SmackDown airs tonight (Feb. 7) with a live show emanating from FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. This is the first episode of SmackDown during the four week build towards Elimination Chamber, which takes place on March 1.
Jey Uso’s WrestleMania push is best for business
Shortly after John Cena lost the Royal Rumble match, he announced his entry into the Elimination Chamber and matter-of-factly stated that winning the 17th world championship of his career at WrestleMania is what’s best for business.
The truth of the matter is that WWE has a lot of creative flexibility right now when it comes to making moves that are best for business. Paul “Triple H” Levesque was able to quickly win back the goodwill of the fanbase after Vince McMahon’s disgraceful exit from the company, and WWE just continues to get hotter and hotter under Levesque’s creative direction. As a result, just about anything WWE does right now from a creative standpoint will be best for business, as long as the promotion doesn’t do things that are monumentally stupid to piss away that goodwill again.
Jey Uso’s upcoming WrestleMania push is one of those creative decisions that’s best for business, because he’s an upper card star who has been very popular among WWE fans for a long time now (Yeet), and has a built in storyline to chase World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER.
Sure, there’s been some backlash to Jey’s surprise Royal Rumble win, but that’s mostly just a case of some people being upset that their favorite(s) might not be in the main event of WrestleMania now that Uso has secured one of those spots. The bottom line is that most WWE fans are on board with wanting to see Jey Uso win a world title at WrestleMania. All you have to do is watch his entrance on any episode of Raw to know that’s true.
Even though Uso vs. GUNTHER seems like the probable WrestleMania match, Jey is doing the smart thing by keeping his options open for now. With that in mind, he’s visiting SmackDown tonight to have a chat with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
What advice will Rhodes offer to Uso when they talk tonight about his WrestleMania decision? Will some asshole heel in the locker room interrupt these guys looking to cause trouble? Tune into SmackDown tonight to see if Jey Uso is ready to shock the world again by choosing Cody Rhodes as his WrestleMania opponent.
The rest of tonight’s card
Charlotte Flair won the women’s Royal Rumble and also needs to make a decision on which champion she will face at WrestleMania 41. She didn’t feel inspired by Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley’s aggressive approach of asking for the fight on Raw. The Queen will now appear on the blue brand tonight, presumably to have a conversation with WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton. Will the right inspiration strike Flair if Tiffany attempts to dodge the fight? Is there any way this segment won’t result in Stratton being cheered and Flair being booed?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Drew McIntyre reportedly stormed out of the building after he was eliminated by Damian Priest at the Royal Rumble, apparently because he was pissed off about LA Knight getting his shit in and ruining the moment. Will McIntyre show up tonight to break his silence and give us his thoughts on what exactly happened at Royal Rumble?
– Speaking of the megastar, I doubt that his issues with the New Bloodline are over. Luckily for him, Braun Strowman miraculously returned at Royal Rumble and eliminated Jacob Fatu. Will Knight and Strowman team up tonight to continue their fight against Fatu and Tama Tonga?
– Could any or all of the above men be involved in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match tonight, if General Manager Nick Aldis happens to book one?
– Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green took the easy way out and retained her belt via disqualification against Michin last week. Will Nick Aldis book a rematch where weapons are allowed?
– The Motor City Machine Guns were screwed over at Royal Rumble when the Street Profits returned and cost them their shot at the WWE tag team titles. Do Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins realize that the same thing will probably happen to them when they get their next championship match against DIY?
– WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Naomi and Bianca Belair aren’t very good detectives because they still have no idea who attacked Jade Cargill over two months ago. Will they finally discover a clue during tonight’s broadcast, or is it a lost cause at this point?
– The Miz has yet to find any friends on SmackDown who are willing to help him fight off the Wyatt Sicks. The group rarely ever shows up on TV, so maybe everything will work out fine for the A-Lister. Even so, he should probably stay away from Alexa Bliss if he happens to see her backstage tonight.
– Will Zelina Vega and Andrade cross paths again now that they are both on SmackDown?
– Trish Stratus was a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match, and next month’s Elimination Chamber event happens to take place in her hometown of Toronto. Will she show up on SmackDown tonight looking to do weird things to Nia Jax after Jax eliminated her from the Rumble?
– United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura followed up a couple weeks of doing nothing by being tossed out of the Royal Rumble match in less than four minutes. Which babyface will see this as a good time to come challenge for his gold?
– Where the f*** is Solo Sikoa? He’s so distraught over losing his status as Tribal Chief that he didn’t even enter the Royal Rumble match.
What will you be looking for on SmackDown?
