Three Things To Look For On SmackDown Live

 

While Raw was in full pay-per-view prep mode, SmackDown is taking things more slowly until the Royal Rumble. With no PPV to anchor the current feuds, that means it’s time for a few week-to-week stories and, dare I say it–a good bit of filler.

We’ve got a WWE Championship (remember, we’ve dropped the “world” and “heavyweight” bits) match with AJ Styles, though I’d warn to stay skeptical of this one until it happens. AJ’s ankle injury took him out of this same match last week, and WWE was continuing to promote it up until the moment it didn’t happen.

That match will be against challenger James Ellsworth, who is slowly turning heel as the crowd begins to turn against him in one of the best-timed stories WWE has recently put together. He’s not evil–he’s delusional. But he’s delusional enough to be annoying when put up against “real” competitors. Expect the Man With Two Hands to get the snot beaten out of him tonight.

We’ve also got three more championships–and two of those don’t yet have a contender. The tag team division is wide open, but only American Alpha has the potential to be a credible threat for the Wyatt Family.

The Miz also needs a challenger for the Intercontinental Championship, and the field is a bit wider on this one. You could bring down Dean Ambrose from the main event scene, though he’s still locked up in the Styles/Ellsworth story. If you want heel versus heel, Baron Corbin is a solid contender. The Wyatts could seek to add to their power with the championship. A slightly-tarnished babyface in the form of Kalisto or Apollo Crews could come after the belt.

Then there’s tonight’s celebrity guest. Comedian Gabriel Iglesias hits the show in promotion of his 20 year anniversary tour. Will it it be a traditional WWE celebrity segment trainwreck? Probably not. The guest spots in 2016 have been much smarter–and much shorter, so it seems WWE is finally realizing it’s best to leave in-ring segments to the wrestlers.

SmackDown broadcasts from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., live as always on the USA Network at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central. We’ll have live coverage of the show as it happens, so stick around for all the news!