2016 has been a great year for SmackDown. Ever since the brand split has been in place, SmackDown has managed to get the better of Monday Night Raw and has positioned itself in a great position heading into the New Year.
One last stop is what awaits the fans of SmackDown and from what is being advertised, the show has enough ammunition to be one of the best episodes of the year.
The return of John Cena will indeed be the major attraction of the show. WWE could pull off some major surprises with Cena returning. Some title matches have been lined up for the show as well and we are going to take a look at how things could play out.
#5 Wyatt Family out to defend
The Wyatt Family will be out to defend their Tag team Championship this week in a four corner elimination match. American Alpha, Usos, and Heath Slater & Rhyno will challenge for the gold. In short, all the top tag teams of SmackDown live will be featured in the match, but the Wyatt Family clearly goes in as the favourites.
The chances of Wyatts losing the gold so early after winning it are low unless we see a turn from either Randy Orton or Bray Wyatt. Otherwise, this could be a fun match which the fans could enjoy. Any long-term change might not come across unless a risky booking decision is made.
#4 Becky out to hunt Alexa
Becky Lynch got her shot at the WWE Women’s championship last week under disguise. The Lynch – Alexa storyline has been here for some time but due to the lower number of title changes that is involved, it hasn’t come across as a hot potato feud.
Alexa has been on a great run, ever since she was drafted to SmackDown and she’s even seen as one of the best picks in the draft by many. With such momentum on her back, taking the title away would be a mistake. Also, Becky has enough star power to hang around and work with people without any gold around her waist.
#3 The Slap-gate
One of the biggest highlights of last week was the segment between Miz and Renee Young. Miz, after successfully defending his Intercontinental championship against Apollo Crews would go on to plunge his hand into the personal life of Renee and Dean Ambrose.
It, in turn, earned Miz a slap from Renee and it was heard all around the Wrestling community.
The fallout of Renee’s actions would be a great angle this time on SmackDown. It could lead to a feud between Ambrose and Miz but the funny part here is, we could see Maryse get back into the ring and Renee maker her in-ring debut if WWE is looking into it.
#2 The triple threat
The WWE Championship will be on the line on Tuesday night when AJ Styles defends against Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin. It should be noted that AJ is still in recovering from his injury, meaning that a good portion of the match could be focused on Ziggler and Corbin.
Rumours suggested that the inclusion Corbin was to cover up the injury of AJ but it was a good move nevertheless. Despite the strong challenge, AJ is the favourite and any other result would turn out to be a huge surprise. The interesting part of the whole scenario would be the post – match segment as it could host the guy featured in the next slide.
#1 Return of the Cenation leader
John Cena returns this week. A potential feud with AJ Styles is what the rumour mill is buzzing about. With Cena chasing Ric Flair’s record and Styles defending his gold, it provides the best platform for Cena to make his return and make a challenge for the title.
But a more interesting alternative would be WWE pulling off a major surprise. Remember the time Triple H and Undertaker returned on the same night to set up a match? Similarly, if John Cena returns and Undertaker returns on the same segment, WWE could push a Cena vs. Undertaker showdown for WrestleMania.
They would have a lot of time to build up this feud while AJ could be invested elsewhere.
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