SmackDown will air tonight (August 12) with a live show from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is the second SmackDown episode during the five-week buildup to Clash at the Castle, which premieres September 3rd.
Triple H is full of surprises
Since taking over WWE Creative, Triple H hasn’t hesitated to bring back wrestlers published by Vince McMahon. Dakota Kai caused a sensation at SummerSlam. Karrion Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux followed on SmackDown last week and Dexter Lumis appeared on Raw earlier this week. A recent rumor suggests that Triple H is deliberately trying to spread the surprise returns to keep things fresh. To that end, a report from last night indicates that some Hit Row members are expected on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
It’s a fascinating time watching Triple H play the game and move the chess pieces across the board. Many wrestlers that Vince has released have already signed to AEW or another pro wrestling organization. Even if Hit Row shows up tonight, their most talented member, Swerve Strickland, won’t be there. The unavailability of Triple H’s former NXT top guys like Adam Cole and Keith Lee might also help explain why an unexpected name like Dexter Lumis was one of the first published wrestlers brought back into the group.
How many more weeks will Triple H let these surprise returns fall into our laps? Will former mainline stars like Braun Strowman or Bray Wyatt eventually be part of the mix?
I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I do know that right now is a fun time to be a wrestling fan with all of the changes that are moving WWE away from Vince McMahon’s weary creative vision.
The title scene
Intercontinental Champion Gunther jeopardizes the belt against Shinsuke Nakamura tonight. Ludwig Kaiser couldn’t get the job done, so Gunther will show his subordinate that failure is not an option.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan will sign a deal with Shayna Baszler tonight to make her title fight for Clash at the Castle official. Let’s hope the weakened and vulnerable babyface champion can muster the strength to actually put pen to paper, even if she’s booed out of the building again.
That WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship The tournament continues tonight with Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah taking on Shotzi & Xia Li. Rodriguez proved in last week’s gauntlet match that she can singlehandly beat much of the women’s roster, potentially allowing her to make a deep run in the tournament even with the unproven Aliyah as her partner.
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is scheduled to defend his title against Shanky Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle. Part-timer Reigns isn’t expected to make an appearance on tonight’s show, which could explain why Karrion Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux have suddenly joined the main event scene. Kross ambushed McIntyre last week before Scarlett announced the clock was ticking for Roman’s reign as champion. How will Drew react to her surprise return?
The Usos are the WWE Tag Team Champions and currently have no competition. They spent their time last week treating Sami Zayn like trash, demanding he step up and earn his place in the bloodline. Does this lead to a story where Sami finally realizes what’s going on and finds a partner to dethrone Jimmy and Jey?
Other things to keep an eye on
– WWE has not provided an update on the suspension of Ronda Rousey. Could she be back tonight?
– Sheamus and the Brawling Brutes didn’t factor into last week’s episode, but there will almost certainly be something for them to do at Clash at the Castle… right?
– Ricochet got back on track last week with a win over Happy Corbin. However, as we saw with Madcap Moss, hitting Happy Corbin doesn’t guarantee anything about a future push.
– The New and Vicious Viking Raiders had a rare misfire last week when Kofi Kingston defeated Erik in a singles game. Kofi is a former WWE Champion, but it was presented as an angry victory.
– Maximum male models have yet to tickle our guilty pleasure juices in the context of a real wrestling match. Will that change soon?
– SmackDown is in North Carolina tonight. Could this be the night Charlotte Flair returns to WWE?
What will you be looking for on SmackDown tonight?