Can a bickering trio defeat the cohesive “Hounds of Justice”?

Randy Orton & Daniel Bryan try to coexist as a tag team against WWE Tag Team Champions Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins.

Two days before WWE Payback, Team Hell No & Randy Orton will battle The Shield in an epic Six-Man Tag Team Match on SmackDown. But can they co-exist long enough to defeat the rogue trio?

Watch Team Hell No & Orton's clashes with The Shield

Few Superstars have been as electrifying recently as Daniel Bryan who is on a crusade to prove he’s not a “weak link.” In the process, however, he has managed to irk his tag team partner, Kane, evident when The Big Red Monster stormed off “Miz TV” one week ago. Meanwhile, the always-volatile Viper continues his quest against The Shield – and after Vickie Guerrero’s shocking decisions on Raw, it seems he will have to attempt it alongside WWE’s submission specialist.

With United States Champion  Dean Ambrose facing Kane and WWE Tag Team Champions  Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns defending against Orton & Bryan on Sunday, tonight’s SmackDown will go a long way in determining who “runs the yard” and who will be holding those titles after WWE Payback.

Will The Showoff get tripped up before his pay-per-view showcase?

World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler looks forward to making his in-ring return at WWE Payback.

After being out of action for more than a month due to a concussion, World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler returns to compete tonight on SmackDown, teaming up with his “heavy,” Big E Langston, against Chris Jericho & Alberto Del Rio.

Check out a preview of Ziggler versus Del Rio at WWE Payback

With an extremely difficult first title defense against Del Rio at WWE Payback looming, will this tag team showdown be a momentum-gaining “warm-up” match for The Showoff? Or will “ring rust” and the lingering effects of his injury leave him reeling against his No. 1 contender and Y2J – another dangerous Superstar gearing up for a huge match against a returning CM Punk this Sunday?

Will brain or brawn have the laugh last before Kickoff to Payback?

Sheamus attempts another one of Damien Sandow's intellectual challenges.

The continuous brains versus brawn struggle that Damien Sandow and Sheamus have engaged in for the past several weeks culminates at Sunday’s Kickoff to Payback, which streams live on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, Samsung SMART TVs, Google+, Pinterest, Pheed and Xbox 360 this Sunday, June 16, at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT, just before the WWE Payback pay-per-view.

Watch Sandow test Sheamus in the Thimblerig Challenge | Gordian's Knot Challenge

Ahead of locking horns in the squared circle, will The Celtic Warrior and “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” engage in another “battle of wits”  – and inevitability fists – on SmackDown tonight? If so, will the haughty intellectual or the WWE fan-favorite brawler be the Superstar left looking for “payback” at their imminent clash?

Was Kaitlyn’s $10,000 slap worth it?

SmackDown Senior Advisor Teddy Long explains his reasoning for issuing Divas Champion Kaitlyn a $10,000 fine.

As  reported by WWE.com Tuesday evening, Senior Adviser to the SmackDown General Manager, Theodore Long, fined Divas Champion Kaitlyn $10,000 for slapping a WWE referee during the taping of tonight’s episode of SmackDown at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Check out WWE Magazine's exclusive photo shoot with Kailyn | Photos: Heated Diva Rivalries

Apparently, after the  embarrassing secret admirer catastrophe on Raw – engineered by her WWE Payback No. 1 contender, AJ Lee – was replayed on the TitanTron, “The Hybrid Diva” completely lost control. Tune in to SmackDown on Syfy, tonight at 8/7 CT, to see just how these shocking developments unfolded, if the Divas Champion at least got her money’s worth and if AJ added injury to insult two days before their championship showdown.

Will Axel continue to gain momentum ahead of his first title match?

John Cena looks to get some revenge on Curtis Axel in a No Disqualification Match.

The newest “Paul Heyman Guy,” Curtis Axel, has made an immediate splash in WWE, with incredibly impressive – and rare – victories over the likes of Triple H,  WWE Champion John Cena and Chris Jericho. How can the up-and-coming Superstar make a more striking impression on the WWE Universe than that?

Well, winning the Intercontinental Title in his first pay-per-view match would be a good start.

But before Axel challenges champion Wade Barrett and fellow contender The Miz in  an intriguing Triple Threat Match on Sunday, he goes one-on-one with The Barrett Barrage on SmackDown. Is tonight the next step toward Paul Heyman’s remarkable new guy claiming a top spot – and a title – in WWE? Tune in to SmackDown on Syfy at 8/7 CT to find out!