WWE SmackDown Preview: Bray Wyatt Returns, LA Knight Debuts

The first episode of WWE SmackDown following WWE Extreme Rules arrives tonight on FOX. While a bulk of the recent premium live event's top matches featured Monday Night Raw talent, including Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins and Edge vs. Finn Balor, the blue brand got shine in the form of The Brawling Brutes getting one over on Imperium, Ronda Rousey dethroning SmackDown Women's Champion Liv Morgan, and Karrion Kross getting his biggest W yet against Drew McIntyre. All those results pale in comparison to what transpired in the final frames of the show, as Bray Wyatt made his highly-anticipated return to the company in dramatic fashion.

While it's unclear as to which brand the Eater of Worlds will be on moving forward, if any, Wyatt is set to make his first televised appearance since April 2021 on tonight's SmackDown. Wyatt did technically show face in a brief and glitchy segment on Raw, but he was covered by his new mask. Speculation has run wild regarding Wyatt's SmackDown appearance, with many expecting the cult leader to officially unveil his new faction. Wyatt's return at Extreme Rules came alongside five Firefly Funhouse characters brought to life in human form.

Aside from the expected theatrics with Wyatt, SmackDown has numerous singles matches advertised, including the debut of a familiar face. After officially ditching Maximum Male Models and the Max Dupri monicker, LA Knight is set to wrestle his first official main roster match. The former Million Dollar Champion will take on Mansoor in singles action. This culminates a multi-week TV storyline for Knight, who had been showing signs of his NXT persona in multiple episodes of SmackDown before finally snapping last week.

The Bloodline's Sami Zayn is also booked for a match, as he'll face off against Kofi Kingston. This follows up on last week, as the New Day and Braun Strowman got a six-man victory over Zayn and the Usos. Zayn arguably cost his team that match by arguing with Jey Uso on the outside of the ring.

Popping up from NXT will be Roxanne Perez, as she will select her SmackDown partner for her upcoming NXT tag bout against Cora Jade and a Raw partner of her choosing. The inaugural Ring of Honor Women's Champion is set to face Jade in a Weapons Wild singles match at NXT Halloween Havoc later this month.

WWE SmackDown airs on 8 PM ET on FOX.