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Roman Reigns was expected to issue an open challenge to the WWE SmackDown men’s locker room this week. However, the same did not happen. Instead, the SmackDown creative team decided to aim higher.
Earlier in the show, Cesaro and Bianca Belair competed against Seth Rollins and Bayley. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs had a segment to celebrate The Artist’s victory soon after. Baron Corbin seemed out of sorts following his loss to Nakamura and was unsure what to do next.
Carmella took the easy path to qualify for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Liv Morgan was unhappy with the announcement and defeated Carmella once again this week.
Big E and Apollo Crews competed in the only men’s Money in the Bank ladder match qualifier held on SmackDown. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will compete in the second qualifier from the brand next week.
The final moments of the show helped the brand take things to the next level. Take a look at the five things WWE got right on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
#5 Seth Rollins and Bayley defeated Cesaro and Bianca Belair on WWE SmackDown
Bianca Belair kicked things off in the ThunderDome on this week’s WWE SmackDown. She cut a celebratory promo following her victory over Bayley at WWE Hell in a Cell.
Seth Rollins interrupted her and spoke about his victory over Cesaro instead. Bayley joined him and called Belair’s victory at Hell in a Cell a fluke. The Role Model attacked The EST before Cesaro ran down to make the save and help the SmackDown Women’s Champion clear the ring.
The advertised Mixed Tag Team Match got going soon after as Cesaro joined Belair to take on Rollins and Bayley. The Role Model sent Belair shoulder-first into the ring post and dominated the action for some time.
Cesaro made the tag and took the fight to Rollins. The two teams traded some big moves before Belair prepared to hit her finisher. However, Seth ran into the SmackDown Women's Champion as she was about to attempt the K.O.D.
This allowed Bayley to deliver the Rose Plant to Belair and pick up a huge victory. The match was decent and allowed all four top superstars to kick off the show. However, the promo segment before the match wasn’t anything special at all.
The SmackDown Women’s Championship picture still looks a little too weak. WWE needs to build more challengers for The EST rather than just having Bayley go at her again and again. At least the match allowed Cesaro and Belair to compete on SmackDown this week.
#4 Seth Rollins demanded a shot at Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown
The effects of the first match helped build one of the biggest segments of this week’s WWE SmackDown. Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura celebrated inside the SmackDown ring, while Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce were shown rocking out to The Artist's music backstage.
Seth Rollins interrupted the two WWE Officials and demanded a chance to face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. Rollins defeated Cesaro at WWE Hell in a Cell and was confident that he could take down The Tribal Chief.
The Messiah claimed that no one deserved an opportunity to face Reigns more than him. Pearce and Deville said they would take his request under advisement.
It was arguably the biggest backstage segment on SmackDown this week. Rollins appeared serious for the first time in a while and wanted a shot at the brand's top title. Reigns and Rollins have had many good matches in the past, and their current gimmicks could allow them to put on the best show for the fans.
The WWE Universe has already read rumors of a potential match between Rollins and a Hall of Famer at SummerSlam this year, and the segment could play a major role in building towards that match.
#3 Big E defeated Apollo Crews in a high stakes match on WWE SmackDown
Big E and Apollo Crews competed in another match on WWE SmackDown this week. However, the two men did not go at it for the WWE Intercontinental Championship this time around.
The match between the two SmackDown Superstars was held to determine who would qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. Crews dominated the action early and grounded his opponent during the early part of the contest.
Big E used his strength to fight back and delivered a big splash followed by a uranage outside the ring. The referee kicked Commander Azeez out of the arena after he tried to help Crews out.
Big E ended the match with a Big Ending and qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match. Crews shouldn't have been put in this match as he is already holding a title. The loss following Azeez's expulsion from ringside hurt his credibility.
SmackDown did the right thing by allowing Big E to qualify for the MITB ladder match. He could be one of the favorites to win the multi-man match next month.
Following the match, Kayla Braxton informed Sami Zayn that he will battle Kevin Owens next week in a Money in the Bank qualifier.
Adam Pearce made things more interesting by telling Zayn that his match with Owens will be a Last Man Standing Match. The announcement helped build hype for next week’s SmackDown.
#2 Jimmy Uso proved his worth to Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown
Earlier in the night, Jimmy Uso broke the news to Roman Reigns that Jey was not coming back to WWE SmackDown. Jimmy claimed that he could do what his brother does, and Reigns wanted him to prove himself.
Later on SmackDown, Jimmy competed against Dolph Ziggler. Robert Roode accompanied Ziggler to the ring for his match. Jimmy was red-hot in the contest and took the fight to Ziggler.
He decided to wipe out Roode outside the ring with a suicide dive, but the move proved to be costly. Ziggler delivered a Zig-Zag to Jimmy on the steel steps to take control of the match.
The Show Off kept the pressure on Jimmy for some time and controlled the action. Jimmy fought back to overcome the former World Heavyweight Champion with a Superkick.
The match was good and served its purpose. However, SmackDown could have picked a babyface to compete with Jimmy instead of Ziggler. After the match, Roman Reigns greeted him with no reaction.
SmackDown has turned Jimmy’s character on its head since his return. The man who was against Reigns’ current character is now willing to prove himself to The Tribal Chief.
#1 Roman Reigns came across a Rated-R challenger on WWE SmackDown
The final segment of WWE SmackDown saw Roman Reigns come out to the ring with Special Counsel Paul Heyman by his side. Heyman reminded the WWE Universe of his client’s dominance over the last year.
He ran down the list of Superstars that The Head of the Table had overcome and claimed that he had wiped out the entire SmackDown men’s division. He turned the mic over to Reigns to address the fans.
Just then, Edge’s music played over the PA system and the Hall of Famer made his way out through the curtains. Edge made his first appearance since WrestleMania 37 and pummeled Reigns. He slammed him into the announcement table before delivering a huge Spear to the Universal Champion.
The Rated-R Superstar set up for a con-chair-to but Jimmy Uso made the save. Edge took out his frustration on Jimmy and speared him through the barricade. He ended the segment screaming for Reigns as The Head of the Table retreated.
SmackDown did extremely well by bringing back Edge at the right time. Reigns got a chance to compete against some other superstars following WrestleMania 37. Edge may have to go through Seth Rollins before he can get his hands on The Tribal Chief again. SmackDown seems to have hit a jackpot with the combinations.
