WWE Friday Night SmackDown: UK start time, matches announced & updated John Cena retirement tournament bracket

• Will Cody Rhodes suggest who else could join his WarGames team, as he appears on this evening’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown?
• Two more first-round matches are also scheduled to take place this evening in John Cena’s ‘The Last Time is Now’ retirement tournament.
• Here’s your preview ahead of this evening’s episode, including UK start time and current names in that very tournament.

We are officially on the road to WWE’s brutal Survivor Series: WarGames PLE, with the teams starting to take shape after the most recent episode of Monday Night Raw.

The American Nightmare, Cody Rhodes, is slated to make an appearance on SmackDown this week after his intense, gruelling rivalry with Drew McIntyre reached its apparent conclusion - that being Drew being suspended for attacking a referee (in truth - he’s off filming a movie, don’t worry.)

Rhodes has seemingly put the Scottish Warrior in his rear-view mirror and now looks toward WarGames at WWE Survivor Series, where he is scheduled to be a major player, teaming up with ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso and CM Punk to battle The Vision in the monumental steel cage structure.

With Survivor Series fast approaching, it will be incredibly interesting for the WWE Universe to hear what The American Nightmare has to say as he addresses the audience, likely providing insight into his strategy and mindset as he prepares for one of the most brutal bouts of the year.

Plus, ‘The Last Time is Now’ tournament continues as the WWE Universe edges towards seeing one of the greatest to ever do it, John Cena, finally set to retire from in-ring competition. There are two tournament matches taking place this evening, with a ‘mystery opponent’ scheduled for LA Knight, and Jade Cargill set to bring the ‘storm’ to the blue brand once again as she faces B-Fab.

Here’s your WWE Friday Night SmackDown preview, including UK start time and a look at the current tournament brackets for John Cena’s retirement tournament.

What time is WWE Friday Night SmackDown starting in the UK this evening?

This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown is scheduled to air in the United Kingdom from 1am GMT on November 15 on Netflix, with on-demand repeats available shortly after its initial broadcast.

What has been announced so far for this evening’s Friday Night SmackDown?

'The Last Time is Now' Tournament Continues

The 'The Last Time is Now' tournament, which kicked off on Raw, will continue with two more first-round matches on this week's episode of SmackDown.

The first match confirmed sees Main Event Jey Uso battle one of John Cena's storied rivals, The Miz. In the second tournament match, LA Knight will square off against a mystery opponent, a surprise element that has added more intrigue to the prestigious competition.

US Title Open Challenge

The Mad Dragon, Ilja Dragunov, will continue to carry the prestige of the WWE United States Championship by hosting yet another US Title Open Challenge on SmackDown this week.

He defeated Johnny Gargano in a stellar match last week and will continue to make this challenge a staple on the blue brand - but with the prospect of NXT stars making their way to both Raw and SmackDown, and with John Cena making a particular note to have some of them wrestle on the same show as his retirement match (Saturday Night’s Main Event in December), could a contender from the black-and-gold brand make their debut this evening?

Jade Cargill v B-Fab

The women's division is witnessing a noticeable shift in dynamics, largely fuelled by the return and subsequent dominance of the new WWE Women's Champion, Jade Cargill.

Dubbed 'The Storm,' Cargill's new demeanour—one of supreme confidence bordering on outright arrogance—has clearly not sat well with every member of the SmackDown roster. One such star taking exception is B-Fab. Following a heated altercation between the two competitors on last week's episode of the blue brand, a singles match has been officially sanctioned.

B-Fab will step up to challenge the champion in an effort to check Cargill’s ego, but the former multi-time champion knows she faces a monumental task in stopping the undefeated powerhouse.

This match serves as a pivotal moment for B-Fab to prove her mettle and for Cargill to issue another emphatic warning to the entire division.

John Cena retirement tournament update - who has been added and who has advanced?

We’ve had a couple more additions made to the tournament bracket since we last discussed it, with a couple of names advancing after their first round matches:

Rusev has advanced after defeating Damian Priest and Sheamus after defeating Shinsuke Nakamura on the November 10 episode of Raw. This evening, we have The Miz and Jey Uso alongside LA Knight and a surprise opponent set to try and advance to the quarter finals.

But the new names that have been announced, and set for first round matches on the upcoming episode of Monday Night Raw, are Gunther, who will take up NXT upstart Je’Von Evans, and Solo Sikoa, taking on another opponent as yet announced.

There are also four more names to be decided, which we may find out about on this evening’s episode of SmackDown or on the next episode of Raw. But as it stands, here’s the current names in the tournament as of now:

First Round:

• LA Knight
• The Miz
• Jey Uso
• Gunther
• Je’Von Evans
• Solo Sikoa
• 6 x names as yet unannounced

Quarter Finalists:

• Rusev
• Sheamus

The tournament finals are expected to take place at the upcoming Survivor Series: WarGames PLE, which will once again be screened in the United Kingdom exclusively by Netflix on November 29.

Take a look at who we think could be John Cena’s final opponent by visiting our most recent predictions article.