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

With Hell in a Cell now a little over a week away, things are heating up around the WWE, and that includes SmackDown. The World heavyweight championship feud between Sheamus and Big Show has been featured regularly on both shows as of late and will likely be the main focus for the blue brand this week.

Sheamus and Big Show have been trying to one-up each other ever since their match for Hell in a Cell was announced, and I expect that to continue on SmackDown. Most fans probably believe that The Great White will retain his title at the pay-per-view, but the WWE must make sure that it continues to portray Big Show as a credible threat.

In addition to Sheamus vs. Big Show, there are tons of midcard storylines worth keeping an eye on as well. The Miz, Dolph Ziggler and Antonio Cesaro are all in transition right now. It isn't clear what they'll be doing at Hell in a Cell, but perhaps we'll get more answers regarding those superstars on SmackDown.

Here are the top five things you should be watching for during this week's episode.

Will Sheamus or Big Show Stand Tall?

World heavyweight champion Sheamus and Big Show have traded haymakers over the past few weeks, and with Hell in a Cell on the horizon, it will be integral for one of them to stand tall on SmackDown.

Big Show looked strong last week, defeating Sheamus in a contest to determine whether his KO Punch was more powerful than the Brogue Kick, or vice versa.

Big Show has been made to look like a legitimate threat to defeat Sheamus throughout this feud, and although Sheamus has had his moments, I would say that Big Show has had the better of him to this point.

Sheamus has been dominant throughout his title reign and hasn't really even come close to losing, so building up Big Show makes a lot of sense.

The go-home edition of SmackDown isn't until next week, so gaining the upper hand this week isn't necessarily of the utmost importance. However, it would still be beneficial to either competitor.

Since Big Show has been in the driver's seat, my guess is that Sheamus will shine a little brighter this week. With that being said, Big Show is likely to get the rub next week heading into the pay-per-view.

What Is Next for The Miz?

I had high hopes for The Miz and the Intercontinental title when he took the strap from Christian on the 1,000th episode of Raw. However, he was booked terribly from that point forward and couldn't save the floundering title.

Miz's nondescript reign came to an end on this week's edition of Main Event, when he lost to Kofi Kingston, making Kofi a four-time Intercontinental champion.

The loss came as a bit of a surprise, since Kofi beat Miz on Raw as well, but the writers clearly wanted to transition the belt from Miz to Kofi in order to do bigger and better things with The Miz.

He still has a rematch clause in tow, though, so I'm guessing they will go at it one more time at Hell in a Cell. Of course, it's possible that The Miz invokes his rematch clause on SmackDown instead.

Whenever the match happens, I have to believe that it will result in another Kingston victory.

As much as I wanted Miz to elevate the IC title, I have been saying for the past month that he would be better off without it. Miz is a main-event-level star, and there may be a main-event void on SmackDown if Big Show loses, so hopefully Miz becomes Sheamus' next opponent.

Will Dolph Ziggler Get a Hell in a Cell Opponent?

Dolph Ziggler is Mr. Money in the Bank, which is almost a guarantee that he will be World heavyweight champion at some point in the next nine months.

However, right now, it appears as though he might be left off the Hell in a Cell card.

Truth be told, being left off the card completely may be the best option for The Show Off, who lost to Chris Jericho and Randy Orton on the past two pay-per-views respectively.

It's unbelievable how poorly Ziggler has been booked to this point, but I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that he has been left out in the cold. I thought that his Hell in a Cell opponent might be Ryback, and while he will face the monster on Main Event next week, Ryback was chosen to challenge for CM Punk's WWE title at Hell in a Cell instead.

Right now, my guess is that Ziggler won't have a match on the pay-per-view. There isn't a midcard face that makes sense to oppose him at the moment, and it would be best not to force it.

Ziggler will almost certainly try to cash in his Money in the Bank contract after the Sheamus match, but I believe he will be unable to do it, as has been the case many times already.

When Will Antonio Cesaro Start a Feud?

Antonio Cesaro has been the United States champion since SummerSlam, yet the closest thing to a feud that he has engaged in has been a few matches with Santino Marella.

The WWE has done a nice job of building him up as of late—he ditched Aksana and has scored wins over Brodus Clay, Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel among others—but the fans won't care if he isn't part of a storyline.

Cesaro is very impressive in the ring, and he has shown himself to be solid on the mic since dropping the five languages gimmick, but he is in no-man's land.

Perhaps the reason why he hasn't been placed in an angle is because there is a lack of credible midcard faces right now, but the creative team needs to figure something out.

It's crazy to think that he has been champion for a couple of months, but has yet to actually feud with anyone.

The best way to get Cesaro over as a heel is to play the European snob character and put him against a pro-American superstar.

I'm not sure who that might be, but maybe Jack Swagger can be brought back as a face to defend his country's honor. It would certainly be better than Cesaro doing nothing like he is now.

How Will the Eve vs. Teddy Long Saga Play Out?

Eve showed up Teddy Long yet again on last week's episode of SmackDown, as Layla and Kaitlyn accused her of wearing a blond wig and attacking Kaitlyn at Night of Champions.

Eve denied it and placed the wig on Teddy's head, saying that he was probably responsible. General manager Booker T was inept as ever, as he had no clue what was going on.

Eve is clearly trying to get Teddy fired, but Booker hasn't realized that, so I'm wondering exactly where this storyline is heading. Either Booker is going to get rid of Teddy, or it will be revealed that Eve was indeed behind the attack against Kaitlyn and she'll get the ax.

If nothing else, I have to give the writers credit for finally coming up with a somewhat compelling storyline involving the divas.

We probably won't get a blow-off for this entire situation until Hell in a Cell at the earliest, but perhaps some new information will come out this week. I'm not really sure what Eve is angling toward when it comes to getting Teddy fired, but it's something I'll be following nonetheless.

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