SmackDown airs tonight with a live show emanating from Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. This is the sixth episode of SmackDown during the nine week build to Money in the Bank, which takes place on October 10.
One of these WWE stars has to be getting a surprise title win in Mexico City
WWE is bringing SmackDown television back to Mexico tonight for the first time since 2011, and is coming loaded with four title matches.
The main event is Sami Zayn challenging CM Punk for the WWE championship. The Last Real Good Guy in WWE is looking for justice after Punk ended his run with
the belt in just nine days, back in early July. Sami hasn’t wrestled in over one month due to a broken hand, so he’ll likely have his cast around to use as a weapon when the referee’s back is turned. It might be harder for the referee to miss potential interference from the likes of Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, and GUNTHER. Zayn has meddled in all their affairs in recent weeks to put himself in position to challenge for the belt, and he may pay the price for that aggression tonight. There’s also the fact that CM Punk has vowed to break Sami’s face.
The next title match is Interim WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green defending her belt against Nia Jax. This is Green’s first title defense, but it may already be her last given the fact that she is working with a broken orbital bone. Green will probably need to rely on Tiffany Stratton being at ringside to neutralize Jax’s partner, Lash Legend. If it comes down to a fair fight after that, Chelsea has a chance to establish herself as a badass babyface by beating Nia’s ass to retain her interim belt.
AAA World Tag Team Champions War Raiders defend the belts tonight against R-Truth and Damian Priest. Priest was ready to move on from teaming with Truth after they recently lost the WWE tag team championship, but they’ll have one last hurrah here in Mexico City.
Finally, AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix vs. Ricky Saints is also booked on the card. Saints has struggled to get TV time this summer, with his last SmackDown match taking place back in June. Is WWE just feeding him to Fenix here to get the beloved local hero a win in his home country?
On paper, it looks to me like the defending champions are the favorites to retain their belts in all four title matches. But given that Mexico has been waiting nearly 15 years for a WWE show like this, I assume that means at least one championship has to change hands. Which challenger will pull off a surprise win and walk out of Mexico City as a new champion? Tune into SmackDown tonight to find out.
The rest of the card
The Paige vs. Nikki Bella grudge match is happening tonight. Will the crowd chant John Cena’s name at Nikki after Paige brought him up in last week’s promo? What scheme does Nikki have in mind for cheating her way to victory?
What’s next for Cody Rhodes after he lost to Randy Orton at Sunday Night’s Main Event? WWE says we’ll find out the answer to that question tonight. I’d be shocked if Cody doesn’t challenge Randy to a rematch of some kind, with higher stakes and/or a more violent gimmick in play.
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Can United States Champion Trick Williams finally move on from Baron Corbin after winning the title back from him at Sunday Night’s Main Event? Will both of these stars be included in the upcoming Money in the Bank qualifying matches?
– A miscommunication between Charlotte Flair and Tatum Paxley cost them their six-woman tag team match against Jade Cargill and her Baddies at Sunday Night’s Main Event. Has Flair run out of patience for dealing with Paxley, or can Alexa Bliss convince The Queen to give her another chance?
– Johnny Gargano is done laying down backstage each week at SmackDown. Does that mean WWE creative has a new direction planned for him? What does Sami Zayn have to say to Johnny Wrestling after he failed to beat CM Punk last week?
– Can GM Nick Aldis do his job and nail down an actual match between Blake Monroe and Giulia so that we can finally see the official SmackDown in-ring debut of The Glamour?
– Kyoki had his in-ring debut last week in a tag team win with Shinsuke Nakamura against The Miz and Kit Wilson. WWE fans didn’t really seem to care all that much about it, but maybe the crowd reaction will be different in Mexico City. Are Bakusai already on the verge of challenging MFT for the WWE Tag Team Championship after just one win against jobbers?
– WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Fatal Influence need to rebound after dropping a non-title match last week. Can they find someone new to pick a fight with tonight?
– Will Danhausen tempt fate by touching GOONER GUNTHER again?
– Is there any chance that AAA Mega Champion “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano show up tonight to shoot an angle or cut one last promo ahead of their main event match this weekend at Triplemania 34?
– Where the f*** are Carmelo Hayes and Jordynne Grace?
What will you be looking for on SmackDown?
