The final show before the Royal Rumble is almost here. WWE Friday Night Smackdown in Dallas, Texas kicks off as usual on FOX this Friday at 8pm EST/7pm CST.
The seeds have been planted for some compelling storylines on the blue brand heading into the Royal Rumble and ultimately WrestleMania 36. Smackdown has been a shining star the last few weeks to build up some intrigue for the first major WWE show of 2020.
Mayor Glenn Jacobs returns
It looks as if Kane may be a staple on Friday Night Smackdown for the next few months. Bray Wyatt made a special cameo to greet his returning former rival Kane who kicked off last week’s Smackdown. While Kane made the announcement of entering the 2020 Royal Rumble, this isn’t the reason we will be seeing him on television for the next few months.
Kane is rumored to take on The Fiend at the next Saudi Arabia show in February and this will set up Bray Wyatt’s WrestleMania 36 match against the legendary Undertaker. This is going to be a fun WrestleMania match for Bray Wyatt and will cement him as a future legend if he can defeat Daniel Bryan, Kane, and The Undertaker to kick off 2020.
- The Fiend vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36 is the only match that makes sense for him this year. Kane will play a huge role in setting the feud up between his brother, The Undertaker vs The Fiend at the showcase of the immortals.
- Whichever creative members are writing this developing storyline, please give them a raise now. Fans want a suspension of disbelief and this storyline can creatively give wrestling fans what they want to see for once. Kudos to whoever had this idea!
- The storyline writes itself for The Undertaker vs The Fiend at WrestleMania 36. The Undertaker’s victory over Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 30 and Kane potentially being decimated at the hands of The Fiend will create plenty of great content to develop this feud. WWE so please don’t mess this up!
Don’t forget about Daniel Bryan
While Kane played a big part of this week’s show, Daniel Bryan continued his quest to destroy his rival The Fiend. WWE announced we will see a Strap Match at the Royal Rumble between Daniel Bryan and The Fiend. A Strap Match is a strange stipulation to this match. Why not something people enjoy like a Steel Cage Match?
- Soak in what you will see on the next episode of Smackdown between The Fiend and Daniel Bryan as their Strap Match will end the feud for good at the Royal Rumble.
- Daniel Bryan will be lost in the shuffle after the Royal Rumble. I can’t see any potential feuds for the Planets Champion heading into WrestleMania 36. If he doesn’t get a solid feud headed in WrestleMania 36, it will be very disappointing. This may be the last year we see Daniel Bryan in the ring.
- Bray Wyatt will cement his legacy and become a legend in wrestling in 2020. His rise to being a legend in wrestling all starts with his match at the Royal Rumble.
The New Day will drop the Tag Team Championships soon
The Miz and John Morrison have defeated both New Day members two weeks in a row. These four competitors are victims of a lack of creative plans and total misuse of their talents. At least the Tag Team Championship will get some air time on Smackdown and PPV cards in the coming weeks right?
- WWE messed up in a big way by booking the returning John Morrison into a tag team with his former partner, The Miz. Nobody has been asking for them to reform their tag team from a decade ago. This is just another example of WWE management squandering a great opportunity with a talented performer.
- Remember Kofi Kingston was the World Champion less than three months ago? Don’t worry because I forgot already as well. Kofi has been relegated back to being a side show comedy act on Smackdown.
- The New Day will break up in 2020 and Big E. will breakout as a huge star and monster heel. The build will start when they drop the Tag Team titles to Miz and Morrison. Keep your eyes open for this pending breakup and dissension between Kofi and Big E starting as soon as Friday’s Smackdown.
The Revival need a change of scenery soon
Name a tag team in WWE that has been booked as bad as The Revival. Dash and Dawson were huge stars in NXT and have been victims of horrendous booking since their arrival on the main roster. The Revival stated after their recent loss to The Uso’s that “they would need to make a change since WWE wouldn’t change for them.” Is this change AEW in 2020?
- The Revival need to leave WWE when their contracts end in 2020. It’s the only hope for their careers to be revived as WWE clearly doesn’t know how to use their talents.
- The WWE tag team division is booked as poorly as the AEW Women’s division week after week. Smackdown’s tag team division is one of the most boring divisions in professional wrestling.
- Keeping The Revival under the WWE umbrella does zero to improve their weak tag team division. Dash and Dawson can wrestle great but lack star appeal and I can’t see them improving this anytime soon in WWE. The Revival need to move away from the WWE as soon as their contract is up.
Lacey Evans will be your new Smackdown womens champion
The Lacey Evans experiment has paid off slowly but surely. People are really getting behind the transition Evan’s has made from a heel character to the face contender she is now. Bayley has underwhelmed people once again and it’s time to give Lacey a shot as the women’s champion on the blue brand.
Braun Strowman will get his Intercontinental Championship Title shot
It’s absurd that Braun Strowman has never held a singles title in the WWE. It’s even more absurd how bad the WWE has used Shinsuke Nakamura since he left NXT a few years ago. With 2 wins over the current Intercontinental Champion, Braun will demand a title shot on the final show before the Royal Rumble. The time is now for this match to be set for the Royal Rumble.
- Braun Strowman needs to win the IC belt this weekend. Give him a long title run and set up a match later in the year vs The Fiend. That will be a battle people will love to see and maybe Strowman finally gets his shot to lead the Smackdown brand.
- Shinsuke Nakamura needs to go back to NXT after WrestleMania 36. Repackage him as and let him lead the NXT brand this year. Imagine some of the matchups we would see against the likes of Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Finn Balor. This would help NXT big time in their battle for ratings supremacy with AEW Dynamite.
Roman Reigns and King Corbin will finally settle this feud
“The Big Dog” got the win against a returning Robert Roode to pick the stipulation of his match against King Corbin at the Royal Rumble. We will get a Falls Count Anywhere Match between these bitter rivals and hopefully this ends the feud that seems like it has gone on forever. King Corbin will be looking for retribution this week on Smackdown and Reigns will be looking to end this rivalry. The time has come to please end this feud and allow both superstars a fresh and new feud.
- Corbin is ready for a title run in the near future. He has improved all aspects of his character and in ring work. He is one of the few true heels in the wrestling business. Love him or hate him, Corbin is a star.
- Please don’t let Roman Reigns win the Royal Rumble and start a feud with The Fiend that will culminate in a match at WrestleMania 36. The fans will have a temper tantrum and nobody wants this match up anytime soon.
Smackdown will lead the charge into this weekends Royal Rumble scheduled to take place in Houston, Texas. This is the best time of year for wrestling fans starting with the Royal Rumble kicking off WrestleMania season. The Smackdown roster has the potential to create some can’t miss moments all week long. Will they deliver? That question can answered starting this Friday at 8pm EST/7pm CST on Fox.