The January 16 edition of Friday Night SmackDown will take place from Wembley Arena in London, England and will mark a big episode on the road to WWE Royal Rumble 2026.
Coming off the heels of the January 9 episode, there will be some notable changes that fans can expect to see on this show.
From new champions to returning stars coming into the picture, this episode of SmackDown should be an important one ahead of the Rumble, Elimination Chamber and of course WrestleMania 42 this April.
Here are seven potential changes to WWE SmackDown in London.
7. Drew McIntyre Starts A New Era As Undisputed WWE Champion
On the January 9 edition of SmackDown, Drew McIntyre defeated Cody Rhodes in a Three Stages of Hell Match to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.
With the inadvertent help from the returning Jacob Fatu, ‘The Scottish Warrior’ now sits atop of the blue brand as the champion.
This will mark a new era for Friday Night SmackDown where McIntyre becomes the hunted instead of the hunter.
With four huge qualifying matches scheduled for the show, McIntyre will have a close eye on who his next challenger will be heading into WWE Royal Rumble 2026.
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6. Oba Femi Coming To SmackDown
On the January 6 New Year’s Evil special of WWE NXT, Oba Femi defeated Leon Slater to retain the NXT Championship.
Following this victory, Femi vacated the NXT Title by leaving the belt in the middle of the ring.
Making it clear that he is heading to the WWE main roster, ‘The Ruler’ should get a grand arrival on whichever brand he chooses to head to next.
In front of a red hot crowd in London, Femi would get a huge reaction and could announce his intentions to take over SmackDown moving forward.
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5. Tiffany Stratton Returns
Back at the November 1 WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, Jade Cargill defeated Tiffany Stratton to win the WWE Women’s Championship.
Since suffering this loss, fans have not seen Stratton anywhere to be found on WWE programming over the past few months.
The January 16 SmackDown could see Stratton come back into the fold and make her presence felt back on the blue brand.
Whether it be going back after Cargill or finding a new target, Stratton’s return should cause a ripple effect throughout the entire SmackDown women’s division.
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4. Leon Slater Answers Carmelo Hayes’ United States Championship Open Challenge
Ahead of the January 16 edition of WWE SmackDown, Carmelo Hayes has issued another United States Championship Open Challenge.
However, this time Hayes wants to face the best that the United Kingdom has to offer with SmackDown taking place from London.
Recent reports have indicated that TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater was reportedly pulled from the TNA Thursday Night Impact debut on AMC to take part in WWE’s European tour.
With that in mind, fans could see Slater make his SmackDown debut against Hayes with the US Title up for grabs on January 16.
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3. Could Powerhouse Hobbs Show Up?
Following the January 14 Maximum Carnage edition of AEW Dynamite, a new report revealed that AEW World Trios Champion Powerhouse Hobbs was set to leave the promotion with his contract expiring at midnight that evening.
While the company was able to tape one final match that will air on the January 17 AEW Collision, WWE has the chance to do something unique with reports indicating that they intend on signing Hobbs.
If WWE signs Hobbs with his AEW deal coming to an end, they could have him appear on the January 16 SmackDown ahead of him dropping the Trios Title on Collision.
Hobbs showing up on SmackDown could help give him a ton of momentum upon signing with WWE where all eyes will be on him coming into the promotion as the current champion in AEW.
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2. Jacob Fatu Is Back & Wants His Mystery Attacker
One person who made their presence felt on Friday Night SmackDown on the January 9 episode was Jacob Fatu.
After months of being away, ‘The Samoan Werewolf’ reappeared during the Three Stages of Hell Match between Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes.
While he initially attacked McIntyre upon entering the steel cage, Rhodes put his hands on Fatu, leading to Jacob attacking Cody and costing him the Undisputed WWE Championship when Drew fell out of the cage.
Now that he is back, Fatu could be on the hunt for the man who attacked him back in October, which could be McIntyre, Rhodes or another assailant yet to be revealed.
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1. Cody Rhodes Looking For Revenge
The third man involved in the controversial ending to the January 9 SmackDown was Cody Rhodes.
While Drew McIntyre walked away with the gold and Jacob Fatu made his return, Rhodes was left with nothing, losing the Undisputed WWE Championship without being pinned for the title.
After being screwed out of his cherished gold, Rhodes should be on the hunt for vengeance and redemption.
While he will have to wait for another shot at McIntyre, ‘The American Nightmare’ might look at Fatu as the real reason he does not have his title and get his revenge on ‘The Samoan Werewolf’ on the January 16 SmackDown.
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