Major signing, new Tribal Chief revealed & more - 5 surprises for WWE SmackDown
WWE SmackDown is headed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tonight as the build-up to the 2024 Backlash Premium Live Event continues.
The first challenger for Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will be determined tonight, while Bayley will defend the SmackDown Women's Championship against Naomi. Additionally, a Fatal-4-Way Tag Team bout is scheduled for a shot at Grayson Waller and Austin Theory's SmackDown Tag Team titles
So without further ado, let's take a look at five surprises WWE SmackDown could feature tonight.
#5. Nick Aldis signs Cody Rhodes to WWE SmackDown
Cody Rhodes subtly confirmed on the latest episode of RAW that he will join WWE SmackDown soon. He is also listed as a SmackDown superstar on WWE's website now.
The blue brand's General Manager Nick Aldis could confirm this major move tonight by announcing that he has signed The American Nightmare to WWE SmackDown. He could also add that Rhodes will not be a part of the pool of stars available to be picked during the Draft next week.
The American Nightmare will not be on the show tonight as he is in the United Kingdom for WWE's annual house shows over there. He could possibly appear in a pre-taped segment with Aldis, or the SmackDown General Manager could just make the announcement on his own.
#4. The Bloodline attacks Kevin Owens
The Bloodline suffered a lot of embarrassment after Roman Reigns' loss to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL. Solo Sikoa made it clear last week on WWE SmackDown that the group does not tolerate losses and punished his own brother Jimmy Uso with the help of the debuting Tama Tonga.
At the start of the show last week, Kevin Owens bypassed The Bloodline and tried to humiliate them by saying that they were not invited into Rhodes' locker room, a place that once belonged to The Bloodline.
It is possible that Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga assault Owens tonight on WWE SmackDown to get back at him for his comments last week. The Prizefighter has been a long-time rival of The Bloodline, so a feud between him and the new Bloodline seems inevitable.
#3. Triple H introduces the WWE Tag Team Championship
A major change WWE has experienced in the Triple H era has been the introduction of new titles. The Chief Content Officer of the company recently showed up on RAW to introduce the World Tag Team Championship before presenting it to Awesome Truth.
It is likely that Triple H will appear on the blue brand tonight to introduce the WWE Tag Team titles, which would replace the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship currently held by A-Town Down Under.
The design of the World Tag Team titles is similar to the World Heavyweight Championship, so the design of the WWE Tag Team Championship will likely be similar to the Undisputed WWE Championship.
#2. Tiffany Stratton interrupts Bayley vs. Naomi
After winning the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania XL, Bayley came out to celebrate her win last week. She was going to give Naomi a shot at her newly won title, but got interrupted by Tiffany Stratton instead.
This led to Naomi and Stratton facing off, with the former getting the win. Naomi will now challenge Bayley for the title tonight on WWE SmackDown.
It seems like WWE wants to have a Triple-Threat match between Bayley, Naomi, and Stratton at Backlash in France, so Stratton may attack The Role Model and her challenger tonight to set it up.
#1. The Rock is revealed as the new Tribal Chief
The actions of Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga on WWE SmackDown last week raised many questions regarding the future of The Bloodline. There has been speculation about Roman Reigns being kicked out of the group he created because of his loss to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL.
Paul Heyman wanted to call and inform Reigns about last week's developments, but Sikoa did not allow that to happen and crushed his cell phone instead. When the Special Counsel to Reigns was being interviewed about the attack on Jimmy Uso, Tonga appeared and told him that he was ordered to do so by the Tribal Chief.
It is clear that Roman Reigns is not the one who ordered Sikoa and Tonga to punish Jimmy Uso, so the one who may have done it could be The Rock as he is one of the biggest figures in the Anoa'i family.
The Final Boss being the new Tribal Chief could be revealed tonight on WWE SmackDown, which would officially confirm the formation of a new version of The Bloodline.