Tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown is set to air live from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and it will be the go-home show for the Elimination Chamber PLE.
Originally WWE was advertising a big title match for the show as LA Knight was set to challenge Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship. However, that match is no longer on the card.
Ahead of SmackDown this week General Manager Nick Aldis announced that a tournament will be held to determine the new number one contender for the belt. According to Aldis the following matches will take place tonight:
– LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar
– Carmelo Hayes vs. Braun Strowman
– Andrade vs. Jacob Fatu
The winners of each match will go on to face off against each other in a triple threat match later in the night, and the winner of that match will be the new number one contender for the United States Championship. There’s currently no word on why WWE made the change.
@RealNickAldis has some HUGE news regarding the United States Championship picture, and how TONIGHT on #SmackDown, we will find ourselves a definitive No. 1 Contender to @ShinsukeN's title!
8ET/7CT on @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/0wsD6c7fau
— WWE (@WWE) February 28, 2025
WWE is currently focusing on the following points for tonight’s show:
– Cody Rhodes’ final words before meeting with The Rock at Elimination Chamber
– Trish Stratus is coming to SmackDown ahead of Elimination Chamber
Stay tuned for updates.