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WWE SmackDown had a few matches and segments scheduled for this week, most of which were booked to push the Extreme Rules: The Horror Show event.
Bray Wyatt will meet Universal Champion Braun Strowman at the event in a Wyatt Swamp Fight in a non-title match. Nikki Cross will challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, while Sasha Banks has her eyes on RAW Women’s Champion Asuka.
WWE was also looking to further build Matt Riddle on the Blue brand after his great NXT stint that saw him become a crowd-favorite. Drew Gulak, on the other hand, had the opportunity of his life as he competed against AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Championship during the night.
Sheamus was ready to host The Toast of Jeff Hardy at the end of the night, while Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro looked to further their case for an opportunity to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
With a loaded show for the week, SmackDown managed to keep the fans interested from beginning to the end.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE got right on SmackDown this week.
#5 The “toast” of Jeff Hardy on WWE SmackDown
WWE SmackDown was headlined by a rather bizarre segment that had a great ending between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus. The toast of Jeff Hardy was advertised for last week but took place on this week’s show.
Hardy sat in the middle of the ring with several tables with drinks on them while Sheamus showed up on the Titantron. After the two men exchanged some harsh words, The Charismatic Enigma poured his drink on the bartender in the ring and smashed the glass on his head. He then delivered a Swanton Bomb to end the segment and send a message to The Celtic Warrior.
While the segment could have been much better had Sheamus been in the ring, it allowed Hardy and Sheamus to further their rivalry and also gave them the main event spot which will help them get more focus.
We all know that these two men are two of the best in the business and this rivalry can help them hit top gear at any time to remind the fans that they are still two of the best that exist in the industry.
#4 Drew Gulak puts on a good performance on WWE SmackDown
Drew Gulak finally got the opportunity he’d been waiting for as he got an Intercontinental Championship match against AJ Styles on WWE SmackDown this week. Since Matt Riddle had already defeated Styles in a non-title match on his debut, the Champion was more vulnerable and Gulak had a better chance of winning the title.
However, Styles came prepared for the technically-sound Superstar and targetted his knee early on in the match. Daniel Bryan joined the show via Zoom to discuss the match while Styles made sure he halted Gulak’s attempts to make a comeback in the match.
While Gulak gained back control in the latter portion of the match, the Intercontinental Champion delivered a Styles Clash but did not pin his challenger. He made a statement by delivering a Phenomenal Forearm before putting Bryan’s coach away on SmackDown.
While Gulak lost the match, he put in a good performance that will help him climb the ladder and stay in contention for the secondary title for the months to come.
It will be interesting to see who gets into the Championship picture next and whether Styles will have another long reign as the Champion.
#3 Matt Riddle is getting into multiple rivalries on WWE SmackDown
Matt Riddle was out this week for an interview with Michael Cole in the middle of the ring on WWE SmackDown. Riddle answered some questions before explaining why he wrestles bare feet. He said that he got frostbite in his foot during a family vacation and due to that it hurts when he wears shoes.
Anyway, Riddle was interrupted by Baron Corbin who introduced his challenger for the night, John Morrison. This was a rather interesting choice as there was no backstory to this rivalry.
Riddle and Morrison had a good match that was affected by Corbin’s distractions but The Original Bro still managed to roll-up The Shaman of Sexy to pick up the victory on SmackDown.
After the match, Riddle was attacked by AJ Styles who was coming in for his match against Drew Gulak. This was another interesting part of the segment as it now seems like Riddle is involved in multiple rivalries including Corbin and Styles.
Will Riddle eventually go on to partner with Gulak and Daniel Bryan, or will he continue to fight on his own?
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro gain some momentum on WWE SmackDown
Shinsuke Nakamura was the Intercontinental Champion not too long ago, while Cesaro hasn’t had too much luck since The Bar split up. Both men had been wandering on WWE SmackDown without any purpose until the creatives decided to put them in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship picture.
Nakamura and Cesaro seem more focused now and have been doing a great job at giving The New Day a tough time on the Blue brand. This week, one-half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, Kofi Kingston competed against Shinsuke Nakamura in a one-on-one match.
Kingston seemed as good as ever in the ring, but Nakamura seemed better than he usually is. The referee banned Big E and Cesaro from ringside after both men continued to make their presence felt.
While Kofi had the upper hand heading into the finish of the match, Nakamura delivered a Kinshasa to pick a hard-fought clean victory. This shows that the creatives once again have faith in the Japanese Superstar, and we could eventually see Nakamura and Cesaro become the SmackDown Tag Team Champions in the very near future.
The heels have been on a roll in recent weeks and we hope WWE does not water down their push for any reason.
#1 The Queens of SmackDown and WWE
How many times have you seen the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions get so much attention in WWE and SmackDown?
Becky Lynch has decided to take a break from wrestling as a result of her pregnancy, while Charlotte Flair seems to be out of competition for some time. This leaves Sasha Banks and Bayley at the top of the women’s division and both women are doing a phenomenal job of carrying the entire division!
Earlier this week, Banks had a great match against Io Shirai on WWE NXT which she lost due to interference from Asuka. A couple of days before that, Banks had partnered with Dolph Ziggler on RAW to compete against WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and RAW Women’s Champion Asuka.
This week on SmackDown, Bayley, and Banks were out once again and meant business. After a segment in the ring with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, Bliss competed in a match against Bayley that the SmackDown Women's Champion ended up winning by disqualification.
This was another great way to build the SmackDown Women’s Champion and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Bayley and Banks are definitely the future of SmackDown and The Queens of WWE.
