The fallout episode of WWE SmackDown following Survivor Series: WarGames is scheduled to emanate live from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, on December 2, 2022.
With Fox covering the PAC-12 College Football Championship game, WWE has moved the upcoming show from Fox to Fox Sports 1. WWE SmackDown will air live on FS1 at 8.00 PM ET.
The company has announced that the final of the SmackDown World Cup between Santos Escobar and Ricochet will take place on Friday night. Furthermore, fans can expect the upcoming show to give us a fair idea of the promotion's plans for the Royal Rumble 2023.
On that note, let's take a look at five things that could happen on WWE SmackDown following Survivor Series: WarGames.
#5. Santos Escobar wins the WWE SmackDown World Cup
Progressing in the World Cup!@EscobarWWE#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/BrlUWfYPIs
— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) November 26, 2022
The previous episode of WWE SmackDown saw Santos Escobar and Ricochet advance to the final of the SmackDown World Cup. While the former bested Butch, Ricochet defeated Braun Strowman due to interference from Imperium.
The duo will now lock horns in the final of the tournament. The winner will go on to become the No. 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship.
Given the duo's caliber, fans can expect this to be a banger of a match. The pair could give it their all, going toe-to-toe against each other. However, expect Legado Del Fantasma to help their leader prevail over Ricochet on Friday night.
#4. LA Knight confronts Bray Wyatt
Oh no it happened again!@RealLAKnight #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/HdImdXsjLY
— WWE (@WWE) November 26, 2022
Bray Wyatt made an appearance on the previous edition of WWE SmackDown to reveal that he wasn't behind the attack on LA Knight. However, the latter refused to accept the same during a backstage interview, and insisted that Wyatt was behind it.
Later in the show, Knight was on the receiving end of another ambush. The former NXT Champion was laid out by a mystery attacker once again.
Given how things unfolded, fans can expect Knight to confront Wyatt on Friday night. The former could accuse The Eater of Worlds of continuously assaulting him, only for Wyatt to deny the same.
While it would be interesting to see where the story goes from here, it wouldn't be surprising if WWE reveals The Fiend as the face behind the attacks.
#3. Braun Strowman defeats Ludwig Kaiser; Imperium attacks
IMPERIUM ambush Braun Strowman! #Smackdown #WWE pic.twitter.com/JnRnqvCHcV
— Sportskeeda Wrestling (@SKWrestling_) November 26, 2022
Imperium showed up during the World Cup semi-final match between Ricochet and Braun Strowman. The heel faction cost The Monster of All Monsters a place in the final of the tournament.
The stable then attacked Strowman after his match. While Ricochet made the save last week, things may turn out differently on Friday night. And given how everything unfolded, WWE could announce Strowman vs. Ludwig Kaiser for the night.
Fans can expect The Monster Among Men to make easy work of Kaiser. However, he could be attacked by the remaining members of Imperium after the match.
#2. Charlotte Flair returns
— Charlotte Flair (@MsCharlotteWWE) November 28, 2022
Rumors of Charlotte Flair making a return to WWE have been making the rounds all over the internet for quite a while now. While nothing has come of it yet, that could change on the upcoming episode of WWE SmackDown.
The Queen recently took to Instagram to tease a potential WWE return. The former Women's Champion shared a series of posts with the SmackDown Women's Championship wrapped around her waist.
She has been away from the WWE ring since losing her SmackDown Women's Championship against Ronda Rousey in May this year. However, with the latter's feud against Shotzi reaching its climax at Survivor Series: WarGames, Flair could return to challenge Rousey for another showdown.
#1. Kevin Owens sets his sights on Roman Reigns
This guy just took a leak on the train unprovoked 😳😐 pic.twitter.com/XKpjTomgFq
— Joshua Gresham aka “Gresh” (@JoshGreshamORG) November 29, 2022
The Bloodline defeated Team Brutes (The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens) in the Men's WarGames match at Survivor Series. The match saw Sami Zayn prove his allegiance to The Bloodline by helping the faction emerge victorious.
The upcoming episode of WWE SmackDown could witness Roman Reigns address the WWE Universe about their huge win at Saturday's event. However, he could be interrupted by Kevin Owens.
Given that the duo were involved in a heated backstage exchange at Survivor Series, WWE could use it to lay down the breadcrumbs for a mouthwatering match. The creative team could have KO interrupt The Tribal Chief on WWE SmackDown, leading to a huge brawl between the duo. This would then pave the way for their rumored Royal Rumble encounter.