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Friday's episode of SmackDown was in a unique spot. It was simultaneously the fallout show to SummerSlam and the go-home show to Payback. Thus, the stakes were higher than usual, and indeed, we saw a seismic shift in the blue brand's pecking order.
Who got the most and least out of SmackDown last night? What hints did it give us for Payback and the storylines going forward into the final third of the year? Let's take a look.
SmackDown Winner: Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn was the latest in this season of returns, strutting out on SmackDown with his Intercontinental Championship in tow. Fans remember that he was the champion before he took some time off due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring. Now he's back on SmackDown was got in Jeff Hardy's face and emphatically challenged the new champion.
This sets up an interesting story that viewers don't see in WWE often, but it is the norm in boxing and mixed martial arts. In those sports, champions that can't defend their titles retain them on hold. Later, they must fight the interim champions that are crowned in their absence to determine an undisputed champion.
This is the situation that played out last night. It could be an interesting part of SmackDown's mid-card, or at least Payback. We'll see what happens.
Loser: Matt Riddle
This entire segment was flat. Matt Riddle's style of speaking doesn't fit long promos and Baron Corbin just seems to drag down everyone he gets involved with.
Matt Riddle's talent lies chiefly in his in-ring style. Hopefully, the company will get back to promoting him as a great wrestler. He should get this feud with Baron Corbin over quickly and move on to something more fulfilling.
SmackDown Winners: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler
After some more tension between Bayley and Sasha Banks on SmackDown, Bayley brought up the infamous statistic that her best friend was never able to defend a singles title.
There's more than a good chance that Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, who could be an enjoyable odd couple, will win the WWE women's tag team titles at Payback. This would further the tension between Bayley and Banks in the process.
In the long run, that's good for everybody. As mentioned before, one has to wonder if WWE will pull the trigger on that feud during a relative downtime on SmackDown. September, October, and December are all typically slow months. Meanwhile, November is built on the interbrand warfare of Survivor Series, the one major event during the last four months of the year.
Fans will just have to wait and see what comes out of this. WWE might want to pull the trigger precisely because it's downtime and they need to make the shows more exciting to stave off rating woes.
SmackDown Loser: Braun Strowman
The former Universal Champion looked completely irrelevant last night. Part of this was because of what would happen later, but it certainly didn't look like Braun Strowman would get his title back anytime soon. Instead, he engaged in a usual series of squashes.
The real meat of the SmackDown main event scene was later revealed in short order.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Everyone was wondering what Roman Reigns was going to do after his unexpected return at SummerSlam. Thankfully, he didn't do something generic like cut a long promo on SmackDown. He was oddly subdued.
Then, he appeared in his locker room with Paul Heyman, a true shocker.
Fans all know of Roman Reigns' wars with Brock Lesnar. Back then, he seemed like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Now, he has the potential to evolve as a character for the first time since The Shield broke up.
The WWE Universe will just have to see what this new alliance will bring, but it could be the highlight of "the blue brand" going forward.
