Previewing Smackdown's Wild Card Finals

Some fans have said that tonight's Smackdown is like a PPV. I am all for Smackdown having special episodes, but here is another weird name to go with. In any case, I will be looking at the announced title matches. I will not talk about John Cena returning.

The tag titles are on the line. With Zack Ryder injured, the WWE has decided to go with three teams challenging The Wyatts. The Usos, American Alpha, and Rhyno & Heath Slater are getting the shot. What will decide who wins is whether or not the WWE is ready to go anywhere with the storyline between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. They might just carry this story all the way to Wrestlemania. I doubt Orton turns on Bray Wyatt tonight. I also doubt they do anything to split Luke Harper from Bray Wyatt, which is another point you can expect this storyline to reach. Until they get to all that, the tag titles are likely not going anywhere. The Wyatts retain.

Alexa Bliss defends the Smackdown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch. Common sense might say that Alexa Bliss retains. She just won the title not too long ago. Becky Lynch seems to have the momentum heading into this match. But you can never tell these days with how the WWE treats title reigns. Everything is about history, whether that means long title reigns or juggling titles around to inflate the number of reigns. If they want this special episode of Smackdown to have a title change, I feel like this is the one that changes hands. But I will say Alexa Bliss retains.

AJ Styles is back in the ring after his injury and making up for lost time. He knocked off James Ellsworth last week. Tonight, he faces Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin. Baron Corbin? Where did he come from? I am all for other people on the card getting title pushes, and it looked like they were building Corbin up for a push, but the build up for this match just feels awkward. A lot of people praise Smackdown's writing and booking, but this show is still far from perfect. On the other hand, I don't mind little things like this now and then to shake things up. I just hope that is what they are doing. Don't make this kind of booking the norm. This is not how you build proper feuds. In just the few weeks since moving on from Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles has had to deal with James Ellsworth, Dolph Ziggler, and now Baron Corbin. Is it all filler? Or are they building something here? Oh, and as for who wins, AJ Styles.