WWE SmackDown Live preview (Oct. 18, 2016): Stuff other than ELLSWORTH!

The blue brand is staying right where their rivals filmed Raw last night, as SmackDown emanates from the Pepsi Center in Denver!

The Headliner(s)

ELLSWORTH!

The man. The myth. The legend. Thanks to a healthy dose of interference from special guest referee Dean Ambrose, the man whose two hands always give him a fighting chance picked up a big win over WWE World champ AJ Styles last week.

Alas, it was non-title. But on Talking Smack, General Manager Daniel Bryan rectified that oversight. Tonight, James will once again face the man who was almost his tag partner once, and this time, the title will be on the line!

Where will Dean Ambrose be? Even though he won’t be wearing stripes in Colorado, the Phenomenal One will be on the lookout for the Lunatic Fringe.

He better not take his eyes off ELLSWORTH!

The Title Scene

Believe it or not, that’s not all! Actually, it took me a while to remember what else is going on on Tuesday nights these days, but then it came to me. Dolph Ziggler is the Intercontinental champ, although former champ Miz & stunning wife Maryse believe that means the title is dead. The Show-Off proved it’s not yet over with a win in a handicap match against his old Spirit Squad mates Mikey & Kenny, but then was almost done in by the numbers game until...

Dolph was saved by tag team titleists Heath Slater & Rhyno. Some six-man action is almost certainly in order for tonight. Could the cheerleaders be the next challengers for Beauty & the Man-Beast’s belts?

No news on Women’s champion Becky Lynch, and that’s probably good news. Her postponed defense from No Mercy will happen while WWE is in the United Kingdom next month. The #1 contender, Alexa Bliss, gets a chance to prove her pay-per-view (PPV) loss to Naomi was a fluke... Bryan booked their rematch for tonight.

Other stuff to keep an eye on:

- Naomi used her glow to pick up a win over Carmella last week. Well, that, and an assist from Nikki Bella’s, whose issues with the Princess of Staten Island may yet take them to a no disqualification match.

- They may have come up short in their quest for the tag titles, but Jimmy & Jey Uso still have American Alpha’s number. Of course, it helps when they’re constantly cheating to win and/or trying to injure Chad Gable.

- Elsewhere in the division, the Ascension are really creeping Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder out.

- Thanks to the fact Luke Harper apparently learned how to transform into Kane while he was rehabbing his leg, Bray Wyatt has a couple of wins over Randy Orton.

- With their challenge accepted Bryan and Commissioner Shane McMahon better start putting together their five man, woman and tag team squads for Survivor Series.

- Curt Hawkins fact! Curt Hawkins will almost certainly wrestle tonight.

- With their series kind of tied up at a win apiece, Baron Corbin and Jack Swagger are still looking to prove who the better man is.

Four weeks until Survivor Series!

What will you be looking for on SmackDown Live tonight?