WWE SmackDown: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for Sept. 13

A flood of new champions will saunter into WWE SmackDown with gold in hand.

The Backlash pay-per-view on Sunday reset the SmackDown hierarchy. AJ Styles, Becky Lynch and the team of Heath Slater and Rhyno all walked out of the event with championship titles.

Celebrations are certain on the post-PPV SmackDown—but so are new challenges. Styles, Lynch, Slater and Rhyno will all now go from the hunters to the hunted. Those straps of leather and gold always come with targets attached.

The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia will host as Styles and the other champs start their reigns atop the blue brand. 

An ex-WWE Superstar is on his way back. Randy Orton is likely to have a markedly light load. Apollo Crews has a slide to stop.

Backstage reports, the SmackDown preview on WWE.com and a look at current storylines offer a look at what else to expect when SmackDown airs on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.

On Tap

Curt Hawkins' return is upon us. 

Vignettes have hyped the former tag team champion's arrival for weeks. And as announced on last week's SmackDown, Hawkins is officially set to rejoin the company on Tuesday.

Hawkins last wrestled for WWE in 2014. He had long been underutilized in many minds, as he was often relegated to the bottom of the card.

A fresh start begins in the New Era.

Just what his new gimmick will look like is unclear, though. His pre-return videos have been filled with The Most Interesting Man in the World-like hyperbole.

News, Potential Spoilers

The Miz and Dolph Ziggler may soon escalate their feud. After battling for the Intercontinental Championship at Backlash, a trip inside a steel structure may be ahead for the two rivals.

On Monday, Dave Meltzer reported on Figure Four Online, "Not sure if this will be announced for SmackDown tomorrow, but they were discussing a Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler cage match today. It also could be for the PPV on Oct. 9 in Sacramento."

Credit: WWE.com

Orton won't be doing any cage matches. The Viper is reportedly dealing with health issues that have cut back his involvement in the ring.

PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported Orton missed his scheduled Backlash showdown with Bray Wyatt due to a legitimate injury. Johnson wrote, "The belief of several that we have heard from is that thus far, that Orton has not consistently been able to pass the company's medical testing to the point where WWE's medical staff is comfortable with Orton taking bumps."

WWE felt he was healthy enough to deliver an RKO to Wyatt, though.

And Orton did compete in a tag match on Monday's house show in Fairfax, Virginia. However, The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show tweeted that his physicality in the match was severely limited:

As James Caldwell noted for PWTorch, Orton is advertised for Tuesday's show, as is John Cena. Cena, though, hasn't appeared on TV in three weeks. He has instead been relegated to working dark matches after the show goes off the air.

It's hard to imagine that WWE continues that strategy. 

SmackDown Streaks

American Alpha won't get a chance to keep its roll going.

The former NXT champs have been unbeatable in the early stages of their main-roster run. As seen on the team's CageMatch.net profile, Chad Gable and Jason Jordan's win over The Usos last week marked their fifth win in a row on SmackDown.

They earned a spot in the tag team tournament finals, but The Usos left Gable hobbled with a post-match attack. 

American Alpha's early record is a clear indication of WWE viewing it highly. As soon as the two are back on TV, count on them being in the title hunt.

Crews can't say the same thing.

He hasn't been booked as a contender of late. Per Cagematch.net, Crews is 0-3 in his last three SmackDown bouts. He also dropped a match to Baron Corbin on the Backlash pre-show.

Keep an eye on his record in the next few weeks. WWE could be cooling on the high-flyer. 

Backlash Fallout

Nikki Bella and Carmella are sure to be at each other's throats in Philly.

During the Six-Pack Challenge on Sunday's PPV, Carmella sneaked behind her rival and eliminated her from the match. Bella responded by smacking The Princess of Staten Island before exiting the ring.

That animosity promises to spill over to SmackDown. With those two colliding, the path to the new women's title will be less crowded.

The question of who will challenge Lynch in the coming weeks is likely to be answered on Tuesday night. The WWE.com SmackDown preview asked, "Which competitor (if not all of them) will step to Lynch in an attempt to get the first solo title opportunity?"

Another unclear situation involves the Wyatt-Orton rivalry.

With The Viper dealing with a reported head injury, how does WWE proceed with the story? At Backlash, the company slipped Kane into the narrative. Wyatt may focus on Kane for the moment or keep the rivalry with Orton a verbal one for now.

But something appears to be in the works. The SmackDown preview teased as much when it asked, "What will the self-proclaimed god do to rebound on SmackDown Live, and will Orton, or for that matter, Kane, pop up again to attempt to thwart his maniacal plans? 

In what is sure to be a much happier moment, Slater and Rhyno will celebrate becoming the inaugural SmackDown tag team champs.

After winning the tournament finals at Backlash with his powerhouse ally, Slater also earned a spot on the blue brand's roster. That will become official momentarily. As noted in the WWE.com preview, Slater will sign his SmackDown contract on Tuesday night.

Styles has reason to gloat as well. He is now the WWE world champ, thanks to a low blow that left Dean Ambrose floored.

Ambrose is certain to have a gripe about that finish. The SmackDown authority figures will, too.

The show's preview on WWE.com stated, "It is likely commissioner Shane McMahon and general manager Daniel Bryan will have something to say about Styles' decision to go low and the effect that action could have on everything they are trying to build."

And what of Cena? Is he going to come back to try to reclaim his title as The Face That Runs the Place?

The world title scene suddenly has a multitude of directions it can go. As the slow march to No Mercy on Oct. 9 begins, fans will be tuning in to see which one WWE takes.