Friday Night Smackdown preview: Quick thoughts about Feb. 17 episode

WWE Friday Night Smackdown comes live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC, tonight as the company sits just 24 hours away from the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in the same venue.

As we prepare for another episode of Smackdown tonight, I’ll give some of my quick thoughts about the show and what’s in store on the card.

Sami Zayn

We’re going to get Sami Zayn appearing in front of his hometown fans at the Bell Centre just 24 hours before his title clash against Roman Reigns. When I initially read this, I thought it was a mistake to potentially squander the pop he’ll receive at Elimination Chamber by putting him before the crowd early. But then I thought about it and realized that this will be a pep rally of sorts. Zayn, who is focused but still a little bit doubtful about if he can actually pull this off, is going to try to hype himself up in front of the home fans and the audience is going to feed off that energy. With no Roman and potentially no Bloodline on the show, it’ll be a cool sight to see get the stage to himself in front of his fellow Quebecers.

Jey Uso

Jey Uso returned last Friday to help his brother successfully defend the tag titles against Braun Strowman and Ricochet. Afterwards, he encountered Sami Zayn, who “acknowledged” him for what he did at the Royal Rumble and the two dapped each other up before going their separate ways. Well, it’s a good thing that this isn’t a nationally televised show and no one saw that. Oh, wait. Roman did see that and gave direct orders for the Usos to not appear at Elimination Chamber. Count you days, Jey. Count your days.

Other thoughts

• Liv Morgan is going one-on-one with Asuka before they meet inside of the Elimination Chamber on Saturday. If I were to guess, these will be the final two in the chamber match.
• Madcap Moss is taking on Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship and it’s about time they got the ball rolling again on his push. He’s not going to win tonight, but it’ll be a good showcase piece. Afterwards, let’s change up his gear and start giving him more of a persona.
• Let’s wrap this Drew McIntyre/Sheamus vs. Viking Raiders program right here and get the ball rolling on their Wrestlemania plans.