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WWE Friday Night Smackdown returns to your screens tonight with a new episode coming live from Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC.
We’re six days removed from the 2023 Royal Rumble in San Antonio, TX, and there’s tons to unpack from that monumental show tonight as we hit the road to Wrestlemania. We’re also just 15 days out from the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in Montreal, QC, so we’ll see a quick pivot towards that upcoming event.
How to watch Friday Night Smackdown
Date: Friday, February 3
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC
Network: Fox
Live stream: Fox Live or Fox Now App
What to watch for on Friday Night Smackdown
The wrestling world is still buzzing about the end of the Royal Rumble where undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns successfully retained his belts against Kevin Owens. After the match, the the Bloodline proceeded to beat down KO and handcuffed him to the ring ropes. After refusing to take part in the beating, a defiant Sami Zayn struck the “Tribal Chief” in the back with a steel chair, prompting the Bloodline to brutally beat down the now former “Honorary Uce” and officially end their partnership. Well, everyone took part except a conflicted Jey Uso, who left the ring while Zayn took the pummeling.
This has already been recognized as one of the most dramatic story turns in company history and there are several aspects about it that will be addressed tonight. What will Reigns have to say about Zayn’s betrayal? Will we see Owens or Zayn on tonight’s show? With Elimination Chamber being in Montreal, could we get a title match between Reigns and Zayn? And what about Jey Uso? Will his allegiance to the family group be called into question. Is there now dissension in the Bloodline itself? Hopefully these questions will be answered tonight.
Speaking of the Usos, they will find out there next challengers for the tag belts. When Braun Strowman and Ricochet meets Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser of Imperium in the finals of the tag team tournament. After Drew McIntyre and Sheamus were taken out backstage by the Viking Raiders, Strowman/Ricochet emerged as their replacements and defeated Hit Row to advance to the finals. On the other side of the bracket, Imperium advanced by defeating Legado del Fantasma in the semifinals. We’ll see who becomes the No. 1 contenders.
Also on tonight’s show, Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair will put her title on the line when going one-on-one with Sonya Deville. The two have feuded since Flair returned a month ago and this will be the blowoff encounter. Notably, women’s Royal Rumble winner Rhea Ripley officially chose Flair as the one that she will face at Wrestlemania, so we’ll see how the Queen responds to that challenge.