Friday Night SmackDown always brings excitement and epic action for every single show, and the December 27 episode is no different. As the final episode of the year, WWE is aiming to close out 2024 on a high note with a memorable show. Tonight’s WWE SmackDown promises to deliver high drama and storylines that will keep fans on the edge of their seats. With appearances from the likes of Cody Rhodes and solid dark matches, it’s bound to be a show you won’t want to miss. WWE SmackDown will air live from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, starting at 8 PM ET on the USA Network.

Cody Rhodes has been absent from WWE television after Saturday Night’s Main Event following Kevin Owens’ brutal assault, where he hit a package piledriver on Rhodes leading to a storyline injury. While fans wondered when Rhodes would return, he has been advertised for this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown. Rhodes would also confirm his appearance for the show following the WWE live event in Jacksonville, Florida.

In tonight’s dark match, Jey Uso will face off against Chad Gable. Both stars primarily perform under the Red brand, but reports suggest that Gable, along with his faction — the Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile — may move to the Blue brand in the New Year. Bianca Belair, Kairi Sane, & Dakota Kai vs. Pure Fusion Collective: Bianca Belair, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai will team up to take on the Pure Fusion Collective (Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, and Sonya Deville) in a six-woman tag match. Owens says the good news is that he hasn’t even snapped yet. Things will get a lot worse if he is pushed to that breaking point, though, and what happens after that once again won’t be his fault. Naomi proved her worth last week and is now proud to defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Bianca Belair. WWE’s web site still lists Jade Cargill as Belair’s championship partner, for what it’s worth, so perhaps General Manager Nick Aldis still needs to get this decision approved by people higher up the chain in WWE. Carmelo Hayes scored a win over that dummy Braun Strowman via count out last week, and then got in a sneak attack backstage. Braun ran into Pretty Deadly and Legado del Fantasma while searching for Hayes, so perhaps he’ll take out his frustrations by squashing those jabroni tag teams all by himself tonight. Solo’s Bloodline might have to spend the next two episodes of SmackDown beating up Andrade and Apollo Crews some more. Perhaps Jimmy, Jey, and Sami Uso will have to crash the party tonight to get a few superkicks in on Solo’s crew.