WWE Friday Night SmackDown preview: Rumors, match card for Feb. 9 in Charlotte
Last week's WWE Friday Night SmackDown provided more questions than answers. Everyone who wanted Cody Rhodes to "finish the story" left disappointed in his decision not to challenge Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40.
After an incredible press tour for The Rock that included an appearance on the Pat McAfee show as well as the press conference with Roman Reigns, perhaps fans will start to look favorably at the incoming WrestleMania match between the two.
On the women's side, Bayley also decided to turn on Damage CTRL by going after Iyo Sky for the WWE Women's Championship instead of Rhea Ripley like her team wanted. What will happen to arguably the most dominant women's faction in WWE after this fissure?
Here's everything we know is coming to Friday Night SmackDown in Charlotte.
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Who will Logan Paul defend his United States Championship against?
After defending his title from Kevin Owens in a controversial manner, Logan Paul seems to be dodging a rematch against him. While Owens has claimed that he is not done with Paul just yet, The Maverick practically begged SmackDown manager Nick Aldis to get him a match with literally anyone else.
Owens had just taken down Austin Theory with the same brass knuckles that Theory tried to hand to Paul during the title match, so it makes sense that Paul would not be looking forward to facing Owens again.
As of right now though, there isn't anyone who stands out as a potential challenger for Logan Paul. This is entirely speculation, but perhaps Rey Mysterio could return after undergoing surgery in mid-November. Rey's initial injury timeline stated that he was likely out for six-to-eight weeks and we are past that figure at this point. Mysterio's re-emergence would make for a fun storyline, but that timeline would have also had Mysterio ready for the Royal Rumble, which he obviously was not present for. The Maverick and the lucha libre extraordinaire have a history with one another, as Paul's United States title was taken from Mysterio at Crown Jewel on Nov. 4.
Who will face Judgment Day for the Tag Team Championship?
The only other match currently known to the public is the tag team match between the team of Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate and DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa).
Dunne and Bate earned the right to potentially challenge Finn Balor and Damian Priest after taking down top teams such as the LWO, Pretty Deadly, and Legado del Fantasma in a fatal four-way match. DIY also earned their spot in a four-way match after pinning Giovanni Vinci of Imperium, leaving the New Day and the Creed Brothers in the dust.
Both teams are pretty hot coming into this contest, so it is really anyone's guess as to who will walk away victorious. All we know is that either team will have their hands full with Judgment Day, who have now held the Tag Team title since October.
How will Cody Rhodes' decision affect SmackDown?
Despite much assumption that Cody Rhodes would choose to fight Seth Freakin' Rollins at Wrestlemania, Rhodes shocked the world and chose Roman Reigns during the press conference in Las Vegas on Thursday.
This decision has seemingly united The Rock and Roman Reigns against Rhodes, a shocking development considering The Rock and Roman Reigns were expected to fight for the Universal championship prior to the press conference. During Rhodes' announcement, Rhodes claimed that Reigns' grandfather would be ashamed of him for how he has acted recently and how he treated former Bloodline member Jey Uso. Since The Rock and Reigns' grandfather swore a blood oath connecting their families, The Rock took offense to that statement, slapping Rhodes. The Rock later told Paul 'Triple H' Levesque to "make it right" to which Triple H responded "That was out of line and you know it."
Although Rhodes is technically on RAW, given his current storyline, it stands to reason that we will be seeing much more of Rhodes on SmackDown moving forward. There has been no confirmation that Rhodes will be on tonight's episode though.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WWE Smackdown preview: What to expect after Roman Reigns, Rock meeting
