The final Friday Night SmackDown before the monumentous return of Saturday Night's Main Event has plenty of business to handle in its two hours. First and foremost, the semifinals of the US Women's Title Tournament will take place, setting the stage for the finals on Saturday night. Will Ms. Money in the Bank Tiffany Stratton get a chance to win a title separate from her cash-in opportunity or will Michin finally emerge? Will the declining star Bayley have a chance at becoming a midcard champion or will Chelsea Green get a shot at wearing gold?
In addition, the biggest star in wrestling isn't booked for the broadcast televion event, so fans will be more than engaged to see what the latest is with Roman Reigns and the Bloodline.
All signs are pointing to the OG Bloodline moving to Raw to give an obscene level of starpower for the move to Netflix. Jey Uso, a prominent member, has taken up residence there alongside Sami Zayn and Reigns moving would clear up the logjam of having the WWE's two biggest names on the same show, leaving Cody Rhodes to lord over the Blue Brand. That's why it shouldn't be surprising not to see Reigns listed among the wrestlers confirmed to be appearing in this episode. He wasn't on last week's card either.
The list isn't an end all be all, of course. There's always a shot that he appears without it being leaked in advance, but him being separated from the Bloodline feud is an interesting wrinkle, even if short term.
As for storylines which should make the show, the continuing feud between new US champion Shinsuke Nakamura and fan-favorite L.A. Knight will assuredly get a new chapter in the beef. The new (once again) SmackDown tag-team champs DIY are now heels and will make an appearance, but the continuously poorly booked Street Profits (who were "jumped" to rob them of the title shot) might have something to say about it being a lengthy reign.
Date: Friday, December 13, 2024
Time: 8 pm ET
Location: XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut
Broadcast: USA Network
Known Matches Preview
- Women’s U.S. Title tournament semifinal match – Tiffany Stratton vs Michin
- Women’s U.S. Title tournament semifinal match – Bayley vs Chelsea Green
- Carmelo Hayes vs Mystery Opponent
Known Appearances (either matches or promos)
- Undisputed WWE Champion” Cody Rhodes
- “WWE Women’s Champion” Nia Jax
- “United States Champion” Shinsuke Nakamura
- “WWE Tag Team Champions” – DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano)
- Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
- Kevin Owens
- LA Knight
- Tama Tonga
- Bianca Belair
- “Miss Money in the Bank 2024” Tiffany Stratton
- Solo Sikoa
- Jacob Fatu
- Bayley
- Apollo Crews
- Ashante Adonis
- Cedric Alexander
- Blair Davenport
- Naomi
- Andrade
- Piper Niven
- Chelsea Green
- Carmelo Hayes
- Candice LeRae
- Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kitt Wilson)
- A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller)
- Legado Del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Angel, Berto, Humberto Carillo & Elektra Lopez)
- The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) & B-Fab
- Michin
Appearance list courtesy of KhelNow.
