WWE SmackDown: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for July 25

Battleground rearranged the WWE SmackDown championship hierarchy. 

On the first episode after Sunday's pay-per-view, The New Day will saunter in with the tag team titles in hand, and Kevin Owens will have plenty to gloat about after recapturing the United States Championship. Jinder Mahal will be in celebration mode, as well, after fending off his latest challenger.

For The Maharaja and the blue brand's other titleholders, the focus will quickly shift from Battleground's aftershocks to constructing the SummerSlam card.

The first step on the road to the August 20 blockbuster will begin in The Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia.  

What rivalries will roll on? Where might we expect new contenders to emerge?

Before the latest show airs on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network, we break down what's ahead for the blue brand with info culled from backstage news, storyline analysis and the SmackDown preview on WWE.com.

News, Potential Spoilers

The WWE's plans for AJ Styles and Owens may be in flux.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Nick Hausman of Wrestle Zone), the company changed the ending to their U.S. title match at Battleground at the last minute. KO came away with the title.

Credit: WWE.com

Whether that means the WWE has bigger plans for Styles should be revealed soon.

American Alpha is on the shelf for now. Jason Jordan moved to Raw last week as part of an angle where the brand's general manager Kurt Angle revealed Jordan was his long-lost son. Where does that leave Jordan's tag team partner?

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet noted: "We're told there aren’t any immediate plans to bring Chad Gable over to Raw."

The Great Khali returned on Sunday to ensure Mahal walked out as champ.

But how long will the giant be around? Was this just a cameo?

Bryan Alvarez speculated on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) that the WWE could go with a Randy Orton and John Cena vs. Khali and Mahal match at SummerSlam.

For now, he's not listed as a current Superstar on WWE.com. Although, The Rock and Eva Marie are, so take that for what it's worth.

SmackDown Streaks

Styles' pursuit of the United States Championship has pushed him back into the SmackDown spotlight.

He and Shinsuke Nakamura took on Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin in a tag team match to close last Tuesday's show. That marked The Phenomenal One's third straight time battling in the SmackDown main event, per CageMatch.net.

His run is in danger of ending now that he's lost the title, though. Perhaps the WWE Championship gets the focus instead ahead of SummerSlam. 

The once-dominant Charlotte Flair has found victory harder to come by of late. Per CageMatch.net, The Queen has lost three SmackDown matches in a row and has gone 0-5 overall in her last five bouts.

Carmella taking home the Money in the Bank contract and Natalya nabbing the No. 1 contender's spot for the SmackDown Women's Championship has pushed Flair to the side for now. That can't remain the case for long. She's among the biggest stars the blue brand has on its roster.

Battleground Fallout

The battle between Owens and Styles for the United States Championship is set to continue.

Styles walked out of Battleground without the gold thanks to KO knocking over the referee and taking advantage of the confusion that followed. Now forced into a challenger role again, The Phenomenal One can't be satisfied with how his reign ended. 

Look for Styles and Owens to collide on Tuesday to start building toward a SummerSlam rubber match.

Owens won't be the only new champion to enter The Coliseum. The New Day will be there fresh off dethroning The Usos. 

That's sure to mean The New Day's goofy antics will be a part of a celebration on SmackDown. 

Elsewhere in the tag team division, Breezango will keep searching for answers. Someone has attacked The Fashion Police and trashed their office. Answers are on their way as Breezango will continue its investigation on Tuesday night.

Whether they close the case or not, Tyler Breeze and Fandango's ridiculousness is sure to be a highlight of the show.

Things will get far more serious when Mahal shows up. Thanks to the return of The Great Khali, he escaped Battleground with the WWE title still in his grasp. Randy Orton, the man he cheated out of that crown, may be charging at him. 

Or perhaps this is where the Cena vs. Mahal feud begins.

The WWE has to start setting the table for SummerSlam. And Orton vs. Mahal IV isn't special enough for that show.

Tuesday night will give fans a better idea of what's in store for Mahal, Owens and others at that event.