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With two just two days left before Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view event, the final Friday Night Smackdown before the summer showcase will be a special one as it will emanate from a sold-out Toyota Center in Houston
This banner show will mark the WWE’s return to touring in front of a live crowd as COVID-19 forced the company to hold their weekly shows in front of no fans at either the WWE Performance Center in Orlando or various sporting venues hosting the “Thunderdome” for over a year. Outside of Wrestlemania 37 this past April, the March 9, 2020, edition of Monday Night Raw from Washington D.C. was the last time the company held a Raw or Smackdown event in front of a live audience.
With actual cheering patrons in attendance and one of their marquee shows just 48 hours away, the stage has already been set for this episode of Smackdown to be memorable.
How to watch
Date: Friday, July 9
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Network: Fox
Live stream: FOX.com/live or Fox Now App
One of the biggest blows to the Smackdown roster came last week when it was announced that Bayley had suffered a torn ACL and will be on the shelf for nine months. As a result, her planned I Quit match with Smackdown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair set for Money in the Bank was scrapped and instead, the champion will defend her title on this edition of Smackdown against former champ Carmella. Belair has skyrocketed as one of the top faces of the company this year, evidenced by her winning an ESPY on Sunday, so expect her to be put in a position to be fully showcased in front of a cheering audience in Houston.
Most likely main eventing the show will be an explosive six-man tag-team match as Edge teams with Smackdown Tag Team Champions Rey and Dominic Mysterio to battle WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and his cousins The Usos. The two camps have traded jabs for the last month with the former gaining the upperhand over the last two weeks. With Roman and Edge’s anticipated Universal Title match at MITB drawing near, this match will give us a sampling of what’s to come on Sunday.
With the participants of both the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder match crystallized, we’ll get a taste of what to expect when Smackdown representatives Big E, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Seth Rollins fight each other in a Fatal 4-Way match. Whoever comes out looking strong in this won could, in fact, tip off who’ll come away holding the briefcase on Sunday.