3 Reasons why Smackville might just end up being like another episode of SmackDown
As WWE was preparing for the Biggest Party of the Summer, they decided to announce a live WWE Network special called Smackville for Saturday, July 27th. It was strange given the fact that Extreme Rules had just happened a week ago and SummerSlam was less than a month away.
But despite the proximity to the other events, WWE went ahead with promoting the first-ever Smackville. It was announced that Kofi Kingston would defend his title against the last two opponents he's faced on PPV, Dolph Ziggler, and Samoa Joe. They also announced a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship between new Champ Shinsuke Nakamura and former titleholder Finn Balor.
A day later, a triple threat for the SmackDown Women's title was announced as Bayley would be defending against both Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (with Nikki Cross). In addition, the New Day was set up to defend their titles against an unnamed team.
While it is good to see a show with all of the major SmackDown titles being defended, it might just end up being a WWE Network version of an episode of SmackDown. Here are three reasons for that possibly being the case.
#3 Another Elias performance with a predictable finish
Chances are that whenever Elias is slated to give a performance at a PPV or on TV, he will be interrupted. It's the device WWE uses to help returning legends or other wrestlers either get over or start a feud.
Since Smackville is taking place in the "Music City" of Nashville, Tennessee, any number of Tennessee-relevant legends or current stars could interrupt "the Drifter". Jerry "the King" Lawler always pops up when WWE is in Memphis or Tennessee, so he could show up to kick Elias below the belt. And since he was recently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, the Honky Tonk Man could also make an appearance.
Jeff Jarrett also returned to WWE at the Royal Rumble and had a few brief segment with Elias. Could he be showing up again, or will it be someone else? Rusev and Lana have a home in Nashville so maybe they use that to bring him back into the fold. If he (Rusev) still wants to remain in WWE, that could be a way to reintroduce him back into the blender of SmackDown.