Showdowns between two fan favorites aren’t always the most interesting on paper. When it’s two teammates, though? That’s something of a different story, which could very well be the case for WWE SmackDown tonight from New Orleans.
Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar both battled through separate Fatal 4-Way matches to get to tonight, where they sit just one win away from a shot at the United States Championship held by Austin Theory. Either man would make for a fun challenge for the champ; Rey to give Austin a matchup with another legend (maybe he can add “I beat Rey Mysterio” to all of the times he reminds us he beat John Cena), Santos to push him with another test from someone in their prime.
One would think that Mysterio vs. Escobar would be the kind of competitive but respectful encounter that begins with a handshake and ends with the loser raising the winner’s hand along with the referee. But the way WWE is playing up the possibility of tension (“Will the high-stakes contest put a strain on the The LWO?”) gives us a little pause. We’ll see tonight if the two men can keep everything on the up and up, and if everyone they’ve already beaten stays out of things. Yes, that’s another way of saying we can’t believe LA Knight isn’t in this match.
Elsewhere, Karrion Kross seems to have something stuck in his craw with all of The O.C., having already cost AJ Styles his chance to be in the aforementioned tournament final. He’ll battle Karl Anderson tonight and we’ll see where this particular plot thread might be headed.
Finally, though the big SummerSlam twist for The Bloodline took place last week (Tribal Combat!), it seems unlikely WWE lets a week go without something involving its top ratings magnet. Expect at least a segment or two to feature Jey Uso as he gets closer to his colossal date with destiny against Roman Reigns in Detroit.
Everything goes down beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, so join us back here then for all the goodness if you can’t tune in live.