There is a lot of news coming out of Friday night’s SmackDown, which was the fallout from last Saturday’s Royal Rumble.
For complete details of Friday’s episode be sure to check out Roy Nemer’s full WWE SmackDown recap.
The show opened up with confirmation of Corey Graves and Wade Barrett as the new announce team for Friday nights.
Naomi revealed she officially signed a contract to be a part of Friday nights.
She returned to WWE at last Saturday’s Royal Rumble, entering the match at No. 2. Naomi left WWE back in May 2022 after walking out the company with Sasha Banks, now known as Mercedes Mone’.
Naomi wrestled as Trinity in IMPACT/TNA Wrestling, where held the IMPACT Knockouts World Title. She lost the belt to Jordynne Grace at the TNA Hard To Kill PPV last month.
Tiffany Stratton announced during the show that she will also be part of Friday nights.
Stratton then stood face-to-face with Bianca Belair and slapped Michin, which set up a match between the two later on in the episode.
Jade Cargill entered SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis’ office for a meeting. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce was also in the office of Aldis, interrupting talks between Aldis and Bron Breakker, where Aldis was trying to sign Breakker for Friday nights.
Cargill made her in-ring debut in the women’s Royal Rumble Match, entering at number 28. She eliminated Nia Jax. Cargill signed with the company last September after she departed AEW.
On next week’s WWE SmackDown, General Manager Nick Aldis will announce Logan Paul’s next challenger for the United States Championship.
Despite losing by disqualification in the US Title Match to Paul at the Royal Rumble, Kevin Owens confronted Paul during the show, saying he is not finished with Paul yet.
Also on next week’s show there will also be a No. 1 Contender Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match, with Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne facing the winners of the Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Title Qualifying Match that will take place on this Monday’s episode of Raw.
Bate and Dunne as part of a 4-Way Match, defeated Pretty Deadly, LWO’s Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro, and Legado Del Fantasma’s Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza on this week’s episode to earn their spot.
The winners of the match will go on to challenge Judgment Day’s Damian Priest and Finn Balor at Elimination Chamber on Saturday, February 24, taking place at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia.
AND FINALLY…THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO SMACKDOWN!
Roman Reigns will be defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against The Rock at WrestleMania 40.
The Rock made a surprise appearance on Friday’s episode in a segment where Cody Rhodes had announced that he was coming after the Universal Championship, but not at this year’s WrestleMania.
Rhodes said during the segment that he had consulted with friends, family, and legends in making his decision. He then went on to say he consulted with someone that Reigns knows well. This is when The Rock came out, shook hands with Rhodes, as the two had a brief talk before Rhodes made his exit from the ring.
You can watch the full 18 minute segment below:
WWE also announced that a WrestleMania Press Event will take place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this Thursday. The event will air on Peacock and WWE’s social media platforms, beginning at 7:00 pm ET.
WrestleMania 40 takes place on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7 from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. The two-night premium live event will air in the United States on Peacock and the WWE Network internationally.