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An exciting episode of WWE SmackDown promised a few big matches and segments, as the WWE Universe were eager to see how Gran Metalik would fare against AJ Styles in the WWE Intercontinental Championship match.
King Corbin took on Drew Gulak, but Matt Riddle had his eyes set on Corbin and was looking to make a big impact. Lacey Evans and Naomi squared off once again, and even though their match never really took off, Naomi picked up another victory.
Big E returned to singles competition after Kofi Kingston announced on last week's SmackDown that he was injured, and tried to make early inroads to make a statement. Sonya Deville made a big return to WWE SmackDown and picked up from right where she’d left off.
The final match of the night saw Nikki Cross face Bayley once again, but what happened after the match was far more interesting than the match itself.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE SmackDown got right on this week’s show.
#5 Shorty G’s turn on WWE SmackDown
King Corbin was all set to compete against Drew Gulak on this week’s WWE SmackDown. Before the match, he taunted Shorty G backstage for watching matches rather than competing in them. He offered the babyface opportunities only if he could take out Matt Riddle for him.
Corbin then appeared in the ring and mocked Jeff Hardy until Gulak arrived to attack the heel and get the match started. While Gulak took advantage of his technical offence, he was no match for Corbin’s size and strength. After a decent contest, Corbin hit Gulak with a Deep Six followed by the End of Days to pick up the victory.
Right after he picked up the win, Matt Riddle stormed the ring to attack Corbin. The Original Bro thought he was unstoppable until Shorty G surprisingly arrived to help Corbin out and hit Riddle with an amazing rolling German Suplex. Shorty G walked off with Corbin, signaling a heel turn and a new partnership.
This was a good way to bring Shorty G back to prominence and we could see him have some great matches with Riddle. We could even see some great matches with the likes of Drew Gulak and Daniel Bryan.
#4 Big E scores a big one on WWE SmackDown
Last week on WWE SmackDown, Kofi Kingston revealed that he had picked up an injury at WWE Extreme Rules and needed some time off. With Kofi and Xavier Woods both on the shelf, it was Big E’s time to push ahead as an individual performer and make it big.
He was met by The Miz and John Morrison who joked about the thought of Big E making it big on his own. Morrison attacked Big E outside the ring as Miz distracted the referee.
The A-Lister got the early advantage in the match and even countered a Big Ending attempt by raking Big E’s eye and hitting a DDT.
However, Big E was determined and kept coming back into the match even though Miz tried every dirty tactic to keep him down. After the SmackDown referee threw Morrison out for trying to interfere again, Big E caught Miz in a stretch muffler, forcing a tap-out from the WWE Champion.
This was a good match that allowed Big E to make an immediate impact back as a singles competitor. He unleashed a new submission maneuver right away, after attempting the Big Ending early on to show that he has more tricks up his sleeve now than before.
#3 Gran Metalik shows his talent on WWE SmackDown
Gran Metalik was set for an opportunity of a lifetime as he took on AJ Styles for the WWE Intercontinental Championship on this week’s WWE SmackDown. Metalik had defeated three other hopefuls last week to earn his spot, and fans could not wait to see what the WWE Superstar had to bring to the ring against The Phenomenal One.
Metalik impressed early on and tried to take the fight to the former WWE Champion right away with some great strikes. Lince Dorado cheered his partner on from ringside as it seemed like Metalik would pick up a huge victory and take the Intercontinental Championship home.
However, The Phenomenal One got back into the match with a shoulder block and then locked Metalik in a Calf Crusher to make him submit.
After the match, Dorado entered the ring to check on his friend but was attacked by Styles. He then hit the Styles Clash on Dorado.
While no one expected Metalik to win the contest, his performance showed that he deserves some big matches on WWE SmackDown, like this one. The ending could lead to another big match, this time between Styles and Dorado, which could end up being as good if not better than the match on this week's SmackDown.
#2 Sonya Deville makes a big return on WWE SmackDown
A backstage segment showed Mandy Rose promising to take Otis out to his favorite barbecue restaurant after WWE SmackDown was over. She went away to freshen up, while Mr. Money in the Bank went along to find his friend Tucker.
Sonya Deville too made a surprise return to SmackDown and attacked Rose. She smeared make-up over Rose’s face and took a pair of scissors to do the unthinkable - she cut a chunk of God’s Greatest Creation’s golden locks and left her in a heap before officials interfered to stop Deville.
Otis and Tucker arrived to find Rose in such a position, while The Miz and John Morrison couldn’t help but make fun of what had happened to her.
While this wasn’t the strongest segment, especially with Miz and Morrison acting like teenagers once again, it was great to have Deville back with the same energy she left off with.
She made an impact and reignited the rivalry with her former best friend, giving fans hope of seeing her more on SmackDown.
The segment also seems to have kicked off a rivalry between Heavy Machinery, and Miz and Morrison.
#1 Nikki Cross suffers another loss, Alexa Bliss tastes the Mandible Claw on WWE SmackDown
At the beginning of SmackDown, Bray Wyatt had told the WWE Universe that he was still looking for Braun Strowman after defeating him in the Wyatt Swamp Fight. He claimed that until Strowman was found, no one was safe.
The last segment of the night saw Nikki Cross face off against SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, once again. While Cross tried her best once again, The Role Model was just too good for her in this week’s contest and never allowed her to take the upper hand for too long.
After a decent contest, Bayley was able to pin Cross to pick up the victory with the help of her new finisher. After the match, Cross was angry with herself and her friend Alexa Bliss and shoved her to the mat before storming off.
The Fiend surprisingly appeared and caught The Goddess with the Mandible Claw, ending in the most surprising fashion.
While we’d seen Bliss appear at the Wyatt Swamp during Extreme Rules, no one expected The Fiend to attack her on WWE SmackDown. What happens to The Goddess from here on will be interesting.
