SmackDown airs tonight (Aug. 16) with a live show emanating from Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. This is the second episode of SmackDown during the four week build towards Bash in Berlin, which takes place on Aug. 31 in Germany.
Let’s finally hear Roman Reigns’ thoughts on what happened when he was gone from WWE
Roman Reigns was a man of few words last week when he returned to SmackDown. Solo Sikoa challenged him to come to the ring to try taking back the title of Tribal Chief. Roman quickly showed why he’s The OTC, as he easily fought off Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa before overpowering Sikoa in the ring. The Tongans recovered in time to help Sikoa escape with the Tribal Chief’s lei still in his possession, but it was pretty clear that this new version of The Bloodline is no match for Roman when Jacob Fatu isn’t around.
Reigns is advertised for another appearance on tonight’s episode. Will Jacob Fatu return so that we can see these two badasses face off? It’s not clear if Fatu’s injury is entirely a work. If it’s a shoot, then last week’s closing segment showed that Sikoa needs to add a new member to The Bloodline ASAP.
Given that Reigns didn’t say anything last week, it would be great to hear from him tonight. There are plenty of potential topics for him to discuss, including his loss against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, Paul Heyman and Jimmy Uso’s current status, Solo Sikoa’s takeover of The Bloodline, and when he will officially fight Sikoa in a match.
Will we finally hear what Roman has to say about what happened when he was gone from WWE for the last four months? You’ll have to tune into SmackDown to find out.
The rest of tonight’s card
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes handpicked Kevin Owens to be his challenger for Bash in Berlin. Owens wasn’t initially on board with that idea, but reconsidered once General Manager Nick Aldis suggested the match might go to Roman Reigns instead. Owens will tune up for that championship fight by stepping in the ring with Grayson Waller tonight. It’s possible that Austin Theory finally sees through Waller’s bullsh*t and is giving him a dose of his own medicine, as Theory is the one whose big mouth made this match happen, much to Waller’s dismay.
Tiffany Stratton is hosting a celebration for new WWE Women’s Champion Queen Nia Jax. Does former champion Bayley plan to crash the scene and demand a rematch for the belt? Will Stratton use this celebration to lower Nia’s guard and strike with her Money in the Bank contract? Do Chelsea Green and Piper Niven plan to join the party and steal everyone’s spotlight?
The mini tournament to determine number one contenders to The Bloodline’s WWE tag team championship wraps up tonight when DIY takes on the Street Profits. DIY just lost the belts to The Bloodline earlier this month, so maybe it’s time for Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins to earn another shot at the gold.
Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes is booked for tonight. Hayes was a sore loser after Andrade beat him twice in recent weeks, so he screwed El Idolo out of the United States championship number one contender’s match. Can Hayes finally put it all together and defeat Andrade in their third match?
Naomi vs. Blair Davenport is also scheduled for SmackDown. Davenport lost against Naomi last month and attacked her backstage after the match was over. Blair then made sure that Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair did not win the WWE women’s tag team titles from Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre. Davenport will try to get her win back from Naomi here, but it may very well break down into chaos if all six women get involved.
Other stuff to keep an eye on
- Santos Escobar is the number one contender to LA Knight’s United States championship. Knight has already defeated this guy multiple times in 2024. Can Escobar give us a reason to think things will go any differently when they lock up again?
- Is AJ Styles finally returning to SmackDown tonight? It’s been two months since we last saw him wrestle on WWE television.
- Pretty Deadly hasn’t won a match since March, so they should probably try to end that streak by asking Aldis for a tag team match against Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews.
- Where the f*** is Shinsuke Nakamura?
What will you be looking for on SmackDown?
