Jefferson Lake
WWE Editor @jeffersonlake
WWE SmackDown: Eric Bischoff era begins on Sky Sports
Last Updated: 02/07/19 10:34am
Eric Bischoff's reign as Executive Director of SmackDown begins in San Antonio and live on Sky Sports Arena tonight.
Bischoff, the former head of World Championship Wrestling and the man behind the hugely successful nWo angle, was recently installed as the new boss of the blue brand.
Paul Heyman has taken up the same role with Raw and that led to some interesting moments on this week's show - Braun Strowman drove Bobby Lashley through an LED wall, forcing it to explode, AJ Styles reformed The Club and went heel and there was even a pregnancy angle involving Mike and Maria Kanellis.
Bischoff will have an hour less with which to play than Heyman with SmackDown only running to 120 minutes, and there is no suggestion that he will have any kind of on-screen role.
But 'Easy E' is back - and will he be better than ever? Find out on Sky Sports Arena at 1am tonight.
Samoa Joe to step up the chase?
Kofi Kingston has had a target on his back ever since he won the WWE championship but at no point since his WrestleMania triumph has he been so aggressively pursued as he is now.
Samoa Joe forced Kingston to pass out in the Coquina Clutch on Raw last night, handing him his first loss as champion in a six-man tag match which included the rest of the New Day and the Viking Raiders.
With the wild card rule in full effect, both men could again tangle on SmackDown, where Kingston must surely now be growing increasingly wary about the Samoan monster.
Is Nikki Cross content with side role?
The attention of Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss was switched to Carmella on Raw, with a rapid-fire loss for the latter avenged by the former as their bond of friendship continues to grow.
Bliss will have a rematch against SmackDown women's champion Bayley at Extreme Rules on July 14 but that bout was only established due to the efforts of Cross, who pinned the champ last week.
Will Cross be content to remain in the shadows while Bliss takes the spotlight match against Bayley? Or is she making secret plans of her own to enter the title picture?
