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Slap airs tonight (February 2) with a live show emanating from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. This is the first episode of Slap during the four weeks of construction towards Elimination Chamber 2024which will take place on February 24.
Roman Reigns does not hide from Cody Rhodes
As soon as Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble last weekend, he wasted no time pointing out WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. After all, that’s the championship Cody needs to finish his story, so his decision at WrestleMania was a no-brainer.
Cody was about to confirm all of this on Raw, but was then interrupted by World heavyweight champion Seth Rollins, who argued that Cody should go for the Workhorse belt at WrestleMania, not the Hollywood belt. Seth shit all over Roman while he presented his case.
That brings us to tonight’s episode of SmackDown, where Cody and Roman are scheduled to appear. The champion is not hiding from Rhodes, so it is almost certain that his paths will cross tonight. However, WWE has not stated that Cody will make the decision for him at WrestleMania. What we’re most likely to get is Roman’s response to Seth’s argument. Will the tribal chief try to push Cody into accepting Seth’s proposal?
Is WWE considering a three-way match between Reigns, Rhodes and Rollins at WrestleMania? It doesn’t seem likely, but Rollins talked so much trash about Reigns on Raw that he must be moving toward some kind of physical altercation between them, perhaps for later.
The bottom line is that it should be fascinating to see what happens when Reigns and Rhodes face off on the microphone tonight on the road to WrestleMania 40.
The rest of the title scene.
Damage CTRL has all the gold after The Kabuki Warriors defeated Katana Chance and Kayden Carter last week to become the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. With IYO SKY as reigning WWE Women’s Champion, that makes Bayley the only active member of the group who needs a belt. He just won the Royal Rumble and is scheduled to announce which champion he will face at WrestleMania 40. If the idea is to keep the peace within Damage CTRL, then Women’s world champion Rhea Ripley is the obvious choice instead of IYO SKY. But is Bayley about to have her 2005 Batista moment when she gives IYO the thumbs up?
United States Champion Logan Paul got lucky and retained his belt by DQ at the Royal Rumble when the referee saw brass knuckles on Kevin Owens’ hand. The YouTube idiot is in the house tonight, presumably to set up a title match for Elimination Chamber. What shape is Paul in after Owens put his butt through a table in the post-match corner?
Other things to keep in mind
– Bobby Lashley and Karrion Kross eliminated each other from the Royal Rumble, before AOP and Street Profits entered the scene for a wild brawl in the ring. When will these groups finally get into the ring in an official match?
– Bron Breakker, Jade Cargill, Naomi and Omos are some of the wrestlers who appeared in the Royal Rumble but are not currently assigned to the Raw or SmackDown brand. Which of these stars will SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis sign a deal with tonight?
– Speaking of Aldis, it was mentioned on Raw and he and Raw GM Adam Pearce need to have a conversation about Elimination Chamber. Does this suggest that there will be a chamber match that includes wrestlers from both brands?
– Randy Orton, LA Knight, AJ Styles, Jim Uso and Solo Sikoa will likely remain in each other’s business in the main event scene as Elimination Chamber approaches, given that Roman Reigns is currently not announced for the Australian show.
– Elektra López joined Santos Escobar last week, helping him win over Carlito. The LWO is desperate for Rey Mysterio’s return, but it’s up to Zelina Vega to eliminate Lopez.
– Will Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes be available tonight to perhaps take on Grayson Waller and Austin Theory in a tag team match?
-If Bayley chooses violence by selecting IYO SKY as her opponent at WrestleMania, where does that leave Bianca Belair on the big stage? Could she be facing a dispute with Jade Cargill?
– Who will Pete Dunne snap his fingers at tonight? And where the fuck is Sheamus?
What will you be looking for? Slap?