WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER 2/12: The Messiah has Risen, Continued Build Towards Elimination Chamber

WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER
FEBRUARY 12, 2021
TAMPA, FL. IN THE THUNDERDOME AT TROPICANA FIELD
AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Michael Cole and Corey Graves

Match Results and Exclusives from Last Week

• Dominik Mysterio defeated King Corbin.
• Cesaro defeated Daniel Bryan.
• Bayley defeated Ruby Riott.
• Smackdown Tag Team Champions Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler defeated Otis & Chad Gable in a non-title match.
• Big E defeated Apollo Crews and Sami Zayn in a triple threat match to retain the Intercontinental Championship.

Items Advertised by WWE

We continue towards Elimination Chamber with another edition of Smackdown. On Raw we learned that the WWE Championship will be defended in the titular match, the U.S. Championship will be defended in a triple threat, and the Raw Women’s Championship will be on the line. Only one item is advertised in WWE’s preview, and that’s the return of Seth Rollins. No matches or other segments are advertised.

Seth Rollins Returns

Seth Rollins makes his return to Smackdown after returning from a two-month hiatus at the Royal Rumble. He was on paternity leave as he and his fiancée, former Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, welcomed their daughter Roux into the world.

Rollins mostly feuded with Rey Mysterio and Dominik throughout 2020. They had many matches between them including a one-on-one against Dominik at SummerSlam and a tag match at Payback with Rey and Dominik taking on Rollins and Murphy. The story continued over to Smackdown with Murphy ultimately beating Rollins and fully aligning with the Mysterio family. Meanwhile, a seed was planted for a potential feud with Daniel Bryan when he returned to the Thunderdome back in October. Here was that segment:

Frank’s Analysis: I could see building towards a match between Bryan and Rollins at WrestleMania. Weeks ago, I’d of thought Bryan was being lined up as Reigns’ challenger, but it sure doesn’t seem that way now. I thought of Rollins turning face to be lined up to face Reigns, but I don’t see that as well.

Other Expectations and Final Thoughts

It goes without saying that they’ll build towards Elimination Chamber, which is nine days away. With the WWE Championship on the line in one match, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with the other as they typically like to do two matches. I recorded the latest edition of WWE Then and Now last night with long-time Torch contributor Jon Mezzera in which we discussed possible scenarios for that other match. I don’t see Roman defending the Universal title in the chamber. Check out that show once it drops and feel free to give me feedback. I hope you enjoy!

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!