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

There is no question that SmackDown is in a period of transition. Night of Champions isn't even two weeks in the past, and there is still more than a month until Hell in a Cell.

Most feuds have yet to begin, meaning that this week's SmackDown promises to be an important one, as the build towards the next pay-per-view gets underway.

World heavyweight champion Sheamus is the flag bearer for the WWE's blue brand, but many have grown tired of his angle with Alberto Del Rio. After beating Del Rio once again at Night of Champions, however, it's quite likely that The Great White will be moving on to new prey.

The tag titles and United States title have also been featured prominently on SmackDown in recent weeks, so they promise to be part of the show as well.

In precisely what capacity is anyone's guess.

On top of that, talented stars outside the title picture such as Randy Orton, Wade Barrett and Dolph Ziggler are in limbo with no clear prospects ahead of them. How SmackDown uses them could certainly make or break the show this week and down the line.

Here are the top five things you should be looking for while watching this week's episode of SmackDown.

Will Sheamus' Next Challenger Be Determined?

It seems as though Sheamus has disposed of Alberto Del Rio once and for all, so he will in all likelihood need a new challenger for the world title.

I wouldn't put it past the writers to continue the feud with Del Rio, despite how boring and directionless it has become, but SmackDown has been so stagnant as of late that I have to believe change is in store.

As for who Sheamus' next challenger might be, there are a few options.

My pick would be Wade Barrett, since he has the most potential of anyone and would match up very well with Sheamus from a physical perspective. He hasn't done anything other than compete in squash matches since returning, though, so I'm not really optimistic it will be him.

Aside from Barrett, Big Show has been a name rumored to be involved in the title picture.

He returned after more than a month off on Monday and took out both Brodus Clay and Tensai. He wouldn't be an exciting choice, but at least he could help Sheamus get over as a dominant champion.

Randy Orton also has an outside shot, since he has been on the periphery of the world title scene. However, since he's a face, I doubt that he'll be named No. 1 contender. 

Are Kane and Daniel Bryan Set to Dominate the Show Again?

Considering the fact that the WWE tag division has largely been ignored by the writers for the past couple of years, the developments that took place on last week's episode of SmackDown were quite surprising.

Newly-crowned tag champions Kane and Daniel Bryan were the focal point of the show, and took center stage ahead of Sheamus and his world title.

Both Kane and Bryan had singles matches, in addition to a tag match against Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow that closed the show. I wouldn't expect them to be that prominent each and every week, but I'll be interested to see if they are a focal point yet again.

If they are, you certainly can't blame the creative team, as Kane and Bryan are through-the-roof in terms of popularity right now.

There is still a lot of work to be done with the tag division in order to get it back to where it was in its heyday, but I'm very encouraged by the steps that are being taken to make it relevant again.

Kane and Bryan aren't going to team forever, but they have what it takes to get people interested in tag wrestling. Therefore, I'm hoping that they continue to be used heavily moving forward.

Is Wade Barrett Ready to Make His Presence Known?

Wade Barrett has been back for a few weeks after nursing an elbow injury for several months, but he has yet to make the impact that I expected he would.

Barrett hasn't been with the WWE long, but he already has more main-event experience than most guys because of his involvement with Nexus. As a result, I feel like he should be thrust into the world heavyweight championship picture as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

If the writers planned on doing that, though, they probably would have pulled the trigger on it already.

Barrett's return could have been something special, but he came back a couple of weeks ago on a nondescript episode of SmackDown and promptly beat Yoshi Tatsu. Barrett then said that he was open for business, but all he has done since is take out Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd.

Barrett really should have come back at either SummerSlam or Night of Champions and attacked Sheamus following one of his matches. That would have been the obvious way to get Del Rio out of the picture and put Barrett into a high-profile spot immediately.

I'm not giving up hope that Barrett will become No. 1 contender, but I feel like another squash match is more likely.

How Will Randy Orton Be Utilized Moving Forward?

Randy Orton is unquestionably one of the most popular stars on the WWE roster, but there is no obvious spot available to him right now.

Since returning from suspension, he hasn't really done much aside from a quick feud with Dolph Ziggler, so the writers ought to find something more substantial for him. Even if that doesn't mean challenging for the world title, there are plenty of ways to use The Viper.

Orton and Ziggler could continue their feud, since Orton senselessly got the win at Night of Champions. Meanwhile, Ziggler has nothing on his horizon, either.

The only issue is, there isn't really any heat behind the feud. Therefore, something would have to be done to spruce it up. Regardless of that, both men are fantastic in-ring competitors, so I wouldn't be complaining too much if they had a few more matches with each other.

The only other option I see for Orton is Alberto Del Rio.

I'm assuming that Del Rio's pursuit of the world heavyweight championship is over, so that leaves him and Orton as two main-event-level guys with nothing to do in the main-event scene. They have had a couple of matches over the past month, so it would be fairly easy to start an angle between them.

Will Antonio Cesaro Finally Enter into a Real Feud?

While I have enjoyed the WWE's product since Night of Champions, one problem that I have is the lack of emphasis on midcard titles.

The Intercontinental belt used to be a stepping stone to the WWE title, and the United States title was a gateway to WCW's world title. However, at this point, those two titles mean very little in the current WWE landscape.

The United States title is featured more often on SmackDown than Raw. Therefore, I'm hoping that something positive is planned for it. Antonio Cesaro beat Santino Marella for the strap at SummerSlam, but he still hasn't been put in a real feud well over a month later.

Cesaro lost to Santino last week and dumped Aksana in the process, so it feels like Cesaro's lame angle with Santino may continue.

I'd rather see a United States championship No. 1 contender tournament, utilizing the vast array of midcard talent that SmackDown has.

Brodus Clay, Kofi Kingston, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Zack Ryder and many others would compete and make the U.S. title seem meaningful. I like Cesaro and think he has a lot of promise, but he won't get anywhere unless the United States title starts to elevate him.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter and listen to him on Ring Rust Radio.