Tonight, on the With Spandex WWE Smackdown Live open discussion thread for January 3, 2017:
On the first SmackDown LIVE of 2017, WWE Champion AJ Styles and John Cena will make their Royal Rumble showdown official. Plus The Miz puts his Intercontinental Title on the line against Dean Ambrose. — via WWE.com
Our five-point preview:
1. A contract signing! That’ll put butts in seats! Last week, Cena was about as close to a heel as he’s been in a decade, and this new meta-Cena “I get whatever I want” narrative is pretty fascinating. Cena and Styles are two of the best in the world right now, so I’m not upset about this contract signing main event. A welcome change!
2. The Miz will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose, who will likely have James Ellsworth in tow. Ambrose has come close to snatching the title from the Miz before, so maybe this will be his week.
3. Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler both failed to capture the WWE Championship last week, so this week they’ll tangle with one another. Corbin just keeps looking better and better (which probably has nothing to do with him suddenly wrestling in a shirt), so sure, let’s put these two back together while Styles and Cena get their old mojo working. Might as well.
4. American Alpha are the brand-new Smackdown Tag Team Champions, so they have a clear target on their backs. The Smackdown tag division is very deep, especially compared to Raw, but you can bet the Wyatt Family will be peeved about losing their belts, so our precious suplex babies had better watch out.
5. Who is the mysterious La Luchadora? Sadly, it’s probably not Mariposa, Ivelisse, Sexy Star, Catrina, or Melissa Santos. The likely suspects are Tamina, Eva Marie, Natalya, Mickie James, or … I don’t know, let’s say Ivory. Let’s try not to stress out about it too much, and be happy we’ll get at least one more week of Alexa Bliss wearing that comically oversized championship belt.
Also happening tonight is the hot new show dedicated entirely to cruiserweights, 205 Live, which will feature the return of Tajiri, and a match between Neville and TJ Perkins.
Feel free to use this as your one-stop party shop for Tuesday night wrestling shenanigans, and be back here tomorrow for the full Best and Worst of Smackdown Live.
