WWE SmackDown: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for July 11

The United States Championship will be at the forefront on WWE SmackDown again.

In a stunning move, AJ Styles dethroned Kevin Owens at a live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Phenomenal One will now march into San Antonio, Texas, with the gold in his grasp, making Owens go on the hunt once more.

The blue brand has made a clear effort to highlight the U.S. title, and that appears to be the case for Tuesday's SmackDown. Styles' celebration and Owens' response promise to be major components of the show.

For Styles, KO and the rest of the SmackDown roster, all roads now lead to the July 23 pay-per-view, Battleground.

Tuesday's show has to address the women's title picture, a brewing feud between former NXT standouts and the upcoming Punjabi Prison match. Where will SmackDown be shorthanded? What collisions can fans expect to see ahead of the PPV?

Backstage news, storyline analysis and the SmackDown preview on WWE.com help those questions. Read on for a full preview of Tuesday's show before it kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network.

News, Potential Spoilers

The tag team division won't be at full strength in San Antonio.

Primo of The Colons is apparently nursing a bad leg. Connor Casey of Pro Wrestling Sheet reported, "The former WWE tag champ recently injured his knee and is scheduled to have it surgically repaired soon."

That could open the door for The Ascension to nab some added airtime.

Randy Orton doesn't appear to be headed to this SmackDown, either. Dave Meltzer noted for Figure Four Online at the end of June, "Orton will be missing some shows in July. He is filming a movie called Changeland that Seth Green is doing in Thailand."

WWE will then have to hype his world title match with Jinder Mahal without him. Creativity will be key in that case.

According to Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Gary Stonehouse of The Sun), WWE is reportedly planning for Styles to face Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam. If that's the case, we could soon see teases of that contest. 

SmackDown Streaks

Naomi's feud with Lana hasn't produced any classics, but it sure has padded her record.

The SmackDown titleholder knocked off Lana in mere seconds last Tuesday. That marked Naomi's fourth win in a row, per CageMatch.net.

It's good to see the champ dominate like that at times, helping to make her look more formidable.

Luke Harper hasn't looked like that for a while. In last week's Battle Royal, he came up short, something we've seen a good amount from him lately. He has now lost four consecutive matches on SmackDown, per CageMatch.net.

In fact, his winning percentage on TV and PPV in 2017 is a paltry .143.

Not everyone can get the Asuka treatment, but it's baffling that WWE has allowed Harper to be this low on the food chain. He could be a potential keystone for the brand, not just someone who gets toppled again and again.

Battleground Nearing

Now that Naomi has blasted Lana out of the SmackDown Women's Championship picture, it's time to settle on who will face the champ at Battleground.

Credit: WWE.com

Carmella lurks with the Money in the Bank briefcase in hand. Charlotte Flair never got to finish her rivalry with Naomi. Beyond that, there's always the option of pushing the veteran Natalya as a contender.

Things promise to get settled in a hurry as Battleground is now less than two weeks away.

Nakamura and Baron Corbin are on a collision course for the PPV. The Lone Wolf has made an enemy of Nakamura beginning with a pre-bout assault before the Money in the Bank ladder match last month. He then bashed The King of Strong Style with his Money in the Bank briefcase last Tuesday.

Their intensifying rivalry is sure to get some spotlight on SmackDown.

Nakamura may be charging toward one of the blue brand's titles come SummerSlam. Tangling with Corbin can be a key step in that process.

John Cena won't be focusing on titles for the moment. He has his mind on love of country and taking down Rusev once again.

The megastar returned from a long hiatus on the last edition of SmackDown and soon found himself trading verbal jabs with The Bulgarian Brute.

A flag match between is now set for Battleground. One can expect some focus on that bout Tuesday night as WWE looks to take advantage of having Cena around again. 

The biggest story of SmackDown, though, will be Styles' U.S. title win and how Owens will react to it. 

The SmackDown preview on WWE.com teased that a rematch is on the way. It reads, "There is no doubt that Owens will return to Team Blue thirsty for retribution, but will we see a rematch between Styles and The New Face of America this week on the blue brand?"

A seething KO and a triumphant Styles are sure to meet in some fashion in San Antonio, but the safe bet is that the next bout happens at Battleground. WWE has a PPV card to construct and another go-round between these two talents would boost the event in a big way.