John Cena's WrestleMania Quest: Latest Rumors, Preview for WWE SmackDown Feb. 27

John Cena is in search of a road to WrestleMania 34 and that hunt for spotlight will take him back to WWE SmackDown.

The 16-time world champion failed to win the Royal Rumble. He couldn't get past Braun Strowman at Elimination Chamber. And he told fans on Monday's Raw that a dream match against Undertaker was "impossible." 

Since none of those avenues will lead to the WrestleMania stage, Cena is determined to find his way via the blue brand.

As Cena looks for an opponent for WrestleMania, SmackDown has to also focus on the fast-approaching Fastlane pay-per-view. The March 11 event, a precursor to The Show of Shows, needs more matches and added hype.

Staples Center in Los Angeles will host as Sami Zayn, The Usos and The Riott Squad all get prepped for the PPV.

What's on tap for Tuesday's show? What WrestleMania implications will it all have? Read on for a full preview of the latest SmackDown.

Projections, news updates and WWE.com's SmackDown preview help us take an early look at the episode before it airs on USA Network at 8 p.m. ET.

News, Rumors

Will Asuka seek out Charlotte Flair and the SmackDown Women's Championship? It seemed certain the Royal Rumble winner was set to go after the Raw women's title, but WWE has not made that bout official. The door remains open for Asuka to challenge Flair instead.

On Monday, Dave Meltzer wrote on Figure Four Online: "It is believed Asuka will announce tonight if she's challenging Charlotte or Alexa Bliss at WrestleMania. For what it's worth, Charlotte was the plan all along."

Asuka didn't make a final choice on the show, so fans will have to remain patient to see how things pan out. Tuesday's SmackDown may offer some hints as to whether Flair is heading in another direction.

Cena's appearance on Tuesday won't be a one-off it seems: A Fastlane showdown is likely in the works.

Fightful's Andrew Thompson noted Cena is "being advertised for the last SmackDown Live exclusive PPV, Fastlane."

Samir Singh, meanwhile, is a long way from getting back in the ring. But as he showed in a recent clip on Twitter, he's making progress after his recent knee surgery:

For now, Jinder Mahal will continue to be without one of his cronies. 

SmackDown Streaks

No WWE tag team has better numbers recently than The Bludgeon Brothers.

Luke Harper and Erick Rowan have been steamrolling the competition. They are undefeated since adopting their new gimmicks, going 9-0-1 in that span, per CageMatch.net.

It's time now, though, to up the level of competition. WWE has gotten all it could from The Bludgeon Brothers beating up on tomato cans.

Becky Lynch began 2018 with a win over Ruby Riott. Things haven't been as fruitful of late, however, and The Irish Lass Kicker has now lost four matches in a row, per CageMatch.net.

This follows a hot stretch in late 2017 where she took down James Ellsworth, Carmella and won a Fatal 5-Way match on SmackDown. Here's hoping she recaptures the momentum she had at that point before long.

Preview

Naomi will get the latest crack at The Riott Squad. One of the first women to suffer an attack from the heel faction, she has faded into the background some on SmackDown of late.

Lynch and Flair have played more prominent roles in trying to take down Riott and her crew. On Tuesday, though, Naomi will get the spotlight that comes with a one-on-one clash with the squad's leader.

Credit: WWE.com

Riott will be sharpening her sword before her SmackDown women's title bout with Flair, but Naomi's future is less clear. Perhaps this bout changes that. 

Zayn and Baron Corbin have some title-match prepping of their own to do. Before each man steps into the ring for the Fatal 5-Way WWE Championship contest at Fastlane, they will face each other in Los Angeles.

Zayn's best friend is sure to be involved somehow. Despite recent tension between Zayn and Kevin Owens, the former promised to lie down for a three-count at Fastlane to ensure his buddy a win. KO is likely to reward that loyalty with an assist against The Lone Wolf.

And a familiar matchup is set to unfold in the tag team division.

The New Day defeated Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin last week to earn a shot at The Usos. That will force champion and challenger to revisit one of 2017's hottest feuds.

Before The New Day takes on The Usos for the gold, though, they will meet face-to-face on Tuesday's SmackDown. 

Despite each team playing a babyface role, it's hard to imagine this conversation staying civil.

SmackDown's biggest story, oddly enough, will center on a guy who has been a Raw star in recent months. Free-agent Cena will offer some clarity as to what he's doing at WrestleMania.

He teased a showdown with Undertaker, so perhaps The Deadman shows up in L.A. But we may be a long way off from that point. Cena is more likely to try to earn a marquee match by taking out some of SmackDown's finest.

That will create some mystery moving forward which may prove to be the spark the stagnant SmackDown brand needs right now.