WWE is looking forward to kicking things off in 2021 in a big way as they present the weekly episode of SmackDown. Roman Reigns is the headliner of the show as he will make a special request to the management. The new IC Title-holder will be in a singles contest while the Women’s Champion will also be seen in action when the show airs from the Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Roman Reigns went through yet another successful title defense during last week’s SmackDown against Kevin Owens inside a Steel Cage. Jey Uso interfered again by handcuffing Owens with the cage making way for Reigns to get out of the structure and retain. Now the reigning champion has something special in-store.
Reason Seth Rollins’ WWE Smackdown Return Not Happening, This Week
It was announced that the WWE Universal Champion will make a ‘special request’ of WWE Management following last week’s Steel Cage win over Owens. There’s no word on what WWE is planning with the segment, but the official preview noted that Reigns “has made a special request of WWE Management ahead of this week’s SmackDown. The specifics of the request have not yet been disclosed. Details to follow.”
Details On WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic 2021
WWE also confirmed a new tag team match where Carmella and Bayley will team up against Bianca Belair and SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks for the first SmackDown of 2021. This match happens after last week’s Triple Threat Elimination Match during the Christmas episode. Charlotte Flair and RAW Women’s Champion Asuka retain their WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles over these two teams. This match could only be set to take forward the respective rivalries between Bayley-Belair and Carmella-Banks.
WWE Smackdown Preview (01/01/21): New Year Edition; Big E vs King Corbin
It was already announced for this week’s SmackDown that the new WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E vs. King Baron Corbin will go down in a non-title singles encounter. This will be E’s first match since winning the prestigious title from Sami Zayn in a Lumberjack Match main event. This feud is likely over as we can now expect E to begin a new feud with Corbin likely putting him over as a strong singles performer.
Seth Rollins was scheduled to return to WWE SmackDown during the first episode of 2021 as previously announced by FOX’s Twitter account. The New Year’s Day show could have been special with the comeback but that tweet has been deleted while WWE’s preview for the show doesn’t include him, as well.
So, there’s still some confusion about whether Rollins would show up or not. He has been away since the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 22, as he took time off to be with fiancée Becky Lynch as they welcomed their first child together in early December. Will the newly become father show up on SmackDown? We’ll find out on the New Year edition of the show, airing, live from the ThunderDome.