Friday Night SmackDown is almost upon us once more! On last week’s show, Triple H announced that there will be a draft “in a few weeks” and that “everybody” is eligible. Therefore, we can expect the SmackDown landscape to be flipped upside down very soon… at least for a few months, by which time WWE creative will have become bored with the brand split once again. Yes, WWE’s lack of commitment to the draft is largely why the announcement – which would have been well-received a decade ago – was largely met with the lukewarm sound of sleeping crickets. Enough about that, though – let’s dive in to this week’s SmackDown card preview!
Xavier Woods Vs. LA Knight
LA Knight has become embroiled in something resembling a feud with the New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) in recent weeks. Knight has been very unfortunate during his SmackDown run – having been defeated by a possibly departed Bray Wyatt in the Mountain Dew “Lights Out” match at Royal Rumble (the less said about that, the better), before being whooped by a not messing around Rey Mysterio a few short weeks ago, right before ending up in this storyline with the New Day. Knight is desperate for some big wins and, this week, he might just get one over multi-time tag team champion and former King of the Ring winner, Xavier Woods.
The Return of Shinsuke Nakamura
Oh King of Strong Style, where have you been?! Shinsuke Nakamura has not been seen since a landmark victory over recent WWE Hall of Fame inductee Great Muta at NOAH The New Year 2023 on January 1st – and you would have to go back much further to find his last SmackDown TV appearance. Against Muta in Japan, Nakamura was treated like the bonified, certified star that he is; now that he has been away for so long, can we get the same Shinsuke in the WWE? Nakamura is one of the most gifted, legendary superstars in all of WWE and, indeed, professional wrestling, and all we want is one WWE run where he is treated as such by creative. Let this be a reboot and let the King reign once more. You can see Shinsuke Nakamura and all of the WWE SmackDown card this Friday at 8/7c on FOX!
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Photo Credits: WWE. Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
