WWE SmackDown Preview 5/26/2023

WWE SmackDown will air tonight on FOX and emanate for the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.

Tonight’s show, which is the go-home show for Saturday’s Night of Champions, was taped last Friday night, due to WWE talent and crew having left earlier this week for Saudi Arabia.

  • WWE United States Championship Match: Austin Theory (c) defends against Sheamus 
  • The KO Show Featuring Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa
  • AJ Styles vs. Karrion Kross
  • LA Knight vs. Rick Boogs
  • Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley and IYO SKY)
  • Cameron Grimes vs. Ashante “Thee” Adonis

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/19/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.

  • Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa Face-to-Face with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
  • Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar of the LWO vs. The Usos
  • Pretty Deadly vs The Brawling Brutes
  • LA Knight and Rick Boogs vs The Street Profits
  • Grayson Waller Effect with guest AJ Styles

Nick Khan Says ‘SmackDown Could Move Nights If It Leaves FOX’

WWE will soon begin talks about a new television deal for SmackDown.

WWE President Nick Khan is well aware of the fact that WWE could be leaving FOX if the negotiations regarding a new media rights deal can’t be agreed upon.

Speaking at MoffettNathanson’s Inaugural Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference on Tuesday, Khan revealed that SmackDown could wind up switching nights if it moves to another network.

Indie Wire executive editor Tony Maglio took to Twitter to reveal the news, writing:

“WWE’s Nick Khan just said #SmackDown could switch nights (again) if it goes somewhere else for its next deal. Was speaking pretty highly of Amazon…

Either way, Khan, being interviewed at the SVB MoffettNathanson Conference, foresees a U.S. rights increase of 1.5x or so. So, we’re talking about an opening figure of $1.5 billion for 5 years of #SmackDown, should length of term remain same.

Khan also laid out a case for Netflix to want WWE (It has a lot to do with India) and complimented their entry into live. (The Chris Rock special, not the #LoveIsBlind reunion disaster)”

Source: eWn

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/12/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN.

  • World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Triple Threat Matches: Edge vs. AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio and Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus vs. Austin Theory. The winners will square off in the main event later in the night. The sole winner will then move on to face Seth Rollins at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 27.
  • Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman to appear.
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Damage CTRL’s Bayley and Dakota Kai
  • Cameron Grimes vs. Baron Corbin

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/5/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tonight’s SmackDown is the final show before Saturday’s Backlash.

WWE Draft Night 1 Results, AJ Styles Returned

ROUND 1:

  • SmackDown No. 1: The Bloodline (Undisputed Universal World Champion Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa & Paul Heyman); the World Heavyweight Championship thereby exclusive to Raw
  • RAW No. 1: Cody Rhodes
  • SmackDown: Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair
  • RAW: Becky Lynch

ROUND 2:

  • SmackDown: The Street Profits
  • RAW: Imperium (Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
  • SmackDown: Edge
  • RAW: Matt Riddle

ROUND 3: 

  • SmackDown: Bobby Lashley
  • RAW: Drew McIntyre
  • SmackDown: The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson & Michin)
  • RAW: The Miz

ROUND 4:

  • SmackDown: Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky
  • RAW: Shinsuke Nakamura
  • SmackDown: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn (NXT Women’s Tag-Team Champions)
  • RAW: Indi Hartwell (NXT Women’s Champion)

Undrafted superstars: 

  • Candice LeRae
  • Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green 
  • Omos
  • Hit Row
  • Maximum Male Models
  • Dolph Ziggler
  • Dexter Lumis
  • Natalya
  • Mustafa Ali
  • Viking Raiders
  • Lacey Evans

Additional picks will be announced on today’s edition of “The SmackDown LowDown”.

AJ Styles returned from injury last night after he was drafted along with the rest of The O.C. Styles has been off TV since suffering a broken ankle at a live event in December.

The O.C. was interrupted by the Viking Raiders, but Styles had The OC “handle their business” and the group made short work of their opposition.

WWE SmackDown Preview 4/28/2023

WWE SmackDown airs live tonight on FOX and will emanate from the American Bank Center Arena in Corpus Christi, Texas.

WWE Revealed Complete List Of Eligible Stars For 2023 Draft

The 2023 WWE Draft will kick off on tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown and then carry over to Monday’s edition of RAW.

On Thursday, WWE posted a complete list of stars eligible to be drafted on each night. While the NXT brand will be involved, the names who could potentially be called up from that specific brand have not been announced.

You can check out a complete list of the eligible names below:

Night One: Friday on SmackDown

  • Becky Lynch
  • Bianca Belair
  • Bobby Lashley
  • Candice LeRae
  • Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville
  • Cody Rhodes
  • Damage CTRL (Bayley, IYO SKY & Dakota Kai)
  • Dexter Lumis
  • Dolph Ziggler
  • Drew McIntyre
  • Edge
  • Hit Row (Top Dolla & Ashante “Thee” Adonis w/ B-Fab)
  • Imperium (GUNTHER, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
  • Lacey Evans
  • Matt Riddle
  • Maximum Male Models (ma.cé, mån.sôör & Maxxine Dupri)
  • Mustafa Ali
  • Natalya
  • Omos (w/ MVP)
  • Shinsuke Nakamura
  • The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa)
  • The Miz
  • The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson & Michin)
  • The Street Profits
  • Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar w/ Valhalla)
  • Select NXT Superstars

Night Two: This Monday on Raw

  • Akira Tozawa
  • Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable)
  • Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo
  • Asuka
  • Austin Theory
  • Baron Corbin
  • Braun Strowman & Ricochet
  • Brock Lesnar
  • Bronson Reed
  • Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin
  • Charlotte Flair
  • Dana Brooke
  • Elias
  • Emma
  • Johnny Gargano
  • Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio)
  • Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett)
  • Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
  • LA Knight
  • Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
  • Nikki Cross
  • Piper Niven
  • Rhea Ripley
  • Rick Boogs
  • Riddick Moss
  • Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler
  • Seth Rollins
  • Shotzi
  • Tamina
  • Tegan Nox
  • The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch)
  • The LWO (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde & Zelina Vega)
  • The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
  • The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
  • Trish Stratus
  • Xia Li
  • Select NXT Superstars

WWE SmackDown Preview 4/21/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.

  • WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Xavier Woods
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan (c) vs. Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green
  • Braun Strowman and Ricochet look for retribution against the Viking Raiders

WWE SmackDown Preview 4/14/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska.

  • The return of Shinsuke Nakamura
  • LA Knight vs Xavier Woods
  • Matt Riddle is coming after The Bloodline