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Fans who enjoyed RAW after WWE WrestleMania XL should expect an eventful episode of SmackDown too. After all, who said that surprises were only for Mondays?
On RAW, numerous WWE legends made unadvertised appearances for the fans' viewing pleasure. From The Rock teasing a future clash with Cody Rhodes to John Cena helping R-Truth 'finish his story,' the show served up a welcome fallout from a historic WrestleMania.
Now, it's time for the post-WrestleMania XL edition of SmackDown to treat the WWE Universe on the same level. One fine way to make sure of that is by having one or more legends pop up.
But given that CM Punk, The Rock, and John Cena already showed up on RAW, who could've WWE saved for Friday night? Well, here are five options.
#5. 4x WWE Champion and Hall of Famer: The Undertaker
If there's one legend who the fans might never be able to boo: The Undertaker. The chills that fill up an entire arena the moment 'The Gong' hits are indescribable.
This past weekend, The Phenom took it upon himself to help usher in a new era of professional wrestling. He did that by taking out The Final Boss, The Rock, leaving Roman Reigns at the mercy of Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. But what if his Sunday appearance wasn't a one-off deal?
Interestingly, The Grim Reaper of WWE exited the ring before the match ended. Thus, unlike all the other babyfaces, he didn't celebrate The American Nightmare's incredible win. But considering that he had a significant role to play in the main event, it would make sense for him to congratulate the new WWE Champion publicly.
That said, fans shouldn't rule out The Undertaker making a quick stop in Detroit this Friday. He could endorse Cody as the new face of WWE and declare that the ring is now his yard.
#4. Rikishi
After close to eight months of anticipation, fans finally got to see Jey and Jimmy Uso collide in singles action.
Now, Main Event Jey has his eyes set on the World Heavyweight Championship. Jimmy, on the other hand, has a tough path ahead of him. With The Rock and possibly Roman Reigns taking extended time off, it might be challenging for Jimmy to navigate through the stacked SmackDown roster.
That is where his father, Rikishi, could help him out. Owing to the fact that Rikishi enjoyed considerable success as a tag team as well as a singles star during the star-studded Attitude and Ruthless Aggression era, he might be the one to unveil what endeavors Jimmy and Solo should partake in next.
There's no doubt that a rare Rikishi sighting on WWE TV would pop the live crowd. Moreover, if anybody could encourage The Bloodline duo after this past weekend's setbacks, it has to be their own father.
#3. and #2. Bubby Ray and D-Von Dudley
At WrestleMania XL, the tag team belts finally got split. Now, SmackDown has its own set of Tag Team Champions and the same goes for RAW. So, fans can expect more duos on the main roster to get more opportunities to shine. One team that will benefit from this move is The Street Profits.
Along with Bobby Lashley, The Street Profits picked up a big win in the Philadelphia Street Fight last weekend. While the trio in question would've walked away with the win regardless, credit should be given where it's due. The special referee of the bout, Bubba Ray Dudley, was pretty biased toward The Pride.
However, what if Bubba wasn't favoring the babyfaces just to make the crowd happy? What if he wanted to get close to The Street Profits before challenging them to a tag-team match where the former would reunite with D-Von Dudley?
It's no news that the legendary duo has been entertaining the idea of having a final run. And what better way to kick off that potential run than by facing one of the top current tag teams? The upcoming edition of SmackDown might as well be the occasion where The Dudley Boyz make their intentions clear.
#1 Matt Hardy
The current WWE roster is filled to the brim with people with varying talents. There is a Viking who can embrace the air like a 170-pounder. There are stars who can keep the fans singing at the top of their lungs for minutes at a time. The only thing missing is a veteran who can slap a tornado.
However, it turns out that the aforementioned void might not exist for long. Recently, news broke out that Matt Hardy's contract with AEW expired. For the first time in over four years, The Broken One is a free agent. One would assume that he's WWE-bound now, and that could be confirmed as early as Friday.
There's no denying that the 49-year-old veteran's run with the Jacksonville-based promotion left a lot to be desired. Still, fans shouldn't count him out just yet. His Broken and Big Money gimmicks proved that he has creative potential.
Therefore, Hardy's assumed return to WWE could be beneficial for more than one reason. For starters, he could coach the up-and-coming stars and work with them on TV. For that purpose alone, SmackDown would be a good landing spot for him.
