WWE Smackdown Live preview and schedule: January 23, 2018

Bengaluru, January 23: Fresh off the amazing WWE Raw 25th anniversary, it will be interesting to see what the Smackdown brand has in store on the last episode before the 31st edition of the Royal Rumble PPV.

We expect to see the final hype for the first dual brand event of 2018 - where the two challengers for the WWE Championship will return to the show after a week’s hiatus. Plus, a new challenge will be waiting for the US champion - at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

The live telecast in India will be available via the Sony TEN 1 ntwork on Wednesday (January 24) from 6.30 AM onwards, while the repeat will air on the same network at 5 PM and 10 PM later on Wednesday.

The storyline for the WWE Championship match at Royal Rumble has faded away a bit with the absence of the two contenders, last week. So, both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are expected to return on the show from the capital city of Washington to confront the champion, AJ Styles.

Meanwhile, the rumours of Kevin Owens’ health - who is said to be suffering from a minor concussion are floating around. This is why he was not seen during last week’s show and did not work on multiple live events, too. We expect to get a positive update on this as it could put the title match in jeopardy.

Last week, Bobby Roode became the new US champion defeating Jinder Mahal in a solid match. He will look forward to make this title reign a glorious one and hence will be ready for new challenges. We will possibly learn about his next opponent tonight.

However, Roode is in action tonight in a tag team match where he will team up with the New Day to face the team of Rusev, Aiden English, and Jinder Mahal.

In the women’s division, The Riott Squad have great momentum on their side after they picked up a huge win in the six-woman tag team action, last week. And going forward to the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match, they are likely to continue their run by derailing the babyfaces. Liv Morgan from the Riott Squad is set to face Naomi in a singles match.



The Usos are said to be suffering from a backstage heat after Jey Uso was arrested in Texas, last week. So, their challengers for the tag team titles should dominate them heading towards Royal Rumble.