SmackDown airs tonight (Feb. 6) with a live show emanating from Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is the first episode of SmackDown during the four week build to Elimination Chamber,
which takes place on February 28.Another former AEW star is trying to take over WWE
Royce Keys (fka Powerhouse Hobbs in AEW) made his WWE debut last weekend in the Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia. He had one of the longer survival times in the men’s match and eliminated Damian Priest, before succumbing to the numbers game of The Vision.
Keys didn’t
appear on this week’s Raw, and the rumor mill indicates that he’ll be on the SmackDown roster. It would be very strange for him to debut at the Rumble only to immediately disappear, so I do expect that we’ll see him on the blue brand tonight. The more interesting thing to wonder about is how will WWE initially push him?
As far as former AEW stars with no prior WWE history are concerned, there’s a wide range of possible outcomes between the strong push Jade Cargill received right out of the gate in WWE, the steady mid-card presence of Penta on Raw, and the low card status that Rey Fenix quickly ended up in after his SmackDown debut. Others like Ricky Saints and Blake Monroe have yet to get called up to the main roster from NXT. There’s no way to tell just yet which one of these buckets Keys will find himself in, other than the Rumble debut being a good indication that he probably won’t be in NXT.
WWE has already shown this year with Trick Williams that they are willing to introduce a new star at an upper card level, but that’s because they know he has the promo skills to hang on the mic with the likes of Sami Zayn and Randy Orton. Do they think of Royce as more of the silent bruiser type? Will he be a babyface or a heel? Does the Priest elimination at the Royal Rumble mean that will be his first feud in WWE? What about his history with Cody Rhodes?
Tune into SmackDown tonight to see what WWE has in store for the latest former AEW star who is trying realize his dream of becoming a top star on the biggest stage in pro wrestling.
The rest of the card
After several weeks of crossing paths backstage and revisiting their relationship from NJPW, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Tama Tonga is finally booked on tonight’s show. Tonga talked trash last week, saying that Nakamura should consider going on his own Sayonara Tour after losing to the retiring AJ Styles at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Will the rest of the MFTs get involved to make sure their guy doesn’t lose this match, or are the Wyatt Sicks lurking around in the shadows ready to do spooky things to the heels who took their tag team gold (and lantern)?
Royal Rumble winner Liv Morgan mentioned that she’ll be coming to SmackDown tonight as she mulls over her decision for which belt to pursue at WrestleMania 42. That suggests she will have a confrontation with WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill at some point during this broadcast. Will Liv remind Jade that she’s one of the few women who has a pin fall win over her in WWE? Will Liv also run into other top contenders for Jade’s belt, such as Jordynne Grace or Tiffany Stratton?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– WWE says qualifying matches for the Elimination Chamber will begin next week on Raw. Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns has already decided to chase Raw’s top prize at WrestleMania 42, which means the men’s Chamber match should instead be focused on finding a WrestleMania opponent for WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. With that in mind, will GM Nick Aldis reveal if there are plans for stars like Cody Rhodes, Jacob Fatu, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Damian Priest, and Trick Williams to wrestle in any of the qualifiers?
– Speaking of Rhodes, he was screwed over in the Royal Rumble by McIntyre, who clearly wants nothing to do with a rematch against him. How will Cody respond to Drew eliminating him from the Rumble? If Jacob Fatu also comes out looking for a piece of these guys, will Drew remind the Samoan Werewolf that he’s not actually the mystery guy who knocked his teeth out last October? It’s also worth noting that Rhodes eliminated Trick from the Rumble and accidentally hit Orton with a cutter, so all of their issues may be intertwined tonight.
– Sami Zayn, on the other hand, should probably drop out of the WWE championship scene after McIntyre beat him clean with an exclamation point in their title match in Saudi Arabia. Which heel will rub it in Sami’s loser face tonight?
– Given that Liv Morgan is in no rush to make her WrestleMania decision, and Jade Cargill never defends her WWE championship on TV or PLE, does this increase the likelihood that the women’s Elimination Chamber match will be focused on the WWE women’s tag team championship? Will Tiffany Stratton try to join the party by finding a tag team partner now that she’s back in WWE?
– Kiana James and Women’s United States Champion Giulia are still waiting to receive their shot at RHIYO for those tag belts. Does Kiana’s excellent showing in the women’s Royal Rumble match mean the challengers actually have a decent chance to dethrone Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY?
– Ilja Dragunov kicked The Miz’s ass last week on SmackDown. Does United States Champion Carmelo Hayes get to beat the A-Lister’s ass next, or is it already time for another title rematch against the Mad Dragon?
– Charlotte Flair accidentally caused Alexa Bliss’ elimination in the Royal Rumble match. Is this the beginning of the end of their convenient alliance?
– Kit Wilson hates Matt Cardona’s toxic masculinity, and he might actually be able to beat him when they wrestle again given that Cardona is still booked like Zack Ryder.
– Johnny Gargano is in a downward spiral after losing possession of Axiom’s mask. WWE commentators want to make sure you know that Johnny Wrestling just isn’t as good as he used to be in NXT. Is there some kind of redemption arc coming, or is it more like a contract expiration so he can eventually join Tommaso Ciampa in AEW?
– It looks like there is a ceiling on how far Chelsea Green can go in WWE, at least if you believe what they are selling as the truth on WWE Unreal. Will Michael Hayes pull some strings to make sure Chelsea only gets 30 seconds of TV time tonight so they can keep the backstage drama going for the next season of the docuseries?
– Lash Legend and NXT star Sol Ruca had standout performances in the Royal Rumble match. Does that mean Lash is in line for a big push, or that Ruca might be on her way to the main roster soon?
– Is R-Truth done joking about his balls that now that Royal Rumble is over with?
– Will babyface Cody Rhodes get booed again if he talks about his latest plan to win back the WWE championship in the main event of WrestleMania?
– Where the f*** are the Motor City Machine Guns?
What will you be looking for on SmackDown?
