{"id":121710,"date":"2023-12-14T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T14:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=121710"},"modified":"2023-12-11T01:38:10","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T06:38:10","slug":"preview-wwe-smackdown-12-15-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2023\/12\/14\/preview-wwe-smackdown-12-15-23\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: WWE SmackDown (12\/15\/23) &#8211; The Tribal Chief Returns to Take Back Friday Nights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After a very successful and heartwarming\u00a0<em><strong>Tribute to the Troops<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0<em><strong>WWE SmackDown<\/strong><\/em> makes its way to the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It will surely be one of the best episodes of the Blue brand as the <strong>WWE<\/strong> Undisputed Universal Champion returns this Friday night.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, the first round of the United States Championship Tournament rolls on with the second half of the bracket. Hold on to your hats because it&#8217;s Friday night fight night! Here&#8217;s a preview of <em><strong>WWE Friday Night SmackDown<\/strong><\/em>. Let&#8217;s run it down.<\/p>\n<h3>Full WWE SmackDown Match Card:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>United States Championship Tournament &#8211; 1st Round: Carmelo Hayes vs. Grayson Waller<\/li>\n<li>United States Championship Tournament &#8211; 1st Round: Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory<\/li>\n<li>Roman Reigns Returns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>First Round Firefights<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">EXCLUSIVE: Despite being told he has a broken hand, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FightOwensFight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FightOwensFight<\/a> still wants to punch <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GraysonWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@GraysonWWE<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_Theory1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@_Theory1<\/a> next week. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SmackDown<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VHnCoIt9AL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/VHnCoIt9AL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1733335320312131612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 9, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On last week&#8217;s show,\u00a0<strong>Santos Escobar<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Bobby Lashley<\/strong> punched their ticket to the second round of the United States Championship Tournament, with the winner becoming the number one contender for <strong>Logan Paul&#8217;s<\/strong> WWE United States Title.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Grayson Waller<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Austin Theory<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Kevin Owens<\/strong>, NXT Superstar,\u00a0and former NXT Champion\u00a0<strong>Carmelo Hayes<\/strong> have the chance to do the same.<\/p>\n<p>Waller will have to adjust fast since he only knew of Hayes&#8217; entry into the tournament, much like everyone else, at the start of the week,\u00a0with the &#8216;Heartbreak Kid&#8221; <strong>Shawn Michaels<\/strong> making the monumental announcement. As for Theory, he has the advantage going in, as Owens is still nursing a severe hand injury but refuses to go down without a fight.<\/p>\n<p>This tournament is heating up and will continue to do so until it reaches its fever pitch! Who will qualify for the succeeding round of this exciting tourney?<\/p>\n<h3>Reigns Returns With a Vengeance<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;Tribal Chief, I acknowledge you. Congratulations on all your success. Don&#8217;t forget who the OG <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HeymanHustle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@HeymanHustle<\/a> guy is.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Oh <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CMPunk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@CMPunk<\/a> is cookin&#8217; tonight! \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udc4f<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SmackDown<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ShwSH4GRJQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ShwSH4GRJQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1733308513387000052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 9, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This Friday night, &#8220;The Tribal Chief&#8221; and WWE Undisputed Universal Champion\u00a0<strong>Roman Reigns<\/strong> returns to his kingdom. The last time we saw the ruler of\u00a0<em>SmackDown<\/em>, he beat red-hot megastar <strong>LA Knight<\/strong> at <em><strong>Crown Jewel<\/strong><\/em> to keep his historic championship reign intact.<\/p>\n<p>However, a lot has changed since Reigns went on his much-deserved rest from the promotion. Namely, &#8216;The Viper&#8217;\u00a0<strong>Randy Orton<\/strong> returning and signing an exclusive contract with\u00a0<em>SmackDown<\/em>, making it crystal clear that he&#8217;s out for the blood of <strong>The Bloodline<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>And, of course, the unthinkable return of\u00a0<strong>CM Punk<\/strong>, who issued a stern warning to Roman this past episode of <em>SmackDown<\/em>, back at <em><strong>WWE Survivor Series: WarGames<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2023\/10\/08\/cm-punk-feuds-wwe-return\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">CM Punk Feuds WWE Should Pursue If a Return Is Imminent<\/a><\/p>\n<p>His &#8216;Wise Man&#8217;\u00a0<strong>Paul Heyman<\/strong> made the call to his &#8216;Tribal Chief,&#8217; and that cry has been answered. Roman Reigns makes his way back to <em>WWE SmackDown<\/em> this Friday night; what does the unbeatable champion have to say to the WWE Universe and for those wishing his downfall?<\/p>\n<p>Find out this Friday night on <em>WWE SmackDown<\/em> only on <strong>Fox<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<h3>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/h3>\n<p><em>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013\u00a0<span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/watch.wwe.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">WWE Network<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Peacock<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a very successful and heartwarming\u00a0Tribute to the Troops,\u00a0WWE SmackDown makes its way to the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It will surely be one of the best episodes of the Blue brand as the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion returns this Friday night. Plus, the first round of the United States Championship Tournament rolls [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3735,"featured_media":121714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2192,26,4,3],"tags":[7740,8146,73,77,1135],"class_list":["post-121710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-america","category-wrestling","category-smackdown","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-carmelo-hayes","tag-grayson-waller","tag-kevin-owens","tag-roman-reigns","tag-austin-theory"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3735"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}