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WWE has gotten a lot of flack over the years for how they have chosen to open up their shows, but this week's edition of Friday Night SmackDown went above and beyond. In fact, between a car wreck, Elias on a stretcher and Jeff Hardy supposedly being found drunk behind a building, it was a bizarre series of events.
Interestingly enough, WWE seemed to be trying to paint the picture of Jeff Hardy getting drunk, crashing his car and somehow injuring Elias in the process. Where that leaves The Drifter remains to be seen and he will probably come into play later, but it's becoming obvious that something is wrong with this whole picture.
With Jeff Hardy attacking Sheamus at the end of the show, there seems to be some evidence that the Charismatic Enigma was framed. While it's impossible to know if that is true or not at this time, here are five signs that Sheamus was the one that framed Hardy.
#5. Sheamus trying to get back into the tournament
Something didn't seem right about the way the opening of Friday Night SmackDown played out and a lot of that had to do with the insanity of it all. What was also very suspicious, however, was the fact that Sheamus quickly offered himself up as a replacement for Hardy or Elias in the tournament and complained about not getting enough opportunities.
Not only does that seem extremely suspicious after Hardy attacked the Celtic Warrior at the end of SmackDown, but it also gives Sheamus a motive for framing Hardy earlier in the night. While some might not want to chalk this up to petty revenge and a chance to take Hardy's spot away, that seems to be the only reasonable solution at this point.
#4. Jeff Hardy defeating Sheamus
Sheamus has been running his mouth non-stop about Jeff Hardy ever since the Charismatic Enigma came back to WWE and there seemed to be a lot of hostility there. What probably made that hostility worse however was the fact that Hardy defeated Sheamus last week on Friday Night SmackDown to advance to the next round of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament.
Maybe that was the catalyst for Sheamus to try to frame Hardy and take away his opportunity to compete in the tournament. How exactly the Celtic Warrior managed to pull all of this off remains to be seen and will take a great deal of explaining, but the motives are definitely there.
In all honesty, this seemed like revenge on Hardy for advancing to the next round in the tournament and should be a great way to help elevate the Intercontinental Championship. Think about it! After what took place on SmackDown this week, who isn't interested in what happens next and who ultimately ends up with the coveted title?
#3. Jeff Hardy's road to redemption story
WWE has made it a point to highlight Jeff Hardy's road to redemption over the last couple of weeks and while they seemed to be filler at best, they served a very important purpose on this week's edition of Friday Night SmackDown. In fact, one could say that they helped paint a very important narrative of Jeff Hardy's story.
While a lot of these segments featured Hardy's at some of his most disappointing career lows, it also showed how happy he was to be given another chance by WWE. Hardy seemed grateful to a point where he wouldn't let anything get in the way of this new opportunity.
In all honesty, someone did this to Hardy and after examining all the evidence, it seems like that person was Sheamus. Why else would Hardy attack Sheamus to end Friday Night SmackDown? Beyond that, who else would have a reason to want to get back at Hardy given the short amount of time he has been back in?
#2. How Sheamus deflected
It's no secret that Sheamus has been Jeff Hardy's biggest critic ever since he returned to WWE and one has to wonder if the incident that happened on SmackDown was a chance to embarrass him? In fact, what if Sheamus intentionally wrecked Hardy's vehicle, planted alcohol on him and staged this whole thing?
What made that possibility all the more likely was the fact that when Sheamus was informed about the incident, he quickly deflected. He chalked it up to Jeff Hardy going back to his old ways and then argued for his place back in the tournament. Almost as if this was his whole plan all along and he was simply acting on the final part of it.
Sheamus was way too quick to dismiss what happened to Hardy and should really raise eyebrows about his involvement. Of course, Sheamus was never shown on the scene to prove that he had something to do with it, but that doesn't mean the glitch can't find footage of his actions later.
#1. Hardy targeting Sheamus
Jeff Hardy attacked Sheamus in the closing moments of Friday Night SmackDown this week and it was nothing short of shocking. Not only due to the fact that Hardy was arrested earlier in the night after being found supposedly drunk behind a building, but also due to who he seemed to blame for the incident.
Hardy attacking Sheamus during his match was probably the biggest indicator that the Celtic Warrior had something to do with the incident. Either that, or Sheamus knew who did do this to Hardy and was trying to beat some answers out of him.
In the end, this a very interesting wrinkle for the Blue brand and should be fun to watch play out over the next couple of weeks. With that being said, Hardy went after Sheamus for a reason and one has to imagine that reason is Sheamus had some kind of involvement in that earlier accident. Why else would Hardy go after the Celtic Warrior to end the s
