Welcome to another eWrestlingNews Question of the Day!
WWE Week has seen its fair share of important moments to try to beef up these seasons premieres. Tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown doesn’t have as big of a lineup as some other shows, but there are still three things advertised for the night that are worth talking about.
My question for you today is “What are your predictions for the season premiere of WWE SmackDown on USA?”
Remember to answer with your response in the comments below.
As far as my answer…
Kevin Owens and (Mystery Partner) vs. A-Town Down Under
First off, who is the mystery partner going to be? If WWE is lame about it and goes with the most generic, simplest answer, it will be Randy Orton. He and Kevin Owens have teamed up a lot this year, and it would probably be a way to just reintroduce him back to the SmackDown roster after The Viper had feuded with Gunther for Bash in Berlin.
I’m seeing people tossing out the idea of this being Stone Cold Steve Austin, which I find hilarious. There’s no way. WWE would advertise him in advance to pop a rating, not make him a surprise appearance type of booking. The same goes for John Cena.
I’d rule out Sami Zayn, too. He’s perpetually tied to Owens, but they have no story together right now. Zayn is going after Gunther. Why would he pop up on SmackDown to fight Grayson Waller and Austin Theory?
While I would love for it to be a big surprise like a return or a debut, I think we’re just getting Orton, but I’d be down for it to be someone like AJ Styles, at least.
In any fashion, I don’t think A-Town Down Under is coming out of this victorious.
Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes
This is the fifth match in their series, which hasn’t exactly wowed me, nor do I think it’s the best thing to push Hayes or the best use of Andrade. WWE clearly either really likes it or can’t think of anything else, though, so a 2-2 tie needs to be broken.
Hayes absolutely should win this. He’s the one that not only requires the push more, but since he’s the future star being built, the investment is more on his side than El Idolo’s, who should—if things were booked better—be in a better spot just because he’s holding a championship. But WWE hasn’t done anything to make the WWE Speed Championship worth a damn, so I wouldn’t hold my breath anything on that regard will change any time soon.
To be perfectly honest, I’ll be paying very little attention to this match. I’m sure there will be other work I’ll need to do at the same time that will take priority.
Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Solo Sikoa
Cody Rhodes isn’t losing the title. I can’t imagine he’s dropping it to anyone other than The Rock or Randy Orton. This is supposed to be a big show, but not THAT big of a show. Putting on this match at all is already fulfilling that necessity. Attaching the steel cage stipulation to it bumps it up even more.
And then, rounding this out with a third element, we’ll see a return of sorts. I’m positive of it. It’s just a matter of who returns, not if.
For the most part, I think we can look at only Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso being the possible options. While Roman makes the most sense when it comes to getting revenge on Sikoa, it would be a repeat of what we saw at SummerSlam, which is a bit lame in my book.
What I’m hoping for, instead, is actually both of them. I’d love it if the cage, in typical fashion, doesn’t keep out The Bloodline. Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu get in the ring and start wailing on Cody. Kevin Owens can come out to help, unless they want to separate the two after their previous match. Roman can come out, but the numbers still aren’t even. Then, Jimmy is the one who saves the day, nails Sikoa with a superkick, and The American Nightmare is able to retain, as SmackDown ends with some awkward tension of the babyfaces not knowing what just happened or who they can trust, but taking a breather after putting away The Bloodline…for now.
What do you think? Drop your thoughts below!
