Who Attacked Jacob Fatu? Ilja Dragunov's Next Feud, More WWE, AEW Reaction

Just as WWE SmackDown seems to be heating up again, Jacob Fatu will be forced to miss out on the excitement for the foreseeable future after being written off television on Friday's episode.

His No. 1 Contender's match for the Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre never came to fruition after Fatu was discovered backstage bloodied and beaten up with multiple teeth covering the floor. Per PWInsider, he's been temporarily sidelined as a result of a real-life dental procedure but is believed to be back soon enough.

The mystery of who attacked the former Bloodline member ensures he'll still be factored into the main event mix upon his return.

Friday's eventful episode of the blue brand also saw Ilja Dragunov resurface following a long injury layoff and instantly capture the United States Championship in a hard-hitting war with Sami Zayn. It was perhaps the perfect way to reintroduce The Mad Dragon and establish him as a force to be reckoned with out of the gate.

Now the question is whether he can sustain the hot momentum Zayn created during his brief yet thrilling run with the star-spangled prize.

From Dragunov's next feud to Seth Rollins' injury being a blessing in disguise, these are the top takeaways from the week that was in wrestling.

Best Potential Options for Jacob Fatu's Mystery Assailant

Jacob Fatu has been long overdue for a move to the main event scene on SmackDown, which is why his upcoming hiatus couldn't have come at a worse time.

Regardless of how long he'll be out for, WWE all but confirmed on Friday's episode that he'll have direction once he's cleared to compete with it being revealed that Fatu was attacked in storyline—an angle Drew McIntyre clearly wasn't interested in taking credit for.

Of course, with Fatu and McIntyre already being embroiled in a feud going into SmackDown, The Scottish Warrior would be the obvious choice, albeit an underwhelming one.

It would be much more shocking for Cody Rhodes to come forward as the mystery assailant eventually with his logic being that he doesn't have to deal with Fatu anytime soon, but unless Fatu is out long-term, turning The American Nightmare heel until it's absolutely necessary would be the wrong call.

That leaves Randy Orton as the strongest potential candidate, especially if a heel turn is on the horizon for him as it should be. He can feud with Rhodes over the Undisputed WWE Championship in the coming months but can settle into a storyline with Fatu at the onset of the new year that can culminate at WrestleMania 42.

It'd be an excellent use of Fatu ahead of his anticipated push toward the top title.

Seth Rollins' Injury Will Be Blessing in Disguise

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WWE Raw has been built entirely around Seth Rollins since he first forged an alliance with Paul Heyman at WrestleMania 41, though he has been the MVP of the red brand for a lot longer than that.

Despite later recruiting Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed into their ranks to form The Vision, Rollins never quite found his footing as a heel. Even his exceptionally executed Money in the Bank cash-in at SummerSlam where he feigned an injury to win the World Heavyweight Championship from CM Punk was not followed up on accordingly.

The group was just starting to gel when it abruptly exiled Rollins on the post-Crown Jewel edition of Raw, apparently out of necessity with The Visionary suffering an injury during his bout with Cody Rhodes in Australia the weekend prior.

If he is out until at least WrestleMania 42, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the focus of Raw's main event scene will be forced to shift away the self-proclaimed visionary—and he'll be better off for it.

Rollins should undoubtedly remain a heel when he's ready to return, but there was very little about his character before he got hurt that was remotely interesting. He needed that betrayal from Breakker to freshen up his stagnant act and go back to being an anti-hero.

Breakker and Reed can excel in his absence and steal the spotlight for the next several months, which should give a returning Rollins motivation to truly reinvent himself for the first time in years.

WWE's Next Saturday Night's Main Event Can Be the Most Important One Yet

In theory, the return of WWE's quarterly Saturday Night's Main Event shows this year should have served as smaller premium live events during months when there were none.

Instead of cutting down on its annual amount of PLEs, WWE has added SNMEs to the stacked schedule and in turn made everything feel less special.

Some PLEs are stronger than others, but the SNMEs as a whole have been predictable and uneventful outside of Goldberg's retirement match on the last installment in July. It would be easy for WWE to phone in the next installment on Nov. 1 mere weeks ahead of Survivor Series: WarGames, but the potential is there for it to be the most important one yet if booked properly.

If Seth Rollins is out indefinitely, another marquee match pitting him against CM Punk at the show is evidently off the table. Since Punk already earned a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship on last week's Raw, the next SNME should be where he faces a credible challenger in Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed or someone else from the Raw roster to determine the new champ.

That alone will make SNME worthwhile, but WWE can double down by making it a must-see event by booking Drew McIntyre to win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes as well.

Doing so would effectively get Rhodes back in chase mode, reinvigorate the McIntyre character, leave fans buzzing about a second massive title change in the same night and set the stage for an equally exhilarating Survivor Series.

What Is AEW's Endgame with Mercedes Moné?

Kris Statlander's reign as AEW women's world champion is far from safe despite her decisive win over former champ "Timeless" Toni Storm at WrestleDream this past Saturday.

She was immediately confronted by Mercedes Moné, who went on to dethrone Mina Shirakawa for the ROH Interim Women's World Television Championship. Moné then challenged Statlander for her AEW Women's World title at Full Gear in a backstage segment later in the show.

Moné previously unsuccessfully challenged Storm for the title at All In and it was the only singles loss she's suffered in AEW thus far. So, it's unlikely she's being set up to be beaten again at Full Gear, even though Statlander finally beating The CEO after losing to her twice last year would be the correct outcome.

The biggest question is what AEW is ultimately aiming to accomplish with Moné at this point by keeping her dominant with an absurd amount of belts at her disposal. She's fresh off breaking Jade Cargill's record as the longest-reigning AEW TBS champion ever, so she should be free and clear to drop that piece of hardware any day now.

However, AEW hasn't begun to build up anyone for that spot, leaving Statlander and Moné as the only ones to capable of carrying the division.

The CEO taking the title from Statlander so soon would be a waste of what AEW has in the champion at the moment.

Moné's character can't evolve until she's made to look even the slightest bit vulnerable and put in a program worthy of the audience's investment.

Projecting Ilja Dragunov's First Feuds as US Champion

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It's not often WWE takes an aggressive approach when attempting to make a new star, but that was very much the case with the way Ilja Dragunov was handled on Friday's SmackDown.

Answering Sami Zayn's United States Championship open challenge and having such a stellar showing would have caused his stock to skyrocket no matter what, but beating Zayn for the title cemented him as one to watch on the blue brand going forward.

Dragunov is an exceptional performer from bell to bell and arguably one of the very best in the entire company, but he and the championship will only be as important as however WWE present them to be.

Zayn did an exemplary job of making the title mean something again in a seven-week span and Dragunov can continue to do the same, even if he isn't necessarily defending it on a weekly basis. SmackDown's midcard scene is deep enough that he shouldn't struggle to find credible competition.

Knocking off the threat of Solo Sikoa should be Dragunov's first order of business, along with granting Zayn a proper rematch and running it back with him on a suitable stage.

From there, his first real rivalry should be with Aleister Black, whose recent Last Man Standing win over Damian Priest should be enough to put him in contention. Carmelo Hayes, Rey Fenix and Santos Escobar will all be compelling opponents in due time but need to rack up some victories in advance.

Dragunov is well on his way to becoming a can't-miss attraction on Friday nights if he's showcased weekly and allowed to go all-out in classic Mad Dragon fashion.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.