SmackDown airs tonight (February 16) with a live show from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is the third episode of SmackDown during the four-week build-up to Elimination Chamber 2024, which takes place on February 24th.
This is a WWE power struggle that Triple H cannot win
The Rock and Roman Reigns return to SmackDown tonight to confront Triple H about the Cody Rhodes issue at WrestleMania 40.
The Tribal Chiefs had planned to fight each other in the biggest WrestleMania main event of all time, but Rhodes nixed that idea by changing his mind and using his victory at the Royal Rumble to challenge Reigns on the big stage for the WWE Universal Championship. One thing led to another, and the WrestleMania XL kickoff press conference was highlighted by The Rock turning around and knocking the taste out of Cody's mouth.
The Rock and Reigns warned Triple H that he needs to fix this problem and if he doesn't, they will fix it for him. Triple H fired right back at the Tribal Chiefs last week on SmackDown when they were out of the building. Triple H said that it doesn't matter what they think because he's the guy who calls the shots in WWE, and therefore Rhodes vs. Reigns is officially for the WrestleMania 40 main event.
The big problem for Triple H is that Dwayne Johnson is actually a member of the TKO Board, which likely gives him the power to override Triple H's lead and change the WrestleMania main event to his liking. There could well be a power struggle between Triple H and the Tribal Chiefs tonight, and it's easy to see why Roman is so confident that everything will change. I don't think the Cody Crybabies will be happy when they see The Rock and Roman pull their weight tonight and show why they can't be screwed over by anyone in WWE, including Triple H .
Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a double taping for SmackDown tonight, so this angle between the Tribal Chiefs and Triple H could be reflected in both episodes.
The rest of the map
– Today’s episode features four Elimination Chamber qualifiers. The men's event will feature The Miz vs. Logan Paul and Kevin Owens vs. Dominik Mysterio.
– Paul was actually upset when he found out that The Miz was his opponent, even though Miz is the easiest guy in the field and the YouTuber has already won over him in his career.
– Now Owens knows exactly how to handle super-powerful faces like Dirty Dom's. However, the pay-per-view film “Elimination Chamber” will take place in Australia, where Rhea Ripley will be welcomed as the victorious heroine. Will any of Rhea's spotlight rub off on Dom if he's added to the Men's Chamber given their very close relationship?
– The two women's chamber qualifiers are Naomi vs. Zelina Vega and Tiffany Stratton vs. Alba Fyre. This is Naomi's first match since returning to WWE at the Royal Rumble, making her the clear favorite over Vega. Meanwhile, Alba Fyre was not originally scheduled to take part in a Chamber qualifier, but she is called in to replace the injured Shotzi.
What will you be looking for on SmackDown?