10 HUGE WWE SmackDown Season Premiere Predictions You Need To Know
WE ARE WATCHING FOX.
WWE needs this to go well.
A heavily, heavily publicised Fox Network debut sees SmackDown loaded up with one of its biggest ever cards, if not the biggest. The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Bill Goldberg and a laundry list of the best of the rest join Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch and some of present day's biggest hitters as the company throws absolutely everything at show that simply has to meet or surpass expectations.
The card itself speaks to it, even if it's been overwhelmed by the galaxy of stars peppered throughout it. Kofi Kingston's WWE Championship clash against Brock Lesnar feels high stakes even if many may dread the return to the status quo with 'The Beast' on top.
Elsewhere, Kevin Owens fights to rid the world of Shane McMahon right before he can impose his will on this new era of SmackDown, whilst The Four Horsewomen wrestle in front of what could be their biggest ever television audience.
It's got everything, but WWE have done nothing with that before. New voice of AEW Jim Ross often talks about "cash" and "creative" on his podcast being deciding factors in most wrestling deals, and Vince McMahon has certainly thrown one of those things at it. Can he keep focussed enough to make sure the other holds up?
WWE needs this to go well. He needs this to go well.
10. Setting The Stage
One for diehards and those that have campaigned for longer than Reddit's very existence as well as those that just admire WWE's aesthetic absurdities, a throwback to one of the beloved SmackDown stages of old could set the tone for a memorable evening as well as the grand changes ahead.
Raw's half-pipe uniquely contrasted the prior stoic set-piece it replaced, and SmackDown's should aim to distance itself from another Network's show - not least with them both looking to carve out fresh identities in next week's draft.
A nod to either the old giant silver fist or ovaltrons that added to the B-Show's identity between 1999 and 2008 would be particularly sweet, even if it's just set dressing to another monolithic lightboard.
WWE hasn't ever been richer, nor in need of showing the world they're biggest North American wrestling company in the world as result of said riches. This ostentatiousness could be as much a nod to their now-vital over-40s demographic as well as their inordinate wealth.