WWE Smackdown Preview: 5 Things to Look for in Tonight's Episode (April 20)

Let the road to Extreme Rules continue.

After a Monday Night Raw show that featured a couple of really good matches and just as many not-so-good ones, it's time to move on to Friday Night SmackDown.

Tonight's effort from the blue brand is the third post-WrestleMania show, but we're still feeling the effects of what happened on the grandest stage of them all.

Sheamus and Daniel Bryan are still involved in a feud for the World Heavyweight title, while the rivalries between Randy Orton and Kane as well as The Big Show and Cody Rhodes are continuing, too.

But we've also got some fresh faces on the new-look SmackDown, so tonight's episode of SmackDown should be an important step in determining the future direction of the show.

So, while we're discussing the blue brand, let's take a look at five things we need to look for in the April 20th edition of Friday Night SmackDown.

WARNING: I'm not going to reveal the results of any matches or segments, but I will discuss things that will happen on the show (again, without giving away the results). So, if you like to be completely surprised, then you might want to stop reading now.

5. Can Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes Rebound from Rough Showings Last Week?

Both Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes had rough showings on last week's SmackDown.

Orton's father was attacked by Kane, and after Orton went to the back to aid his pops, he was attacked by Kane as well and laid out with a steel pipe.

Meanwhile, Rhodes was embarrassed by Big Show yet again when Show showed a clip of Rhodes in his old "Dashing" persona, but it didn't stop there, as Rhodes was also publicly humiliated by his father, Dusty Rhodes.

These Kane/Orton and Rhodes/Show feuds have been going on for quite a while now and have been up-and-down throughout. But Kane and Show gained the clear advantages on last week's show.

It'll be interesting (and I use that term loosely because I hate both of these feuds) to see how or if both Orton and Rhodes can rebound from poor performances just a week ago.

4. An Attempt to Rebuild the Tag Team Division?

On last week's SmackDown, we witnessed a rare sight: a tag team match that featured an actual tag team.

Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd teamed up to take on the Usos last week, and Jimmy and Jey will be back at it again tonight when they take on SmackDown's newest tag team, Darren Young and Titus O'Neil.

Now, I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but it looks like there is at least some sort of ongoing attempt from the WWE to revitalize the tag team division.

I mean, when's the last time we saw a tag team get a match on two straight SmackDown shows? Been a while, huh?

Even though the Usos and O'Neil/Young aren't exactly going to become the greatest tag teams ever, I'm still excited to see some legitimate tag team action on tonight's SmackDown.

3. What's Next for Ryback and Damien Sandow?

A couple of weeks ago, we saw the SmackDown debuts of two new superstars: Ryback and Damien Sandow.

In Ryback's first two appearances, he squashed local jobbers in matches that lasted about a minute. Meanwhile, in Sandow's first two appearances, he cut two promos via titantron that you would need a thesaurus to decipher.

So, the question remains: What's next for both of these guys?

While Ryback has looked impressive in his first two wins, he's going to have to have an actual match eventually. As for Sandow, he's going to have to do the same.

Could tonight be the night where Ryback kicks off an actual feud and Sandow gets his first match on WWE TV?

2. Another Debut

As noted on the last slide, we recently saw the debuts of both Ryback and Damien Sandow.

Their debuts seem to be part of the start of another "New Superstar Initiative," similar to what we saw on the ECW brand a few years back.

Want proof? Then watch tonight's SmackDown.

I won't tell you exactly what's going to happen on the show, but let's just say that we see yet another debut of a new face on Friday nights.

Who will it be? And what will his role be?

Tune in to tonight's SmackDown and find out.

1. The Evolution of Daniel Bryan, "Yes!" and His Relationship with AJ

The most intriguing character in wrestling? Gotta be Daniel Bryan.

He's done an excellent job of playing the prick of a boyfriend role (well, ex-boyfriend now). Yet, at the same time, he's also managed to get ridiculously over because of those ever-so-popular "Yes!" chants.

Bryan was showered in cheers on Monday's Raw, so it'll be interesting to see what happens to him on tonight's SmackDown.

He has a lot of things going on at the moment, with his increasing popularity, his relationship with ex-girlfriend AJ and his quest to regain the World Heavyweight Championship from Sheamus.

Although Bryan has always been one of the main reasons why I watch  SmackDown, that's truer now than it's ever been.

I can't wait to see what Bryan has in store for us tonight.

YES!

Note: As part of the new WWE blog, I'll be asking all of the B/R wrestling readers for questions for a new mailbag that I will post on Fridays. It will be a slideshow featuring 10-to-20 questions and answers on a wide range of topics. You can submit questions either through Formspring or Twitter, and the best ones will be answered in the B/R mailbag.