Phoenix’s Footprint Center To Host SmackDown On July 1
The Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona — home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns — will host what should be an action-packed go-home Money in the Bank edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown on July 1.
The venue’s official website is advertising Ronda Rousey, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Omos, MVP and The Usos for the event. Lashley, Omos and MVP are all on the Raw brand, but WWE has been running frequent crossover appearances over these last few weeks.
WWE’s next pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell, will run on June 5 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. WWE will then have a month to work on the buildup for the Money in the Bank 2022 matches.
Money in the Bank will take place on July 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Four weeks later, WWE will run the SummerSlam event at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
WWE fans in The Copper State should know that wrestling is one of several sports you can place wagers on through Arizona Sportsbooks. The state launched mobile and online sports betting last year, and Fubo Arizona sportsbook is offering new customers risk-free bets of up to $1,000 plus one free month of Fubo TV.
WWE and AEW always have betting odds for the match winners of their respective pay-per-view shows. The full betting odds aren’t usually available until the dates of the PPVs are very close.
Possible Matches/Segments For July 1 SmackDown
We likely won’t get a firm idea of the general Money in the Bank 2022 card for at least a couple of more weeks.
WWE is focused on the buildup for the aforementioned HIAC pay-per-view. After that, the company will start to build towards Money in the Bank.
In the May 23 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), Dave Meltzer reported “the talk is” that Roman Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Riddle at Money in the Bank, against Randy Orton at SummerSlam and against Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle on Sept. 3 (at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales).
Meltzer noted, however, that “none of this is close to etched in stone,” so plans can always change. But if that’s the path WWE is going down, the buildup for a Riddle-Reigns match should begin real soon.
If that’s the case, Riddle and Reigns will likely be involved in a confrontation or segment of some sort for the go-home edition of Money in the Bank. A match between RK-Bro and The Usos is also possible.
On the May 20 episode of SmackDown, The Usos (the SmackDown Tag Team Champions) defeated RK-Bro (the Raw Tag Team Champions) to become the new WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions.
Sasha Banks and Naomi had a well-documented walkout on the May 16 episode of WWE Raw, and the matter still hasn’t been resolved. WWE will be holding a tournament to determine the new holders of the Women’s Tag Team Championships, so perhaps that will be a key focal point of the July 1 show.
As previously noted, Rousey is advertised for the July 1 edition of SmackDown. With Charlotte Flair out of action for the time being, WWE will presumably pit The Baddest Woman on the Planet against somebody else for HIAC — and possibly Money in the Bank 2022.
With Banks and Naomi away (for the time being, at least), that eliminates two potential opponents for Rousey. Asuka will challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at HIAC, and WWE likely wants to hold off on a Rousey-Becky Lynch match until a bigger stadium.
So it’s truly anybody’s guess how WWE will book Rousey in the coming weeks. She has been advertised for Money in the Bank 2022, so the July 1 show will presumably be part of the buildup for her title defense. But once again, we’ll simply have to wait and see how everything plays out.
One way or another, fans in Arizona can expect a dramatic and event-filled SmackDown show. The go-home edition episodes ahead of major pay-per-views are always filled with intense buildup. With Money in the Bank taking place one day later, WWE can’t squander the opportunity to add more hype and excitement here in Phoenix.
