WWE SmackDown Live preview: 24th January 2017

Last minute decorations needed

SmackDown Live has been doing a better job in comparison to Monday Night Raw ever since the brand split. This week, the brand will have another chance to cement this fact when they make their last stop before Royal Rumble.

Apart from the Royal Rumble match itself, SmackDown has a big role in the pay-per-view thanks to the showdown between AJ Styles and John Cena for the WWE championship.

This and a set of other storylines makes SmackDown worth tuning into. As usual, we are going to preview the show and take a look at the possible segments that WWE could serve at SmackDown live this week.


#5 Mickie is back

Mickey returned to the mix last week

The identity of La Luchadora was finally revealed last week on SmackDown and it turned out to be a major talking point of last week’s WWE programming.

Mickie’s recent appearance on NXT against Asuka proved that she still has some more quality years ahead of her and her addition to the SmackDown roster is going to be a major boost for the Women’s division.

Becky Lynch, in particular, looks set to benefit more from the return of Mickie as WWE have sown the seeds for a Becky – Mickie feud which is bound to be a high profile one.

Alexa could move on to a different title feud at this point and the picture will get clear at this week’s SmackDown live.

#4 Orton to face Harper

What will Orton do?

The friction within the Wyatt Family is bound to reach the boiling point this week when Randy Orton goes on to face Luke Harper. Last week, a distraction from Harper proved to be costly for Orton, who lost to Dean Ambrose.

The Harper – Orton problem has been going around for a long time now and having them face each other just one week ahead of Royal Rumble evokes a list of questions.

WWE is probably going to sow the final seeds of Wyatt Family break up and will pull the plug at Royal Rumble. The most interesting part about the match would be the stand of Bray Wyatt on the issue.

He is going to have trouble picking a side and this will be the subplot for this match.

#3 Final additions to Royal Rumble

Will Shane make some decisions?

SmackDown will officially be the last stop before the 2017 edition of Royal Rumble. The field is still left to be filled after Raw and considering the momentum that SmackDown has, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to invest some time on building up the Royal Rumble on Tuesday night.

SmackDown has been getting the better of Raw ever since the brand split happened, but the big names have always flown in favour of the Monday night show.

If WWE goes up against this trend and gives SmackDown a big announcement regarding the Rumble, it is bound to make for a memorable episode.

#2 Dean Ambrose riding on momentum

Ambrose has huge momentum

As mentioned in the last slide, Dean Ambrose enjoyed a good win over Randy Orton last week at SmackDown.

The win came due to an interference from Luke Harper but it was a win nevertheless. Ambrose, after winning the Intercontinental title from Miz, has been showing some good momentum and WWE should bank in on the same.

A new feud is needed for the Lunatic Fringe. With Rumble just a week away, booking a title match would be too fast, but WWE could sow the seeds and make it a subplot for the Rumble.

This is needed so that Ambrose has something to do in the match rather than just coming in and getting eliminated at some time with no storyline to back him up whatsoever.

#1 Continuing the Cena – Styles saga

Last minute decorations needed

WWE has successfully managed to create a big match feel for the John Cena – AJ Styles match which is set to happen at the Royal Rumble.

Ever since the return of Cena, some intelligent booking has been rolled out by the creative team and so far, Cena has taken the upper hand with his win against Baron Corbin and has backed it up with a strong showing last week.

AJ Styles needs to bounce back ahead of Royal Rumble and as this is the last show before the pay-per-view, we can expect him to get a strong booking. It would also be interesting to see whether WWE reintroduces Miz into the mix as it was a successful effort last week around.


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