WWE SmackDown, tonight at 8/7 C on FOX.
As of Friday morning, here is the lineup announced for tonight’s show:
Tonight’s WWE “SmackDown” is the last stop before Saturday night’s Money in the Bank event.
One of the spots in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match has yet to be determined. Whoever it is will join Drew McIntyre, Omos, Riddle, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Sheamus in the match. Riddle is the latest man to earn a spot in the match. He won a “Money in the Bank Last Chance Battle Royal” on Monday’s “Raw”.
We may also see another attempt to debut Max Dupri’s Maximum Male Models stable on tonight’s “SmackDown”. The past few weeks have seen Dupri teasing the unveiling of his first client. However, multiple attempts have resulted in little more than a single spotlight shining over the ring and Dupri refusing to do the segment. Two weeks ago, he complained to Adam Pearce that the lighting was not up to his standards. Last week, Dupri complained that the bottled water and the temperature in his dressing room were not to his specifications.
Tonight on WWE SmackDown at 8/7 C on FOX.
Ricochet looks to take back the Intercontinental Title in rematch with Gunther
During last Friday’s “SmackDown”, WWE announced a pair of Money in the Bank qualifying matches for tonight’s episode: Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Aliyah vs. Shotzi.
As of Friday morning, WWE has not mentioned if Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar will appear on tonight’s “SmackDown”.
The “SmackDown” Women’s Championship is currently held by Ronda Rousey, but the WWE Superstar she captured the title from seems poised to make a return to the blue brand this summer.
The PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC, is advertising that Charlotte Flair will be in attendance at the “SmackDown” TV taping scheduled for Friday, August 12. The venue’s official website states that Ronda Rousey, Drew McIntyre, and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, The Usos, will be in the house. In addition, “Raw” Women’s Champion Bianca Belair will be defending her gold in a Triple Threat Match against Rhea Ripley and Asuka. The blurb then states “plus Charlotte Flair” to cap off the main introduction to the event.
WWE SummerSlam is set to take place on July 30 in Nashville, TN, two weeks before the taping Flair is announced for, which seems to indicate a return is on the horizon, whether it be leading into the big summer event, at the event, or post-event.
Flair last appeared at the WrestleMania Backlash premium live event last month, where she lost the “SmackDown” Women’s Championship to Rousey in an “I Quit” Match. “The Baddest Woman on the Planet” had been feuding with Flair after making a return to WWE following a nearly three-year absence in January. She won the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble Match and ultimately chose Flair to face at WrestleMania 38 but was controversially defeated, before the “I Quit” Match was set for the following month. WWE explained “The Queen’s” absence by stating, in storyline, that she suffered a “fracture of the radius” during the bout with Rousey at WrestleMania Backlash following the Ronda Armbar, which also involved a steel chair for added leverage.
During her sabbatical from the company, Flair tied the knot with her partner, former WWE Superstar and current AEW wrestler, Andrade el Idolo, in Mexico. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair walked his daughter down the aisle at the ceremony, which was attended by Finn Bálor, Rey Mysterio, Apollo Crews, and former “Raw” Women’s Champion Lina Farene (Nia Jax). Flair and Andrade also went on their honeymoon following the wedding to celebrate.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
A tumultuous week for WWE wraps up with a live edition of “SmackDown” tonight on FOX.
WWE is promoting that Mr. McMahon will appear on tonight’s broadcast. WWE specified that it will be “Mr. McMahon” who will be on “SmackDown”, indicating that he will be speaking in character.
WWE and its Board of Directors announced early this morning that Vince McMahon has stepped back from his responsibilities as Chairman and CEO amid an investigation into alleged misconduct. His role in directing the creative direction of the company is not changing. Stephanie McMahon has been appointed the interim CEO and interim Chairwoman.
Following a report revealing the WWE board is investigating allegations made against Vince McMahon, the boss has temporarily stepped down as the chairman and CEO of the company. Vince’s daughter Stephanie has been appointed interim CEO and chairwoman pending the results of the investigation. Vince will remain in charge of WWE creative, something that will likely be addressed tonight on SmackDown.
Shortly after WWE issued a statement revealing Vince will be stepping back from his duties as the promotion’s chairman, a second reveal was made informing fans the boss will be on SmackDown tonight. What exactly Vince will be doing on the show hasn’t been clarified, but as you can see in the tweet below, the implication is he will be opening the show.
Putting Vince on TV amid all this, or rather Vince putting himself on TV in the middle of all this, is quite something. Although the results of the investigation could well prove nothing actually happened, and the currently inactive chairman may well be appearing on TV tonight to deliver a sincere message, advertising the way WWE has on social media makes it feel a lot like a way to get viewers off the back of something that is currently unresolved.
As for Stephanie, the interim chairwoman has already issued her first statement since being brought back into the fold just a month after she stepped away from her previous WWE duties. “I am honored to assume the role of interim Chairwoman & CEO. I love @WWE and all it continues to do to entertain billions around the world,” Stephanie tweeted.
More details about what exactly is going on behind the scenes in WWE will undoubtedly continue to emerge in the coming days and weeks. Perhaps most notably tonight when Vince opens SmackDown. There will likely be a lot of change coming, regardless of the results of the investigation. Plus, the allegations made against John Laurinaitis still haven’t been officially addressed.
Source: TheSportster
UPDATE:
Shortly before 10 a.m. EST, CNBC’s Alex Sherman tweeted out just how McMahon would be approaching his appearance on tonight’s broadcast.
“New from CNBC: Vince McMahon will speak tonight on SmackDown IN CHARACTER as Mr. McMahon to address his temporary absence,” Sherman tweeted. “Could be a big ratings night for WWE. McMahon has torn up the script for SmackDown, which was written last night, I’m told.”
Don’t miss what promises to be an incredible Intercontinental Title showdown pitting The One and Only against The Ring General, this Friday at 8/7 C on WWE SmackDown on FOX.
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.
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:
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 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
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