WWE Friday Night SmackDown preview: Rumors, what could happen in Birmingham on Groundhog Day

We're just over a month into 2024 and we've already seen some incredible highlights from WWE. Cody Rhodes won his second consecutive Royal Rumble. Seth Rollins defended his World Heavyweight Title against Drew McIntyre on Day 1. On the women's side, Damage CTRL is doing some serious...damage.

This Groundhog Day brings us another episode from Birmingham, Alabama. The questions on everyone's mind are: "Who will make an appearance?", "Will Logan Paul take his United States title defense in stride?", and "Who will Cody Rhodes choose to fight at Wrestlemania?"

Here is what to expect on Friday Night SmackDown.

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Will Cody Rhodes be at SmackDown?

The two-time defending Royal Rumble champion Cody Rhodes will be at SmackDown. Rhodes confirmed his presence via a tweet responding to a post by Seth Rollins.

As the Royal Rumble winner, Rhodes will get to decide which champion he will challenge for a title. World Heavyweight Champ Seth Freakin' Rollins has made it known that he wants Rhodes to challenge him. However, the opportunity to take down Universal Champion Roman Reigns may be too much for Rhodes to pass up. Rhodes already lost to Reigns a year ago at WrestleMania 39. Perhaps he'll be looking for some revenge.

Bayley will make her decision as well

Women's Royal Rumble winner Bayley will also make her title match decision on SmackDown. Her decision might be a little bit tougher though. The obvious choice would be for Bayley to go after Rhea Ripley for the World Women's Championship and give Damage CTRL control of every SmackDown and RAW title. However, after Nia Jax scared Bayley into holding off on her decision until Friday, Bayley may be having second thoughts on taking on Ripley.

Of course, Bayley's only other options would be the NXT title, which wouldn't make much sense given Damage CTRL's insistence on seeing Bayley take the title from Ripley, or to go after fellow Damage CTRL member Iyo Sky for the WWE Women's Championship. This could be the beginning of Bayley's departure from Damage CTRL.

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SmackDown's new commentary team

With Pat McAfee moving to RAW, the new SmackDown commentary team will be Corey Graves and Wade Barrett. While neither Graves nor Barrett have served as lead commentators before, the hope is that Barrett's vast experience as a color commentator will give Graves room to wiggle as he finds his footing as the new play-by-play man.

How to watch WWE Friday Night SmackDown, Feb. 2, 2024:

• Time: 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT

• Place: Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL

• TV: FOX

• Stream: YouTube TV, Fubo TV, Hulu

Stream WWE: Watch Friday Night SmackDown with Fubo

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WWE SmackDown preview: Latest news, how to watch tonight in Birmingham