WWE SmackDown: Spoiler-Free Preview for June 4

Before championship-hungry Superstars collide at Money in the Bank, they'll do so sans ladders on the first WWE SmackDown of June.

Sheamus, Neville, Roman Reigns and Kofi Kingston will all get opportunities to take down one of their Money in the Bank opponents early. Thursday's SmackDown will serve as a preview for the pay-per-view, but there is also card-building to do.

The tag team title picture needs to be settled. The story of Ryback's Intercontinental Championship reign has just begun. 

The Toyota Center in Houston hosted all the pre-taped action, as well as an NXT Championship match.

The show won't air on Syfy until Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. Until then, one can dig into any of the spoilers floating around the Internet or else wait to see it all unfold on Thursday night.

For those fans who choose the latter option, the following is a preview of all the matches set for the show, with no results revealed.

The Ascension vs. The Prime Time Players vs. The Lucha Dragons

In their own way, all three of these teams impressed in the tag team Elimination Chamber match on Sunday.

The Ascension eliminated two teams from the battle. The Lucha Dragons provided the biggest spots. The Prime Time Players were the bout's runners-up, pushing The New Day and looking more intense and aggressive than usual in the process.

The expectation here is that the winning team will separate from the pack and draw closer to contending for the tag titles.

It's an intriguing mix of styles, with The Ascension providing brute force and the luchadors offering up speed and aerial moves. Titus O'Neil and Darren Young have looked good of late, exuding a refreshed energy. That all adds up to a match with plenty of potential.

Stardust vs. Ryback

A former intercontinental champ struggling to find his place on the card takes on the current IC champ.

For Stardust, a win would change his fortunes. It'd take him out of bottom-of-the-card obscurity and into title contention.

Credit: WWE.com

With how often WWE likes to have its secondary champs lose non-title matches, Stardust has more than a puncher's chance here.

The Big Guy will look to begin his reign with an impressive performance. He had a run-in with Big Show on Monday's Raw, so it appears that the giant will be his first challenger. This could serve as a warm-up for that showdown or a way to complicate things if Stardust inserts himself into the title picture.

Kevin Owens NXT Championship Open Challenge

Owens will follow John Cena's lead here and invite anyone from the locker room to challenge him. This is the first time that SmackDown will host an NXT title bout.

It's a sign of the increased overlap between WWE and NXT, as well as how highly the company views Owens. He's been allowed to make history, most recently by knocking off Cena cleanly in his first match on the main roster.

He will look to tear apart whoever steps through the curtains. Another NXT competitor could be the one who answers this challenge. Or perhaps Cena will come out not to answer the challenge but to confront Owens, just as the NXT champ did to him weeks ago.

Neville vs. Kofi Kingston

With two of WWE's best high-flyers clashing, the chances for fireworks are high. If they get some decent ring time, this promises to be a mighty fun affair.

Both men are part of the Money in the Bank ladder match and will be looking for momentum leading up to that bout.

Credit: WWE.com

Kingston is likely to have his partners from The New Day at his side for both moral support and to land any cheap shots that they can sneak by the referee. Neville has no such allies in his corner.

WWE has showcased The New Sensation a good amount since he made it to the main roster. He's generally beaten guys on Kingston's level but has failed to beat top stars like Seth Rollins and Cena.

To win here, he has to hope that Bo Dallas' issues with him are over so that he won't have to deal with his irksome rival in addition to The New Day crew.

Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus

As he did on Monday's Raw, Sheamus will have to face one of the other competitors set to battle in the Money in the Bank Ladder match. Last time out, he struggled against Randy Orton.

He eventually decided that hurting Orton was more important than winning. The Celtic Warrior got himself disqualified by attacking him with a chair.

It will be interesting to see if WWE has Reigns control Sheamus as much as The Viper did. Fans will also be on the lookout for whether Sheamus will repeat his strategy from Monday night.

As for Reigns, he survived a gauntlet on Raw to keep his spot in the ladder match. Will WWE make him look unstoppable again? Is it going to be painfully obvious that he is going to take home that briefcase come June 14?