WWE SmackDown preview (Sept. 8, 2023): This is how Cody Rhodes gets his rematch against Roman Reigns

SmackDown airs tonight (Sept. 8) with a live show from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the first episode of SmackDown during the five week build towards Fastlane, which takes place on October 7.

This is how Cody Rhodes gets his rematch against Roman Reigns

At Payback, Cody Rhodes said he used his political stroke to move Jey Uso over to the Raw roster. As a result, Adam Pearce revealed that a member of the Raw roster will be moved to SmackDown “at some point soon” as trade compensation.

This angle conveniently opens the door for Cody Rhodes to join the SmackDown roster, where he can once again challenge WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns for the belt and try to finish his story.

Cody isn’t a lock to be the Raw superstar who is traded to SmackDown, of course, but it definitely needs to be a top babyface. The top babyfaces right now on SmackDown are LA Knight, AJ Styles, and Rey Mysterio. The roster could definitely use an addition at the level of a Rhodes, Seth Rollins, or Drew McIntyre. It seems to me that Cody is by far the favorite to be moved over to SmackDown, and it could also explain why he used his all of his political stroke to put this whole thing into motion.

So, how soon could Rhodes be announced as the newest member of the SmackDown roster? Well, he happens to be listed in WWE’s advertising for tonight’s show, so it might happen ASAP. Then again, WWE is also promoting the return of Cody for next week’s Raw, which suggests tonight is a little too early to announce the trade. Ideally, Roman Reigns should be present when the announcement is made, but he’s a part-timer who isn’t expected to be on tonight’s show.

When exactly will WWE reveal which Raw star will be SmackDown’s trade compensation for Jey Uso? Maybe Adam Pearce will give us more information or an exact date tonight.

The rest of the title scene

Bayley & WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY team up tonight to take on the team of Charlotte Flair and Shotzi. If Flair or Shotzi manage to pin the champ, perhaps they will earn a title match at Fastlane.

United States Champion Rey Mysterio defeated former champ Austin Theory in a rematch at Fastlane, so that should remove Theory from the title picture for a while. Is the door now open for Santos Escobar to make his move and pursue a title shot against his LWO ally?

WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest and Finn Balor can show up on SmackDown if they want to, but they seem pretty content running the show on Monday nights.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Piper Niven and Chelsea Green won’t be defending the belts until Niven is medically cleared to compete.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- Jimmy Uso screwed over AJ Styles last week in his match against Solo Sikoa, so Styles seeks revenge tonight in a one-on-one match against Jim. The O.C. seems to be divided on AJ’s decision to get involved in The Bloodline’s business, for what it’s worth.

- The Miz wants a rematch with LA Knight after the megastar beat his ass at Payback. How will LA respond to this challenge?

- Bobby Lashley is excited to see how far the Street Profits will go with their newfound aggression. Will the Brawling Brutes come looking for a fight?

- Karrion Kross is apparently struggling to find other wrestlers who actually want to join his shitty stable.

- This is the only episode of SmackDown in September or October that John Cena is not advertised for. That’s because he’s in India with a bunch of the Raw roster for WWE Superstar Spectacle.

What will you be looking for on SmackDown?