The Rock & Roman Reigns to get slapped by top star, NXT name to jump ship? - 4 possible surprises for WWE SmackDown

WWE Friday Night SmackDown will be back with another episode tomorrow night. The big show will air on the FOX Network. The event is set to be held live at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. According to WrestleTix, over 10,000 tickets have been sold for the show.

This edition of SmackDown will be a big one, as the Sports Entertainment juggernaut is on the Road to WrestleMania. This means that every single show going forward is contributing to shaping the epic event. It will also aim to build towards Elimination Chamber Perth, which will take place later this month.

So far, several top names have been confirmed for the episode. The Rock, Roman Reigns, Logan Paul, The Miz, Naomi, Tiffany Stratton, and Kevin Owens are some of the names scheduled for SmackDown.

While a lot has been promoted, there's certainly a chance that some surprises could take place too. This article will look at a handful of curveballs the Sports Entertainment juggernaut may throw the fans' way during this Friday's big show.

Below are four possible surprises for WWE Friday Night SmackDown.

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#4. Logan Paul could shockingly lose to The Miz

Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2022

Logan Paul is one of the most controversial personalities in all of professional wrestling, and especially in WWE. He joined the company after surprising people with a really good one-off match at WrestleMania.

A few years later and Logan has proven to be a fantastic professional wrestler with a world of potential. That potential even led him to the WWE United States Championship. Now on Friday, he will battle an old rival in an Elimination Chamber Qualifier.

While most expect Paul to win his televised in-ring debut, there's a chance something else could happen. The Maverick could lose to The Miz in shocking fashion, potentially thanks to interference from Kevin Owens. From there, The Prizefighter could beat down the reigning champion.

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#3. A WWE NXT star could be called up to replace Shotzi on the brand

Roxanne Perez at NXT Deadline 2023

There was some sad news Tuesday night. Following NXT on USA Network, a second episode was filmed and is due to air next week. That WWE show was set to feature Shotzi challenging Lyra Valkyria.

The NXT Women's Championship match unfortunately didn't go as planned, however. The bout was stopped and Shotzi was taken to the back. More details later came out indicating that she was in a lot of pain and seriously injured.

While Alba Fyre is taking Shotzi's spot in the Elimination Chamber Qualifier, there is now an opening on the brand as a whole. Roxanne Perez, somebody who was bitter Shotzi had a NXT Women's Title match to begin with, could be called up to the main roster on Friday.

They need a babyface and Roxanne is incredibly talented. She is ready for the spotlight and this would help shake up the division even further. The move very well could happen.

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#2. Jade Cargill could join the Women's Elimination Chamber Match

Jade Cargill, who left All Elite Wrestling last year, is the hottest free agent in WWE. After she joined, she worked behind the scenes to improve her game thanks to the lack of development she received at AEW.

After months of waiting, Jade finally made her in-ring debut in the 2024 Women's Royal Rumble Match. She threw Nia Jax out of the bout and went on to be one of the final three. Needless to say, she had an incredibly impressive showing in her WWE debut.

The next step could be to showcase her at Elimination Chamber. There's a chance she will be added to the six-woman bout in Perth. From there, Jade could win the bout and go on to challenge Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania.

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#1. Cody Rhodes could show up to confront and slap The Rock & Roman Reigns

The main event of WWE WrestleMania 40 has been a topic of conversation for a few weeks now. Cody Rhodes won the Men's Royal Rumble Match and made it clear he wanted to battle Roman Reigns. Then things changed upon The Rock's return to the company.

After Roman and The Rock made it clear that they would instead wrestle at the big show, WWE fans freaked out and supported The American Nightmare. This led to Cody deciding that he would indeed fight Roman Reigns at The Show of Shows. This led to a verbal and physical skirmish which included a slap to Rhodes' face.

A big surprise on SmackDown could see Cody Rhodes crash the return of The Rock and Roman Reigns. He promised to get revenge on The People's Champion on RAW. If he does show up and punches Roman and The Rock, it would show that Rhodes isn't taking the behavior lying down.