With Christmas just around the corner, WWE Friday Night SmackDown promises a slew of action not to miss. SmackDown sees the return of Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. In addition, the Intercontinental and Women’s Tag Team Championship titles will be on the line in promising encounters. These are the main focuses, but it’s possible that a surprise or two will be waiting in the wings as well. Are you looking to tune into SmackDown on FOX? Prior to showtime, take a deep dive into the full announced card and preview the action to come.
WWE Friday Night SmackDown – Full Card for Tonight
- Roman Reigns Returns
- Hit Row (Ashante “Thee” Adonis and Top Dolla) (w/B-FAB) vs. Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro) (w/Santos Escobar and Zelina Vega) vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) (w/Valhalla)
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Damage CTRL (IYO SKY and Dakota Kai) (c) (w/Bayley) vs. Liv Morgan and Tegan Nox
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) (w/Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) vs. Ricochet
Old photo but same goal…getting those Tag titles, baby!! Tune in tomorrow 8pm EST on Fox to watch the SHINIEST team aLIVe capture that gold! pic.twitter.com/a8I9ZhfEO5
— Nixon Newell (@TeganNoxWWE) December 15, 2022
Titles Will Be Defended
As mentioned earlier, this week’s WWE SmackDown will see two titles being defended. In one of the scheduled matches, IYO SKY and Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL will defend the Women’s Tag Team Championship against Liv Morgan and Tegan Nox, the latter of whom made her surprise return on the December 2 edition of SmackDown. The following week, Morgan and Nox teamed up in a winning effort against Shayna Baszler and SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. Now, Morgan and Nox have the opportunity to capture tag team gold. Can they continue their newfound momentum or will the champions prove to be too much for the challengers?
Also in action will be Intercontinental Champion Gunther, who defends the gold against the high-flying Ricochet. Following his victory over Braun Strowman in the finals of the SmackDown World Cup, Ricochet immediately set his sights on the Intercontinental Championship. This past June, Gunther bested Ricochet to capture the title, holding it for over 180 days since then. However, the challenger hasn’t lost sight of the gold, wanting nothing more than to capture it for the second time in his career. Between the aerial-focused approach of Ricochet and the brute force of Gunther, expect this match to be nothing short of a show-stealer.
Chicago!!!! Get ready to acknowledge your Tribal Chief and the greatness of The #Bloodline.
The undeniable best in the world and it’s not even close. ☝🏽🩸@HeymanHustle @WWEUsos @WWESoloSikoa @SamiZayn pic.twitter.com/wdRPxJmndC
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) December 15, 2022
Roman Reigns Returns to SmackDown
At Survivor Series WarGames, The Bloodline bested The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens in a chaotic main event. This match saw, among other things, Sami Zayn reinforcing his loyalty to The Bloodline, striking Owens between the legs and allowing his once rival, Jey Uso, to pick up the pinfall victory for the group. With this, Zayn seemed to earn the approval of all members, including Jey, who was quite skeptical of “The Master Strategist’s” intentions since the latter first joined the group. This week, The Bloodline is back to its full strength as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, returns to SmackDown.
The main question heading into SmackDown tonight is, what will be “The Tribal Chief’s” next move? Roman Reigns has held WWE’s top prize for over 800 days, overcoming any and all challengers in his way. It’s difficult to imagine who will be next in line to challenge Reigns tonight if this is what will indeed take place. Perhaps Reigns will use this platform as nothing more than an opportunity to gloat about The Bloodline’s accomplishments. Whatever the case may be, when “The Head of the Table” is on the screen, it will be must-see television.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other wrestling stories worldwide as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the important news in the wrestling world and provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Additionally, you can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
