WWE SmackDown Preview (Nov. 22, 2019): More time

WWE SmackDown returns tonight (Nov. 22) from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. It’s the first of four nights there for Survivor Series weekend.

The Headliner

Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan have a date this Sunday for the Universal championship. It’s the Fiend’s first program since winning the title since winning the title from Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel and moving to SmackDown. It could be a great one.

Daniel Bryan is a perfect opponent for the Fiend. Right now his character is ripe for Wyatt’s kind of mind games. Daniel is in a place right now where he doesn’t know who he is. He’s not the Yes Movement Daniel Bryan. But he’s not the New Daniel Bryan either. A man who’s unsure of his own identity is an easy target Wyatt.

They also have the history from back in 2014, when Daniel Bryan joined the Wyatt family only to reject Wyatt weeks later, fully accepting the Yes Movement. It’s been clear from the beginning that the Fiend targets men who have wronged Bray Wyatt in the past. This is a clear example of that.

And in general, Daniel Bryan is a fantastic storyteller. He can make so much work with the conviction of his promos or even just a facial expression. Bray Wyatt is in that category as well. They’ve got some really good material to work with that these guys could make magic with the right amount of time.

Three weeks isn’t enough for them to reach their potential on this story.

Bryan was attacked by the Fiend two weeks ago. Last week, they had a brief showdown on MizTV (Bray was via satellite in the Fun House). And this week is the go home show when Bryan is set to summon Bray to the ring. (I’m assuming it’s Fun House Bray but he can always get the Fiend.)

Tonight could be great and the men will surely sell us on this match more. But this is a program that could benefit from more time. While I usually dislike programs that span months and run matches on two or three PPVs in a row, this one would definitely benefit from more than three weeks.

They haven’t touched their history from 2014, which is there to add more layers to this angle. It may be best to use the match on Sunday as a way to propel us into another chapter of the story.

If they don’t, it’ll have been a fun few weeks. But it’d be disappointing if that was it for two men who are very good storytellers and have the history there to help build a very good program.

The Title Scene

Bayley should watch her corners this week for invaders. The SmackDown Women’s champion has a date with Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler on Sunday in a championship showcase match.

The same can be said for Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura, who will face Roderick Strong and AJ Styles at Survivor Series, and the SmackDown tag team champions the New Day, who have the War Raiders and Undisputed ERA that night.

Other things to keep an eye on

- Despite being on the same Survivor Series team, Roman Reigns is still deep in a feud with Baron Corbin. Roman will team with other team members Shorty G and Mustafa Ali to face Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode. No word yet on the Big Dog mascot.

Watch for invaders! The go home show for Survivor Series is likely to have plenty of run-ins from Raw and NXT talent.

Will we see all the wrestlers from Raw and NXT on SmackDown tonight? Tune in at 8 ET on Fox to find out.