SmackDown airs tonight (Sept. 5) with a live show emanating from Allstate Arena near Chicago, Illinois. This is the first episode of SmackDown
during the three week build towards Wrestlepalooza, which takes place on September 20.It’s the perfect day for CM Punk to bring AJ Lee back to WWE
AJ Lee’s return to WWE might be the worst kept secret in wrestling today, especially after WWE Shop seemingly spoiled it earlier this week.
The setup for her return became obvious at Clash in Paris when Becky Lynch got CM Punk’s gross ball sweat all over her arm as she delivered
a low blow to help Seth Rollins pin him to retain the world heavyweight championship. Becky continued rubbing it in Punk’s face on Raw by slapping him over and over again.
Punk restrained himself and said Becky will regret putting her hands on him. On his way out the building, CM learned from Raw GM Adam Pearce that tonight’s episode of SmackDown takes place in Punk’s hometown of Chicago. Punk smiled and said that’s tremendous. Putting all the pieces together, it certainly seems like CM plans to bring his wife AJ to SmackDown tonight to make her WWE return official. If Becky Lynch happens to show up on the blue brand tonight, then you know for sure it’s happening.
Is the timing perfect for AJ Lee to return to WWE tonight in Chicago? Tune into SmackDown to find out.
The rest of the card
The retiring John Cena will be in the building tonight, in what may be the final episode of SmackDown on his WWE farewell tour. Brock Lesnar is rumored to be in the Chicago area as well, so I assume he’ll confront John (possibly with more F5s) to set up The Beast’s return match at WWE Wrestlepalooza on ESPN.
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Randy Orton wanted to punt Drew McIntyre’s head off his shoulders last week, but Drew got away at the last second. Will GM Nick Aldis book a match between them before Wrestlepalooza so Randy can try again?
– Sami Zayn defeated Solo Sikoa last week to become the new United States champion. Is this the part where Sikoa blames the loss on his ineffective MFT henchmen at ringside? Is Jacob Fatu done being Sami’s ally now that he holds a belt the Samoan Werewolf wants?
– The WWE women’s tag team championship match never happened last week after Piper Niven was unavailable for the show and Chelsea Green injured Charlotte Flair’s knee during her entrance. Do Niven and Flair need more time to be ready for the title match?
– Are the Street Profits heading towards a breakup, just like Uncle Howdy warned they could be, after failing to win the WWE tag team championship from the Wyatt Sicks at Clash in Paris?
– Jade Cargill has been officially named as the number one contender to Tiffany Stratton’s WWE women’s championship. Jade called back to her AEW days when she said she can teach Tiffany a thing or two about undefeated streaks. Will Stratton come up with a plan to ensure her perfect record in 2025 remains intact in a rematch with Cargill?
– Michin squashed Kiana James in seconds last week and now gets a title match against Women’s United States Champion Giulia. Will Michin try to convince Nick Aldis to add a gimmick or stipulation to the upcoming fight after Giulia’s brutal post-match attack last week?
– Damian Priest said he knows that Aleister Black wants to be like him, which makes me think Black is correct when he says Priest is misguided. Is R-Truth still part of this story, or is it time for Aleister and Damian to settle their issues with no outside parties involved?
– Is YouTube douchebag Logan Paul taking a break from WWE after losing to John Cena at Clash in Paris?
– Where the f*** is Shinsuke Nakamura?
What will you be looking for on SmackDown?
