Tonight’s episode of WWE Friday Night Smackdown will set the stage for the King and Queen Of The Ring premium live event. The episode will occur at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Ahead of tomorrow’s PLE, Smackdown will host two matches to determine who will move on to the finals of the King and Queen Of The Ring.
One of the featured matches of tonight’s episode will have Randy Orton take on Tama Tonga in the semifinals of the King of The Ring tournament. While the match order can change, it’s expected that the match will be the show’s main event.
Orton earned his spot in the semifinals by defeating Carmelo Hayes on the May 17 episode of Smackdown. The former WWE NXT Champion pushed Orton to his limit and was close to stealing the upset victory. However, ‘The Viper’ showed his experience and landed an RKO to move to the next round. After the win, Orton called out Tonga and the rest of the Bloodline(Solo Sikoa and Tanga Loa) to declare that he’d destroy the faction.
Although the former WWE Champion feels confident, he will have his hands full taking on Tonga. The newly signed superstar has shown to be a threat to the roster and has his family at his side to aid in his victory. Despite the odds, Orton will aim to connect with his RKO to eliminate Tonga from the tournament.
The Rest Of the Card For Tonight’s Episode Of Friday Night Smackdown
The other tournament match on the show will have Bianca Belair face off against Nia Jax. Both earned their spot in the semifinals in last week’s episode. However, Belair comes into the match battling a knee injury(in storyline) after defeating rival Tiffany Stratton in the quarterfinals.
Jax will try to take advantage of injury to move on to the finals. Belair has shown she can defy the odds, but Jax may be too much tonight. That said, Belair’s tag team partner, Jade Cargill, has unfinished business with Jax and could come out to support the ‘EST of WWE.’
Tonight’s episode will also have WWE Women’s Champion Bayley taking on Chelsea Green in a non-title match. The champion hopes to silence Green and stay busy as she awaits her next challenger.
As the go-home show to tomorrow’s PLE event, tonight’s episode of Smackdown will be essential to see who will be eligible to be the next King and Queen Of The Ring.