so the pinfall decision stood. In a WWE.com exclusive interview after the match, Del Rio berated Chioda and claimed that he would file a formal protest with Booker T.

That will happen this week on SmackDown in all likelihood, so Booker is going to have to make an authoritative decision of some kind.

He could grant Del Rio an immediate rematch at Night of Champions or even on SmackDown, or he could choose to deny Del Rio's appeal and move on to the next guy.

As one of many fans who is tired of seeing Del Rio vs. Sheamus every single week, I'm hoping that Booker allows multiple superstars to get involved in the title scene. This would set up something like a triple threat or fatal four-way at Night of Champions next month.

How Will Randy Orton Figure into the World Heavyweight Championship Scene?

After returning from a 60-day suspension for violating the WWE's talent wellness policy, Randy Orton was surprisingly left off the SummerSlam card.

With that in mind, he really doesn't have much going on at the moment. The Viper did face and defeat Alberto Del Rio on Raw, however, following a distraction by Sheamus. Therefore, it stands to reason that he might wind up getting involved in the world heavyweight championship picture.

It has been almost a year since Orton last held the world title. He dropped it to Mark Henry at last year's Night of Champions event.

Regardless of the trials and tribulations that Orton has gone through recently, he is probably in the top three in the company in terms of popularity. For that reason, it would behoove the WWE to get him back near the top of the card.

I personally feel like Orton should be putting guys over in order to essentially pay off the debt of his suspension, but the world heavyweight championship scene is so dire that I wouldn't mind seeing him thrown into the mix.

Based upon what happened at Raw, I suspect that Orton will play some sort of role on SmackDown. Hopefully either he is named No. 1 contender or both he and Del Rio are allowed to pursue Sheamus' title.

How Will Eve Perform as Booker T's New Assistant?

Eve defeated Kaitlyn on last week's edition of SmackDown, which means that she is now the assistant to SmackDown general manager Booker T.

Senior adviser Teddy Long had been pushing for Kaitlyn to get the job, but putting Eve in that position should make for some interesting television.

Eve served under John Laurinaitis on Raw and was quite entertaining, so I'm anxious to see how she'll do on the blue brand.

Seeing as Booker is a face and Eve is a heel, there is sure to be some dissension from the onset. Also, Eve and Teddy have some bad blood based on the way Eve treated him when they were both part of the Laurinaitis cabinet. That rivalry should make for some funny moments as well.

I never thought of Eve as much more than a pretty face before, but once she turned heel and became an administrative character, my opinion of her changed completely. She truly thrived as Laurinaitis' assistant, and I feel like she can do the same under Booker T.

The SmackDown general manager situation was stale for a long time as Long was nothing more than a figurehead. However, with Booker now in charge and Eve in the fold as well, I'm definitely quite interested. I'm expecting Eve to be one of the more entertaining aspects of SmackDown moving forward.

Will Antonio Cesaro Make His First United States Title Defense?

Although Antonio Cesaro probably hasn't been utilized to the best of his ability thus far, he defeated Santino Marella on the SummerSlam pre-show to win the United States title on Sunday.

Santino had held the belt for more than 160 days, but didn't do much of anything with it, so Cesaro winning the title was definitely a positive change in my mind.

The challenge now is to get Cesaro involved in compelling angles so that both he and the championship can become relevant.

Cesaro didn't appear on Raw this week, but he has done most of his work on SmackDown anyway. I have to believe that he will be on the show, and perhaps might even have his first title defense.

Santino receives an obligatory rematch due to his "contract clause," and I'm guessing that match will take place on SmackDown.

If it does, hopefully Cesaro scores a decisive win so he can move on to the next guy and have a feud of interest. Also, I'd like to see Cesaro cut a promo. He has been lauded for his ability to speak, but hasn't been given adequate mic time in the WWE.

I'd like to see what he can do in that regard, and now that he has the United States title, there's reason for him to speak up.

Will Ryback Face a Legitimate Opponent?

Ryback has been dominating his opponents for the past several months and has gained some fan support, but he has yet to have a real match or feud.

Ryback graduated from defeating two local jobbers at once to defeating WWE jobbers, but he regressed on Raw when he went back to facing local talent.

However, in that match, Ryback was attacked by Jinder Mahal. The two have been loosely feuding over the last couple of weeks.

There is no question that Ryback is intriguing to watch since he's such a physical specimen, but unless he starts facing some actual threats, people aren't going to be interested for much longer.

I suppose a real feud with Mahal would be decent even though I'm not a fan of Mahal's by any stretch of the imagination. Nevertheless, if the creative team intends on doing that, then allow them to have a real match already.

Ryback has beaten Mahal by countout and disqualification, but he has yet to pull off a clean victory. I'd like to see Ryback and Mahal have a five-minute match in which Mahal gets in some offense, because Ryback can't be a one-trick pony in terms of squash matches.

Perhaps we'll finally get something like that on SmackDown, but it wouldn't surprise me if Ryback continued to beat jobbers as he has been.

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