SmackDown airs tonight (Nov. 13) with a live show emanating from Amerant Bank Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is the first episode of SmackDown during the three week build to Survivor Series, which takes place on November 28.
John Cena is back to reward this top WWE star, and maybe punish GUNTHER
Just like with this week’s episode of Raw, WWE doesn’t have any matches announced for SmackDown with about 12 hours to go until show time. But that’s okay because John Cena is here!
Cena returns to SmackDown tonight, where he will surely announce at least one new name for next month’s John Cena Classic. The current list of participants includes Cody Rhodes, Zilla Fatu, Kelani Jordan, Noam Dar, and Romeo Moreno.
WWE clearly needs to add another top main roster star to that list alongside Rhodes, and it sounds like Cena has a lot of direct input on who that will be. With that in mind, I think I know who John Cena will call down to the ring tonight for the next formal invite to join his Classic exhibition.
It won’t be Randy Orton, because his head was punted off at Crown Jewel.
It won’t be Kevin Owens, because he has an obvious short-term direction involving Sami Zayn.
It would be very interesting to see Cena extend an invite to GUNTHER, the man who sent him into retirement as a quitter. However, the Ring General didn’t go to Saudi Arabia to wrestle at Crown Jewel, and that probably violates everything Corporate Cena believes in about hustle, loyalty, and respect. He’s crossed off the list for sure.
Could it be a returning Drew McIntyre? I doubt Drew wants his big return to be for a popularity contest that ultimately doesn’t matter, so probably not.
That leaves one obvious top star for the spot: CM Punk. CM is part of Team USA at Survivor Series, but his schedule is open for December and he doesn’t deserve a WWE title rematch after losing to Kevin Owens last week. Punk loves NXT, and Cena loves Punk after he apologized to Saudi Arabia last year, so it feels like a perfect match if John really does have a significant amount of input on which stars are competing in his Classic.
Which SmackDown star(s) is John Cena about to invite to participate in the John Cena Classic? Tune in to the blue brand tonight to find out.
The rest of the card
WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton is also scheduled for an appearance tonight. After she Money in the Bank’d her way to becoming the new champ in Saudi Arabia, Tiffy Time should be able to deliver a promo that firmly establishes her as a heel going forward. After all, she could have cashed in on either Liv Morgan or Chelsea Green at Crown Jewel, and she intentionally chose to betray her friend like a true shithead. Will Tiffy Time admit that she was playing Green for a fool the entire time? Is Chelsea ready to interrupt and get a rematch for the title, or does she need more time to regain her confidence?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
- There appears to be a women’s War Games match brewing that has Raw star Bayley joining forces with Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Tatum Paxley against Fatal Influence, Jade Cargill, and The Baddies. Will someone do the thing and make it official tonight, or do the babyfaces need to find a fifth team member first?
- WWE Champion Sami Zayn lost to World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel, but Sami is probably thrilled about being acknowledged by his Tribal Chief after the match. Is this the part where Kevin Owens shows up to remind his best friend that Roman is a phony who doesn’t actually respect him? After scoring a big win over CM Punk last week, is KO next in line for a title match against the Last Real Good Guy?
- GUNTHER is a sane man who apparently refused to travel to a war zone in Saudi Arabia for a match against “The Demon” Finn Balor at Crown Jewel. A lot of folks are talking about how the Ring General did the job for Trick Williams in a dark match after this week’s Raw taping, which stands out because GUNTHER is almost never pinned in dark matches like this. Will it become more clear that GUNTHER is in the doghouse tonight if he ends up being humiliated by Danhausen, or is this much ado about nothing?
- Speaking of Trick Williams, it sounds like he is about to cross paths with Damian Priest, who is sick and tired of WWE’s stale main event scene. Is Damian ready to do something about it by going after Trick’s United States championship? Does Damian have any loose ends to deal with first in terms of more beatings for either jabroni in Fraxiom?
- It looks like Blake Monroe and Paige want to fight. Will GM Nick Aldis book the match ASAP, or does WWE plan to hold it off for up to six months?
- Is Cody Rhodes around tonight to potentially add a new member to Team USA at Survivor Series? If Cody does step foot into the ring, is it time for very tall Baron Corbin to return to WWE and seek revenge after Rhodes tried to permanently disfigure his face with a mediocre punt?
- Now that Shinsuke Nakamura has a singles win over Tama Tonga, has Bakusai earned a rematch against WWE Tag Team Champions MFT? Can WWE find a way to get fans to give a shit about this feud or Kyoki?
- After her failed pursuit of the WWE title, will creative have nothing for Nikki Bella until her twin sister Brie is ready to return from injury?
- Where the f*** is Jordynne Grace?
What will you be looking for on SmackDown?
