This Friday sees the dawn of a new era for WWE SmackDown, as the blue brand begins life on the USA Network.
Back when the company began on FOX five years ago, several headlines were made as the company looked to make as big a splash as possible for their premiere show on that network.
Unfortunately, many of those surprises were NOT welcome ones, but WWE is thankfully in a different place now than it was in 2019 – and hopefully the USA era of SmackDown can be kicked off with some positivity and buzz-worthy moments.
Here are six surprises for the WWE SmackDown USA Network Premiere.
6. Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso & Paul Heyman Return
It has now been four weeks since we last saw Roman Reigns on WWE TV, with his long-awaited return at SummerSlam being a short-lived one as he was swiftly taken out by Solo Sikoa’s new Bloodline.
At the time of writing Reigns is not listed for SmackDown this week, being pulled from advertisements last month. While there could be a legitimate reason for this, perhaps WWE would rather save his return for a big surprise – specifically during Solo Sikoa’s Steel Cage WWE Championship match with Cody Rhodes.
Given how it went for Reigns last time he showed up on SmackDown however, he may need some extra back-up – which could lead us to seeing Jimmy Uso back alongside him.
Seeing Paul Heyman also would be the icing on the cake, as Reigns begins his takedown of Sikoa’s crew, one that many expect to culminate in a big War Games match at Survivor Series in November.
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5. Shinsuke Nakamura As Kevin Owens’ Surprise Tag Team Partner
One of the guaranteed ‘surprises’ of SmackDown will be Kevin Owens’ mystery tag team partner for his match with Austin Theory and Grayson Waller.
While we could easily fantasy book many unlikely names, it seems pretty darn likely that it will be Randy Orton who shows up in KO’s corner. Orton has been off TV since his loss to GUNTHER at WWE Bash in Berlin, and re-aligning with Owens seems like an easy way to bring him back into the fold.
While Orton is the obvious choice, that wouldn’t make for much of a surprise would it? So what about if WWE instead brought back Shinsuke Nakamura, who has been off TV since moving to SmackDown in the WWE Draft back in May.
An allegiance with Owens may seem random, but any excuse to drag Nakamura out of purgatory where he currently resides.
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4. Grayson Waller Attacks Austin Theory
Austin Theory’s babyface turn has been teased for what’s felt like an eternity, but it’s seeming likely we finally see the trigger pulled on SmackDown this week.
While we all expect Theory to do the turning, perhaps instead it is Waller that strikes the first blow instead.
After so long as an obnoxious heel, Theory needs that extra boost of sympathy from the fans for them to really get on board with the turn, so Waller being the one to tear apart the team seems like a good approach.
While there likely wouldn’t be much space on the card, a Theory vs. Waller singles match, could also potentially take place at Bad Blood along with the other grudge matches.
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3. Giovanni Vinci Loses Again
After much anticipation, Giovanni Vinci’s big re-debut on SmackDown last week ended as soon as it began, with the former Imperium member tasting defeat to Apollo Crews within five seconds.
In a WWE Digital exclusive afterwards, Vinci promised revenge on Crews, and hopefully that’s what he will get.
However, there is always the fear that WWE may instead opt to pull the same trick again, something that may be the nail in the coffin for Vinci before he gets started as a singles star.
This kind of random burial is something we would’ve probably expected in Vince McMahon’s WWE, but hopefully Triple H has a better plan in store. Until we see Vinci rack up a win though, this scenario can’t be ruled out.
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2. Tiffany Stratton Cashes In On Nia Jax
I think we’ve all seen how the Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton storyline was going to play out since they first formed their allegiance on WWE TV, the only question is when will the trigger be pulled on Stratton’s Money in the Bank cash-in?
It seems too soon to call time on Jax’s WWE Women’s Championship run after just over a month, however, a cash-in always garners buzz making it especially fitting for the first SmackDown on USA.
How WWE go about it remains to be seen, as Jax is not currently scheduled to compete on the show – but that doesn’t mean an opportunity can’t be generated elsewhere.
Stars such as Michin and Bayley still have it out for The Queen of the Ring, so perhaps she can be softened up, allowing Tiffy to finally call time on her run as Ms. Money in the Bank and upgrade to her first WWE Women’s Title.
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1. Hikuelo Debuts & Helps Solo Sikoa Win WWE Gold
Much like Jacob Fatu before him, we as fans have left waiting for the inevitable debut of Hikuelo on WWE TV.
The youngest brother of Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa has reportedly been signed to WWE since mid-July, with the company seemingly waiting for the perfect time to bring him into the developing Bloodline story.
With Solo Sikoa having the chance of a lifetime in his grasp on SmackDown, there truly wouldn’t be a more impactful for Hikuleo to debut and help the new Tribal Chief pull off a huge upset against Cody Rhodes.
Fans would likely be in uproar regarding the decision to dethrone Rhodes, but in terms of surprises you don’t get any bigger than that.
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