Bengaluru, Nov 18: Less than ten days away from Survivor Series 2022, Smackdown brings the latest episode that should confirm the main event match lineup for the final WWE premium live event of the year.

WWE Smackdown World Cup will continue with two first-round matches (Butch vs. Sami Zayn and Ricochet vs. Mustafa Ali) set for the evening to set up the lineups for the tournament semifinal.

Plus, the new challenger for the Women’s Title will square off against the champion’s best friend on the November 18 episode of Friday Night Smackdown that takes place at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

Here's what's in store for the latest episode of Smackdown:

Men's WarGames match lineup to be announced

In what appeared to be a wild edition of Smackdown, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus returned, last week to provide backup to The Brawling Brutes and Drew McIntyre to set up a resistance against The Bloodline.

Given the current circumstances and reports from PWInsider, The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Sami Zayn) vs. Drew McIntyre, The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Butch and Ridge Holland) and Kevin Owens should be the main event lineup of Survivor Series 2022 WarGames.

However, Owens has reportedly been dealing with an MCL sprain picked up during this past Sunday’s WWE Live Event. PWInsider noted in their reports that The Prizefighter is still scheduled to appear on tonight’s Smackdown despite the injury.

He is also set to appear in every WWE TV taping leading up to Survivor Series on November 26 which appears to be a contradictory update from the earlier reports those claimed that Owens has been removed from WarGames. We have to wait until tonight’s Smackdown to know more about the situation.

The inaugural WWE Smackdown World Cup Tournament continues

Cosplaying the 2022 FIFA World Cup, WWE Smackdown is presenting a World Cup of their won. The eight-man tournament kicked off last week with the following superstars – Jinder Mahal, Sami Zayn, Butch, Santos Escobar, Mustafa Ali, Shinsuke Nakamura, Ricochet, and Braun Strowman.

In the first match of the Smackdown World Cup 2022, Mexico’s Santos Escobar defeated Japan’s Shinsuke Nakamura to advance to the semifinal. In the second match, Braun Strowman bulldozed Jinder Mahal to await his opponent in the semifinal.

Smackdown World Cup – Sami Zayn vs. Butch

The Bloodline and The Brawling Brutes are on a collision course inside the WarGames structure. This rivalry will also run through Smackdown World Cup when Sami Zayn and Butch battle in the First Round.

Zayn of Bloodline will represent Canada while Butch of The Brutes will represent The United Kingdom in this clash between two International Superstars. The winner of the match will meet either Strowman or Escobar in the semis.

Smackdown World Cup – Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet

Smackdown World Cup is expected to bring a jaw-dropping First-Round Matchup when Mustafa Ali and Ricochet compete in a one-on-one capacity to go one step closer to GUNTHER’s WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Ali, representing Pakistan, and Ricochet, representing the United States are two of the most high-flying superstars on the current WWE roster and their clash should be one to remember for months to follow.

Shotzi vs. Shayna Baszler (with Smackdown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey)

Last Friday night, Shotzi bested Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Sonya Deville, Lacey Evans, and Xia Li in a Six-Pack Challenge to earn an opportunity at Ronda Rousey’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at Survivor Series.

However, for Shayna Baszler, Shotzi had rather "won a beating of a lifetime" and not a title shot against her best buddy, Rousey. The beatdown process already started with a backstage attack where Shotzi was put to sleep by Baszler’s Kirifuda Clutch submission.

Now, Shotzi will be up for redemption when she faces Baszler in a singles contest. But the numbers game will certainly come into play with Rousey standing at Baszler’s corner in the latest episode of Smackdown on FOX.