WWE brings Friday Night SmackDown to the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota! It’s going to be an action-packed, grappling extraordinaire featuring some of the finest talents in sports entertainment toda-look, let’s just address the elephant in the room, okay? Vince McMahon is in a whole lot of trouble, folks – and in John Cena month of all months! Is nothing sacred? Earlier in the week, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article which shocked (though, not really) the world and shook the WWE Universe and the wider multiverse of professional wrestling to its very core. We do not need to explain what happened here as the WSJ article will explain all the technicalities to a more informed standard, but what started as just another ordinary week for the WWE has resulted in Stephanie McMahon ascending to the throne as interim CEO and Chairwoman of the WWE (your move, Nick Khan). Before we touch on how this relates to tonight’s show, we actually have an Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship match to preview. Let’s dive right in!
Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship Match: Riddle vs. Roman Reigns (c)
Now I have to leave the private island 🏝
…jump on the private yacht🛥
….and then board the private jet 🛩 just to smash this idiot on #Smackdown
Tribal Chief problems. 😏☝🏽 https://t.co/jcx0BDlw4v— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) June 11, 2022
In what was the most hotly-anticipated aspect of tonight’s show until just one hour ago, Roman Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship against the recently single (in more ways than one) Riddle, who has been riding solo since his RK-Bro comrade, Randy Orton, was put on the shelf for what will likely be the rest of the year. Here’s the thing: all the comedy and goofiness aside, Riddle is a damn good professional wrestler capable of having high-impact, fresh matches with just about anyone. In Roman Reigns, he has a veteran opponent who has been on the run of his life these past two years – one who has been undefeated throughout this entire duration of time (which probably means Riddle isn’t winning this one on an episode of SmackDown which will be dominated by a certain other segment). This should be a fun match and Riddle is an opponent worthy of Reigns dragging himself off his private island. Who wins? Probably Roman Reigns.
Vince McMahon Will Say… Something
Mr. McMahon will appear on SmackDown tonight at 8 PM ET live on FOX. pic.twitter.com/6XEEDwR0Hy
— WWE (@WWE) June 17, 2022
The CEO (though not currently) and chairman of the board (also not currently), Vincent Kennedy McMahon, will appear on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. We are all aware of the real-life drama involving Vince McMahon (and John Laurinaitis) currently, and it is almost certainly going to be a messy situation – hence why Vince has temporarily distanced himself from the company and passed key responsibilities over to Stephanie. However, little over an hour ago, McMahon or someone else in the WWE decided to involve the ongoing drama into the company’s programming by Tweeting out the announcement regarding Vince appearing on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. Of course, this has raised eyebrows and those of us willing to see billionaire drama unfold in a public setting will almost certainly be tuning in. The question is: what exactly will Vince say? Will it be an announcement regarding his future with the company (and his successor)? Will it be a damage control, cordial affair designed to cool some of the negative press? One thing is for certain – there is no chance in hell of him being apologetic. Though it might not be the wisest idea to go public with anything relating to this subject whilst an official investigation takes place, this will certainly be one worth tuning in for as it has very rapidly become the biggest news story in the industry. Hey, remember MJF?
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