The WWE roster has been en route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for Night of Champions on Saturday. Therefore, most of the wrestlers are not available for the go-home show of Friday Night SmackDown. Hence, WWE taped this week’s SmackDown after the live episode last week.
The spoilers for the homegoing edition are making the rounds on the internet. WWE put on a decent show to excite fans for their annual Saudi event. All the championships will be defended on the show except for the United States Championship and the Women’s Tag titles. The plans for the US title are still unclear.
Multiple sources revealed the spoilers for the night, as WWE already taped the show last week. These matches and segments were used to provide the final teasers for the clashes before the event. PWInsider and multiple other sources confirmed the following matchups and segments:
- SmackDown started with a match for the United States Championship. Austin Theory defended his title against Sheamus. Theory managed to get a victory because of the distractions caused by Pretty Deadly.
- WWE revealed Shotzi as the mystery partner of Raquel Rodrigez. The duo had a match against Bayley and Iyo Sky. Rodriguez and Shotzi won the match.
- Cameron Grimes then defeated Ashante Adonis. After the match, Baron Corbin attacked Grimes.
- Bianca Belair delivered a promo in the ring next. Asuka attacked her, but the Raw Women’s Champion somehow escaped.
- LA Knight defeated Rick Boggs in a match. Besides, Street Profits was on commentary during the match.
- AJ Styles had a match with Karrrion Kross. The Phenomenal One won the match as Mia Yim interrupted Scarlett from distracting the match in favor of Kross.
- The show’s main event was The KO Show, with Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa. The segment would end with a fallout between the opponents. Further, the show went off-air with Reigns holding all the belts over his head.
Related: WWE Night of Champions 2023: Date, Timings, Match Card, and more
Storylines heading into WWE Night of Champions 2023
WWE is firing on all cylinders currently as they gear up for Night of Champions. The show has three main event-level matches with multiple superstars. Cody Rhodes will take on Brock Lesnar for the second time. Lesnar looks to take revenge for the loss that he suffered at Backlash.
On the other hand, Seth Rollins will wrestle AJ Styles in the WWE Heavyweight Championship tournament finals. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will defend their Tag Team Championships against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa. The event will also mark the 1000th day in the reign of Roman Reigns as the WWE Universal Champion.
Furthermore, Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair will defend their Women’s Championships against Natalya and Asuka, respectively. Mustafa Ali will take on Gunther for the Intercontinental Title. Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus will compete against each other in a grudge match. These matches have been announced as of now.
In case you missed it:
- Sami Zayn performs Umrah in Mecca before the Night of Champions, after Saudi Arabia and Syria reopened diplomatic relations for the first time in 11 years
- “This scared me just watching it” – Fans applaud Bianca Belair for her bravery as she takes a terrifying ride at the top of Burj Khalifa in Dubai before the Night of Champions
