WWE Smackdown Live preview and schedule: March 5, 2019

R-Truth to issue US Title open challenge on Smackdown (images: WWE.com)

Bengaluru, March 5: WWE hosts Fastlane's go-home edition of Smackdown Live tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

The build up for the ultimate pay-per-view before Wrestlemania will be the main focus of the Blue brand as the participants of the weekend's event will all look to gain momentum ahead of their matches.

The promotion has already announced that the mid-card champion will continue his open challenge from last week, while they have also booked one half of the tag team champions in a match against a member of the challenging team.

Plus, we will also see Blue brand's prime champions and the challengers in some sort of action. While, there is also talk of veteran tag team, which reunited last week looking to showcase their ability to the current gen stars.

Sony TEN 1 will telecast WWE Smackdown Live in India on Wednesday (March 6) from 6.30 AM IST, while the repeat will air later in the day at 1 PM, 5 PM and 9 PM.

Also on the show tonight, we could see one or two more matches being added to this Sunday's PPV card.

Here is what's in store for Smackdown in Pennsylvania:

R-Truth's open challenge

Last week on Smackdown, R-Truth renewed John Cena's tradition of the United States Championship Open Challenge, and successfully defended the star-spangled title against Rey Mysterio and Andrade in a Triple Threat Match. Tonight, Truth is set to continue the tradition as he issues another challenge.

Will the previous title holders step up? Who will take this huge opportunity? Find out tonight on Smackdown Live.

The Miz faces Jey Uso

The Miz and Jey Uso are set for a one-on-one battle with a view to gain momentum heading into their Smackdown Tag Team Championship rematch at WWE Fastlane.

The Usos have made fun of The A-Lister and have also told Shane McMahon to find another tag team partner, but Shane-O-Mac disagreed on that to make the rematch for Fastlane in The Miz's hometown of Cleveland. So, The Awesome One will look prove himself to his partner. Who will gain the upper hand when the odds will be even with both the partners at ringside? Find out tonight on Smackdown.

Kevin Owens looks for momentum heading into WWE Fastlane

Last week on Smackdown, Mr. McMahon stunned the WWE Universe when he replaced Kofi Kingston with the returning Kevin Owens in the WWE Championship Match at WWE Fastlane. KO teamed up with Kingston later that night and pinned WWE Champion Daniel Bryan with a thunderous Stunner to gain the needed edge for the March 10 title showdown.

Now, with just five nights remaining before their title showdown, it will be interesting to see what more KO will do to get the upper hand on Bryan.

Asuka and Rose seek momentum

Asuka is set to defend the Smackdown Women's Championship against Mandy Rose at Fastlane on March 10. This may be a one off feud and match up before Asuka knows her next opponent for Wrestlemania. And the seeds for a Wrestlemania match could be planted tonight on Smackdown.

Hardy Boyz quest to become the greatest tag team

Last week, Matt Hardy returned to WWE to be reunited with Jeff Hardy as a tag team for the first time since 2017. The veteran pair defeated The Bar in a thrilling battle. And after that win, The Hardy Boyz in a WWE.com exclusive interview said that they joined forces once again to prove to everyone that they are the greatest tag team in time and space.

So, will The Hardy Boyz continue on this journey? Who might their quest lead them to next? Find out on Smackdown.

Will the NXT stars appear again?

For the past few weeks, we have seen NXT stars like Wlater Gargano, Ciampa, Aleister Black and Richochet appear on the main roster shows. Last week, Black and Richochet defeated Rusev and Nakamura, while Gargano and Ciampa were replaced by the Hardy Boyz. Will Gargano and Ciampa challenge the Hardyz? Will the NXT stars re-appear tonight?

Orton, Styles and rest of the roster

There have been hints of a feud between Randy Orton and AJ Styles after the former interrupted the latter during a backstage interview. Styles is not in the title picture since Elimination Chamber and needs an elite competitor as an opponent for Wrestlemania. So, who better than the 13-time WWE champion Randy Orton can take the spot. More on this will be known tonight.

Apart from them, the likes of Rey Mysterio and Andrade could battle it out for a shot at the US title. Plus, we could see the usual names of the Blue brand like Samoa Joe, Rusev, Nakamura, Lana, Carmella, Naomi and many more involved in some capacity.