WWE SmackDown: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for Jan. 17

Ryan DilbertJan 17, 2017

Gladiators stepping inside a steel cage will highlight Tuesday's WWE SmackDown.

Alexa Bliss will look to fend off Becky Lynch to keep hold of the SmackDown Women's Championship. She'll have to do so in an unsettling metal structure.

Memphis, Tennessee, will host a show brimming with animosity, one that will also feature a big announcement. As the blue brand marches toward the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Jan. 29, The Wyatt Family has to fight off collapse, Dolph Ziggler will get to explain his recent dastardly actions and the women's division may add a familiar face.

On Tap

As revealed on the SmackDown preview, show commissioner Shane McMahon will kick off the night with a major announcement.

WWE is hinting at something rather significant. The preview stated, "Although we are not sure what he has to say, the announcement will no doubt take SmackDown Live to the next level."

Bliss has managed to slip out of trouble in nefarious ways to keep her championship. This time around, there will be nowhere for the champ to run. And in theory, La Luchadora will be locked out of the action.

Lynch will challenge Bliss for the SmackDown women's title inside a steel cage on Tuesday night.

After Raw's women's division made history time and again in 2016 with gimmick matches previously reserved for the men, it's the blue brand's turn. Lynch and Bliss will clash over a decade after the first women's cage match in WWE.

This bout has to be about more than blazing trails, though. The foes have to bring the kind of violence and animosity that the cage match was built for.

No one will be expecting a bloodbath on the level of Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard, but WWE needs to let these women explore the savage side of their rivalry.

News, Potential Spoilers

SmackDown fans haven't seen Naomi in a long time. That may soon change.

After recovering from a recent ankle injury, Naomi apparently took some time off. She tweeted that she will be back soon, however:

The women's division is reportedly set to add another wrestler, as well. According to PWInsider Elite (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), former WWE and TNA women's champ Mickie James is expected to make her return on Tuesday's SmackDown.

Rumors about James' heading back to WWE have floated around for weeks, but this is the most specific report to date.

Jerry Lawler will make a return of his own. The announcer is set to revive his old talk show segment on Tuesday's SmackDown, as he noted on Twitter:

Lawler hasn't been on WWE TV much of late after moving away from the commentary desk and off the pre-show panels. He'll surely get a warm welcome in the city where he was wrestling royalty for so long.

SmackDown Streaks

Carmella's roll continued last week. The Princess of Staten Island beat up on an enhancement talent to extend her recent win streak.

She hasn't lost in her last five SmackDown bouts, going 4-0-1 since last November, per CageMatch.net.

WWE has done a good job of maintaining her momentum after losing her feud with Nikki Bella. Carmella has looked like a contender and has an intriguing side story with James Ellsworth going, as well.

Last week, she promised to take the lovable loser on a shopping trip. He may show up on SmackDown with a new look.

Curt Hawkins, on the other hand, has been pushed far into the background. As seen on his CageMatch.net profile, he hasn't wrestled on SmackDown since Dec. 20, missing three straight shows since.

After all those vignettes to hype his return last year, WWE didn't seem to have a plan for Hawkins.

He's had no rivalries to speak of. He's rarely tasted victory. At this point, it wouldn't be a surprise if he didn't even enter the Royal Rumble match.

Bad Blood Brewing

If Bella and Natalya are in the same room on Tuesday, officials will have their hands full.

The rivalry between the two former Divas champions has steadily intensified over the past few weeks. Last Tuesday, Natalya ambushed Bella backstage. The enemies then collided at ringside and brawled on the floor.

It will be interesting to see if WWE can maintain the intensity of this feud and how this fits into the Royal Rumble PPV picture.

Ziggler's recent transformation is sure to get some spotlight, too. Losing has enraged him recently, leading to attacks on babyfaces Kalisto and Apollo Crews.

He'll get to speak his mind as Lawler's guest on a King's Court segment.

It's clear a Crews-Ziggler feud is in the works, but beyond that, WWE is finding a winning formula with The Showoff. His added aggression and desperation has him poised to be one of the most compelling figures on the brand in the early part of 2017.

All eyes will be on The Wyatt Family on Tuesday's SmackDown, too.

Last week, Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt were unable to unseat American Alpha as tag team champions. Luke Harper's meddling was partly to blame for that. As a result, Orton and Harper nearly came to blows after the title match.

Is The Wyatt Family on the verge of implosion? Will Wyatt find a way to quell Orton and Harper's issues?

How SmackDown answers those questions will be one of the biggest things to watch on Tuesday's show. It's too soon to split up this version of Wyatt's crew. The trio of bruisers have a lot of destruction left in them.