Category: SmackDown

WWE SmackDown Preview 6/3/22

Tonight’s “WWE SmackDown” broadcasts live from the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The last stop before Sunday’s premium live event, Hell In A Cell.

As of the time of this posting, there are no matches are announced for tonight’s show:

Madcap Moss is set to return tonight. Moss has not been seen on WWE programming since he was attacked by Happy Corbin on the May 13 episode of “SmackDown”.

WWE is also promoting Shinsuke Nakamura and Riddle for tonight’s “SmackDown”. The makeshift tag team is in line for a tag title shot after a disqualification win over the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions The Usos on Monday night’s “Raw”. However, it’s unclear when that title match will happen. It reportedly will not be a late addition to Sunday’s “Hell In A Cell” card. Instead, it’s believed the tag title match will be held for next month’s “Money In The Bank” event.

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/27/22

Tonight, WWE SmackDown on FOX will broadcast live from the Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of the road to Hell In a Cell.

As of this morning, the following line-up is announced for tonight’s show:

  • Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods & TBA vs. Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch
  • The Bloodline returns to “SmackDown” with all the gold

This week, Drew McIntyre will be back to continue his battle with The Bloodline.

After missing last week, SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is expected to return this week.

Max Dupri, the former LA Knight, is expected to be on tonight’s SmackDown. He revealed the new gimmick last week and is expected to join the blue brand with his Maximum Male Models firm.

Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Ezekiel are all expected to be on tonight’s show, although most likely as dark match participants, if at all. The venue is advertising Rhodes vs. Owens.

WWE’s Brand Split Format “Is Essentially Done” [Report]

WWE went back to the brand split six years ago. According to a new report, the format “is essentially done” now.

It’s been six years since WWE went back to the brand split for its main roster stars, but a new report suggests that the format will end soon.

In recent weeks, WWE has been showcasing plenty of Raw stars on SmackDown and vice versa. There is only one world championship for the male superstars (Roman Reigns is the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion) right now, and The Usos defeated RK-Bro on SmackDown last week to become the “Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions.”

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Ringside News), Bryan Alvarez reported that the brand split format “is essentially done” now, pointing out that several Raw stars are going to be on this week’s edition of SmackDown. Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com recently reported that Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are scheduled to appear on SmackDown this Friday.

“This isn’t anything official, but the brand extension is essentially done,” Alvarez reported. “Half of the RAW crew is going to be on SmackDown Friday. Cody’s gonna be there, I think Seth is gonna be there. Edge doing whatever and it makes for a better show, as we’ve mentioned a thousand times.”

Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a “Winner Takes All” unified title bout at WrestleMania 38 to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He and The Usos have appeared on Raw frequently over the last two months, and RK-Bro has made several appearances on the SmackDown brand.

For the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, Vince McMahon introduced a “Wild Card Rule” which allowed four superstars on each brand to appear on the opposite brand per week. The rule was taken out following the 2019 WWE Draft and SmackDown‘s move over to Friday nights on FOX.

WWE’s decision to go back to the brand split in 2016 was a great success in many ways. Having differnet championship belts on each brand really helped the company build new main event stars, after all. So it’s certainly interesting to see the company basically move away from the brand split formatting and rules, at least for the time being. Instead of pushing different tag team and world championship holders on Raw, WWE has put all of its eggs into one basket here. Only time will tell if the decision to go all-in on The Bloodline’s historic push pays off over the long run.

Source: TheSportster

Sasha Banks & Naomi Suspended Indefinitely, Women’s Tag Team Titles Now Vacant

Last night’s edition of “Smackdown” included a huge announcement regarding Sasha Banks, Naomi, and the future of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

At the announce desk, Michael Cole stated that Banks and Naomi had “let us all down”. He recounted the statement WWE had put out on social media earlier this week. He says the pair have both been suspended indefinitely and a tournament will be held in the coming weeks to crown new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Banks and Naomi had walked out of “Raw” on Monday night. The pair were reportedly not pleased about the creative plans for them. A “6 Pack Challenge” match was announced at the beginning of “Raw”, which included Banks and Naomi.

WWE said Banks and Naomi walked out during the broadcast. According to WWE’s statement, they went into Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office, gave him the women’s tag team titles, and left the arena.

The main event match was hastily changed to a one-on-one match between Asuka and Becky Lynch. Asuka won the match to earn a title shot against “Raw” Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at the upcoming “Hell In A Cell” event.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/20/22

A title unification match that’s been anticipated for weeks is being promoted for tonight’s WWE “SmackDown”.

Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) will face the SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos. The match is being promoted as “winners take all”.

The match was first announced for the WrestleMania Backlash event. However, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre were later added to the match, making it a 6-man tag team contest. Reigns and The Usos went on to win the match.

RK-Bro reissued their challenge for a title unification match during the show-closing segment on last Friday’s SmackDown. The Usos accepted and the match was officially announced.

As of the time of tis posting, that is the only match announced for tonight’s “SmackDown”.

“Young Rock” To Start Opposing WWE SmackDown In The Fall

The NBC schedule has been confirmed for the Fall of 2022, which has revealed that the third season of Young Rock is set to go up against WWE SmackDown.

It was recently announced that the popular show had been picked up for another season, which will see the life, and career of The Rock continue to be told. The next set of episodes are set to begin airing in November (no exact date has been confirmed), and it has been moved to Friday nights.

The official press release for this section of the NBC’s schedule reads as follows:

“In November, the laughs begin with George Lopez’s family comedy “Lopez vs. Lopez” at 8 p.m., teeing up the third season of Dwayne Johnson’s bio-series “Young Rock” at 8:30 p.m.”

Previously Young Rock had been airing on Tuesday, but it will now go head to head against WWE SmackDown. The blue brand takes place from 8pm – 10pm (EST), and NBC’s show is set to drop from 8:30pm – 9pm. This means fans will have some conflict, as Young Rock has proven to be a hit with the wrestling audience.

The Rock himself will continue to star in the show alongside Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui and Matthew Willig.

The WWE legend has not commented on the renewal as of this writing. But, Seven Bucks Vice President and former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz took to Twitter and shared his thoughts.

“We’re BACK baby! Can’t wait to dive into Season 3 of #YoungRock! This is shaping up to be a helluva week!,” Gewirtz wrote.

It is currently unknown what the exact focal points will be when it comes to the third season. But, season two did see plenty of wrestling references with the likes of Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Triple H, The Iron Sheik, and even a young Roman Reigns being cast.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/13/22

The post-WrestleMania Backlash edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live tonight from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

New SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is advertised to appear tonight, returning to the show as champion after her WrestleMania Backlash win over Charlotte Flair.

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/6/22

The WrestleMania Backlash go-home edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live tonight from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.

It’s interesting to note that WWE has apparently pulled the Sheamus and Ridge Holland vs. The New Day Tables Match from tonight’s show. The match disappeared from the WWE website listing some time between Tuesday night and Thursday morning, and the old URL for the match preview now just says “Access Denied” when you try to access it.

The only match listed for tonight’s show is WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks vs. Shayna Baszler. This is to build to next Friday’s show with Banks and Naomi defending against Baszler and Natalya.

RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro are scheduled to appear tonight for the final WrestleMania Backlash build as they team with Drew McIntyre to face The Bloodline in six-man action on Sunday.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 4/29/22

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will be a taped last Friday at the MVP Arena in Albany, NY, due to the roster being in the UK for the European tour.

The following matches and segments were taped for tonight’s episode:

* Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn in a Steel Cage match as the opener

* WWE Intercontinental Champion Ricochet will defend against Shanky

* Raquel Rodriguez will make her official SmackDown in-ring debut vs. enhancement talent

* Madcap Moss appears on Happy Talk with Happy Baron Corbin

* WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler

* Xavier Woods vs. Ridge Holland

* Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus

* Contract signing for RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in the Winners Take All Title Unification match at WrestleMania Backlash

* “I Quit” Beat The Clock Challenge: Ronda Rousey (vs. Shotzi) and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair (vs. Aliyah)

* Appearances by Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Jinder Mahal, and others

WWE SmackDown Preview 4/22/22

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live from the MVP Arena in Albany, New York with more build for WrestleMania Backlash.