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WWE Friday Night Smackdown returns to your screens tonight with a new episode coming live from Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN.
We’re just six days removed from the Backlash pay-per-view in Puerto Rico and the company is shifting gears fast with the Night of Champions ppv fast approaching in just over two weeks. Tonight’s show will notable for several reasons, including the fact that it will be the first Smackdown where the WWE Draft rosters will take affect.
How to watch Friday Night Smackdown
Date: Friday, May 12
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN
Network: Fox
Live stream: Fox Live or Fox Now App
What to watch for on Friday Night Smackdown
Tonight’s Smackdown will be highlighted by undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns making his return to the show. It’s been over a month since the “Tribal Chief” has appeared on WWE television, last appearing on the Raw after Wrestlemania 39. The long-reigning champ most likely focus his attention on his cousins in the Bloodline, with the Usos failing to recapture the tag team titles a few weeks ago and Solo Sikoa taking on a bigger role within the group. We’ll hear what Reigns has the say and possibly get an idea of who his next opponent will be tonight.
The World Heavyweight Championship tournament will continue tonight with a pair of triple-threat matches taking place. Edge, AJ Styles, and Rey Mysterio will take part in one while Bobby Lashley, Sheamus, and United States Champion Austin Theory will take part in the other. The winners of these two matches will face each other in the main event later in the evening and the winner of that bout will advance to Night of Champions to fight Seth Rollins for the new title.
Also on the show, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against Bayley and Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL. We’ll also get Cameron Grimes making his Smackdown debut when going one-on-one with Baron Corbin. And since they’re in Knoxville, TN, we’ll definitely hear from Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair in her hometown. It’s kind of odd that she’s still the Raw Women’s Champion even though she’s on Smackdown now, so we’ll see if that gets addressed tonight.