SmackDown Live got off to a great start last week with Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan putting on a great show with some slight changes to the presentation to make the new look show complete.

Despite Monday Night Raw still being deemed a better show, the blue brand may have its feet more firmly fixed to the ground and with such a small yet powerful roster to play with, the storylines are endless.

Dolph Ziggler number one contender

Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose stare each other down (image: youtube.com)
Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose stare each other down (image: youtube.com)

The biggest news to arise from last week's episode was the announcement that The Showoff was the no.1 contender for Dean Ambrose's WWE Championship.

Dolph Ziggler defeated five other men in John Cena, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, AJ Styles and Bray Wyatt to climb that previously unassailable ladder.

The 36-year-old has been a terrific performer and is well deserving of his opportunity and he will surely promote that during tonight's episode.

Shane and Bryan seemed to relish Ziggler's victory and they will likely have a few words of praise for the former World Champion, something that The Lunatic Fringe may not appreciate.

Shelton Benjamin returns

A huge name and a huge star will be returning to SmackDown and things have just got interesting as Shelton Benjamin comes back to the company he left in 2010.

No longer a fresh-faced performer he is now a veteran at 41-years-old but do not be fooled, he will still be able to work as well as ever and will only add more excitement to the blue brand.

It is unknown whether The Gold Standard will wrestle on his return or be featured in an interview segment but the American was largely deemed underrated during his time in WWE all them years ago; hopefully, he can do it better a second time around.

Who is the top female?

Alexa Bliss is just one of the female stars looking to become the top face | wwe.com
Alexa Bliss is just one of the female stars looking to become the top face | wwe.com

The women's division on SmackDown is currently in a state of disarray with no clear leader and all the females are fighting to stake their claim at the top of the card.

Last week saw a number of the women including Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Carmella and Eva Marie verbally attack each other in way to express their dominance.

Whether a Battle Royale takes place to crown the top female star is yet to be seen but with Raw leading the way in terms of women's wrestling with Sasha Banks and Charlotte two of the top stars fighting over the Women's Championship so SmackDown has a lot of catching up to do.

A number of singles matches could also take place in a tournament style, as with SummerSlam just three weeks away it will be hard to build an interesting feud in such short amount of time.

However, despite the young up and coming women currently aiming to cement themselves on the roster a familiar face in Victoria is rumored to return, to spice things up a bit.

The Cena- Styles effect

Two of SmackDown's biggest stars were not put on the same show by mistake, these two giants of the wrestling world are bound to square off sometime soon.

The tension between one another is due to come to a head and with The Phenomenal One picking up a pinfall victory over Cena at Money in the Bank and The Champ equaling things out when he pinned Styles in tag-team action at Battleground, the scores are tied.

Both men have an insatiable appetite for competition and a draw is no way for both men to go about their business, with the former TNA performer now without The Club and Enzo and Cass also away on Raw, both men stand alone.

As the two are unattached, maybe just maybe their feud will culminate at SummerSlam, with the winner at this point anybody's guess.