Welcome to the 4th of July edition of SmackDown Live, in which an American hero returns to WWE: John Cena!
The 16-time WWE World Champion makes his grand return to WWE for the first time since WrestleMania, the big difference now is that Cena is a free agent. Which is essentially an excuse for him to work both Raw and SmackDown, which I would have been mad about a few years ago, but now Cena’s career is winding down I have no complaints with him working programs with as many people as possible! Who does Cena jump into a feud with in the near future? It seems inevitable that he will work with Jinder Mahal but he’s tied-up with Orton until after Battleground, so that leaves the window open for big match John to have a quick win to give him some momentum and an excuse to challenge for the title. So maybe the likes of Dolph Ziggler will step-up for a month. We should know by the end of tonight!
Elsewhere on tonight’s show, we will get a huge 4th of July Battle Royale to determine the number one contender to Kevin Owens’ US Championship. It’s unclear who will partake in the match but we do know AJ Styles is a participant and the most likely to win since he’s been gunning for a rematch with Owens after losing at WWE Backlash. I would also expect Sami Zayn, Luke Harper and Baron Corbin to take part in the multi-man match, with Owens watching from ringside. Heck, maybe even Cena will throw his hat in the ring!
Naomi and Lana seem set to lock horns again, probably at Battleground, as Lana made the legitimate claim that her shoulder wasn’t on the mat. So I would expect Lana to come out tonight and make that claim to the entire WWE Universe, as well as her request for a third shot at the title. Meanwhile The New Day and The Uso’s will partake in a rap battle tonight, with famous rapper Wale set to host the contest. The Uso’s have been fantastic since turning heel and winning the titles, particularly in all of their Talking Smack promo’s, so tonight’s segment should be entertaining if nothing else!
All that and more to come on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live! Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on our awesome Ringside Talk app, as well as the Ringside News app, where you can find all this wrasslin’ goodness on the go! Enjoy the show!
