WWE SmackDown: Burning Questions to Address After November 1 Show

The road WWE SmackDown is taking to Survivor Series and beyond is foggy. It's hard to know what's ahead for Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and others.

Bryan, SmackDown's general manager, further stirred things up with The Miz on Tuesday's show. Those two are clearly on a collision course, but just what will that look like? What kind of climax can this narrative have?

As for Ziggler, he called out the Raw roster on the Nov. 1 SmackDown. Suddenly, a whole host of Superstars could be in line for a shot at the Intercontinental Championship.

Questions also emerged in regard to the blue brand's supporting cast. What mark will Natalya make on the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Nov. 20? Is James Ellsworth's part in the AJ Styles-Dean Ambrose rivalry over? 

Let's dive in and break down what remains unanswered after Tuesday's SmackDown.

Who Will Answer Dolph Ziggler's Open Challenge?

The Miz didn't take his rematch last week when The Showoff offered it. That decision is going to cost him the spot at the front of the line.

Ziggler won't be facing his rival at Survivor Series. Instead, after an open challenge that he issued Tuesday night, he is set to take on someone from the Raw roster:

That will play up Survivor Series' Raw-against-SmackDown theme and offer someone who doesn't make Raw's male Superstar team an opportunity to get on the PPV. But who will get that crack at the gold?

WWE has a number of intriguing options to choose from. Fightbooth PW posted a poll that laid out some of these: 

Sami Zayn isn't on the Raw Survivor Series team, but his rival Braun Strowman is. That may mean he gets a chance to put on a thriller against The Showoff.

Neville has been spinning his wheels with no storyline for months. An Intercontinental Championship clash would be the biggest thing he's done in a long time.

How Will Natalya Impact SmackDown's Survivor Series Team as Coach?

Natalya lost out on her chance to be on SmackDown's female Survivor Series team as a wrestler when she fell to Nikki Bella last week. Naomi took the fifth and final spot instead. But Natalya's still headed for the PPV.

On Tuesday's SmackDown, Natalya convinced Bryan to let her be the squad's coach.

How will that affect the match? Will Natalya just be window dressing, a cheerleader at ringside and little else? Or will WWE use this to start a feud between her and one of the other women?

In a post-SmackDown interview, Bella said that having Natalya as a coach "will be very amazing." But during that endorsement, she also threw in how she has surpassed Natalya and beaten her.

Perhaps that's a touch of foreshadowing to another clash between them. Maybe this coaching gig will lead to a story where the struggling Natalya grows jealous of the women on the team.

Anything would be better than have her quote pop lyrics each week, as she's been doing of late.

Is This the End of the James Ellsworth Saga?

Ellsworth has transformed from jobber to integral part of SmackDown's main event. He has been a supporting player in the Styles-Ambrose feud for weeks now.

Each time he appeared on the blue brand, it felt safe to assume it would be his last. Is that true this time around?

A desperate Ellsworth wanted badly to make up for costing Ambrose a shot at the No. 1 contender's spot last week. He evaded security and ignored Bryan's orders to charge out to the ring to help The Lunatic Fringe.

He ended up aiding Ambrose, earning redemption in the process. As security dragged him away, a sly smile of contentment spread across his face.

That would be a great place to stop his involvement with this story. That moment felt like a climax. And having Ellsworth step away now would end his narrative on a high note.

WWE runs the risk of stretching this angle too thin if Ellsworth sticks around. But fans have so glommed onto the year's most surprising star that the company may be tempted to see if it can keep this thing going.

   
Where is All the Bryan-Miz Tension Headed?

Bryan and The Miz shared more animosity on Tuesday's SmackDown.

The GM purposely left The Miz off the brand's Survivor Series team. He then rubbed that snub in his face. The Miz growled at Bryan and insulted him, to the point where the former world champ pushed over furniture and looked ready to fight.

This was just the latest chapter in a intensifying feud between authority figure and Superstar.

The Miz has bashed Bryan on Talking Smack. He's threatened to hold out unless he got a new deal. Bryan has not hidden his dislike for The Miz.

What's the endgame here? Where does all this lead?

Fightful wondered aloud if a match between them is on the horizon:

"

This has to be leading to a match with Miz and Bryan, right??? #SDLive

— Fightful.com MMA/WWE (@FightfulOnline) November 2, 2016"

Bryan is retired, though. It's not as if the concussion issues that took him out of wrestling will go away, either.

It's also hard to believe WWE would book Bryan's big comeback match against The Miz. Even as hot as The Miz is right now, there are so many more compelling options for the former world champ.

Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar. Bryan vs. Styles. Bryan vs. Kevin Owens.

There is likely something else at play. Perhaps Bryan has a proxy fight for him or The Miz will get traded to Raw. But something is definitely brewing, and it promises to be big.