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Dallas, Texas will host the next episode of SmackDown Live. The American Airlines Center will witness the men and women of the blue brand in action, days before WrestleMania 34. Considering how thrilling some of the encounters on the card are, we wonder what's in store for us in a few hours to get us excited for the grandest stage of them all? Let us speculate here.
Welcome to our weekly SmackDown preview. Our objective through this piece is to get your all alive and pumped about the action that will ensue very soon. This is the trailer before the movie actually airs!
Let's go straight to the heart of the action. Let's begin with the biggest talking point from last week's thrilling episode.
#5 Daniel Bryan is back, and punishment is forthcoming
After the events that transpired at Fastlane, it seemed as if Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were no longer on the same page. Shane McMahon came out to make an announcement and proclaim that he was going on a leave of absence, at the end of last week's ho-hum episode.
All of this was a set up for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to attack the WWE SmackDown Live Commissioner and put him out of action. Owens ended up powerbombing him on a steel ladder. Last week's action ended with Shane McMahon's groans of agony.
In the past, we've seen Daniel Bryan side with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, despite the fact that they have always lied, cheated and generally done heelish things. We believe punishment may be in order this time.
Whatever the case may be, Daniel Bryan's return should have massive WrestleMania implications!
#4 New participants for two historic Battle Royals?
We had a chance to catch up with Becky Lynch last week, where she confirmed that she will be a part of the recently renamed WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal match. We saw The Revival announce that they will be a part of the 'Andre the Giant' memorial Battle Royal match, this week on RAW.
The question remains...who are the other superstars from SmackDown Live who'll participate in these historic matches? One assumes that with Charlotte Flair and Asuka competing for the SmackDown Women's Championship, the rest of the division will all be involved in the Women's Battle Royal match.
Superstars such as Tye Dillinger, Zack Ryder, and even last year's winner Mojo Rawley may also compete in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal match. We wonder if they will all announce their participation in this week's show.
We also wonder if superstars higher on the totem pole such as Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin will be relegated to Battle Royals, or if they'll have singles matches at WrestleMania 34?!
#3 The rebuilding of Carmella continues...
We don't know if you have noticed it yet. Carmella has picked up a string of victories recently. This is because she is due for a cash-in at any time now, and WWE really wants us to get used to the idea of her as Women's Champion. We wonder who she will square off against, in this episode.
Carmella has also improved leaps and bounds as a performer, of late. It will be interesting to see if she does cash in her contract as recently as this episode of SmackDown Live.
#2 Two brothers are on the hunt, yet again
At Fastlane, we saw the Bludgeon Brothers disrupt the SmackDown Tag Team Title match between The Usos and The New Day. Disrupt is actually a mild word to describe the carnage that we witnessed. The two babyface teams were mauled to a pulp. Xavier Woods, in particular, bore the brunt of the attack.
Jimmy Uso and Big E formed a makeshift alliance on SmackDown Live. Much to their despair, they too were destroyed by the mallet-wielding ex-Wyatt Family members. Can anyone stop these monsters?
We wonder if there is a triple threat match planned for WrestleMania. And if so, we wonder if the Bludgeon Brothers will lead the tag team division into a brand new era, if they do triumph! For the time being, expect carnage on SmackDown Live, this week.
#1 Will AJ Styles help Nakamura out, this week?
Last week, when AJ Styles was in trouble, Shinsuke Nakamura had his back. Styles met Nakamura backstage and informed him that he did not need his help. We wonder what the next chapter of their rivalry will be. Because they are both babyfaces, there's very little heat for this match right now.
Maybe there will be a miscommunication between the two men, leading to a misunderstanding? Could we see one of these two men going heel, ahead of their highly anticipated clash? We'll learn about the same, very soon indeed.
That concludes this week's SmackDown Live preview. We invite you to leave a comment, in the section below.
How excited are you for tonight's show?
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