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WWE Backlash is only a few weeks away, and the Superstars of SmackDown were all geared up this week to build towards some clashes towards the event. However, some businesses had to be visited in order to build towards those clashes, as the Smackdown Superstars battled in the WWE Intercontinental Championship tournament to determine who would move on to the semifinals to compete against Daniel Bryan and Elias.
Bayley had a huge match on the night as she was up against WWE’s most decorated female Superstar and current NXT champion Charlotte Flair. A win against Bayley may have given Flair a chance to compete for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Backlash.
Jeff Hardy was set to take on Sheamus during the night while old foes Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles were ready to go head-to-head. Michael Cole made a huge announcement prior to the match between Styles and Nakamura to shake up the SmackDown roster.
The Universal Champion was also featured on this week's SmackDown, while Otis and Mandy Rose once again tried to break away from the heels and move onto the next chapter.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE got right on this week’s episode of SmackDown.
#5 The Universal Champion gets the better of the heels of SmackDown
This Friday night, SmackDown kicked off the show with another edition of The Dirt Sheet with hosts John Morrison and The Miz. The two mocked SmackDown’s Universal Champion Braun Strowman for being replaced by puppets in the Firefly Fun House and teaming up with Mr. Money in the Bank, Otis on last week's episode.
The heels even went on to questioned the decision to allow Strowman a shot at Goldberg for the Universal Championship in the first place.
The Monster Among Men interrupted the heels and exchanged a few harsh words. The highlight of the segment saw The Miz inform Strowman and the entire WWE Universe that Bray Wyatt wasn’t finished with him yet.
Morrison got fired up and laid down a challenge to Strowman on behalf of his partner. This led to a match between Strowman and WWE’s A-Lister that saw a lot of distraction from Morrison from the outside.
However, a running powerslam from the Monster Among Men was all it took to pick up the victory, after which it was announced that Strowman would defend his Universal Championship against Miz and Morrison in a handicap match at Backlash.
This was a good way to keep SmackDown’s top men on our screen, especially when we know that the champion may not be good enough on the mic. A match against the former Universal Champion could work in favor of Strowman and allow Wyatt an opening to get back at his former family member.
#4 The men play second fiddle on SmackDown
SmackDown continued the rivalry between Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville by booking a Mixed Tag Team match between the teams of Rose and Otis, and Deville and Dolph Ziggler.
Otis and Ziggler have already had a few battles and Otis has managed to come out as the clear winner in all of them.
However, the focus was on the women again this week after Deville had defeated Rose on SmackDown a couple of weeks ago. After Ziggler sent Otis crashing into the steel steps, he made Rose get back in the ring and fight for the team. However, Deville once again proved to be the superior wrestler and picked up the pinfall victory.
After Mr. Money in the Bank exploded into the match, Ziggler found it difficult to regain control for the team. However, an alert Deville made the tag and delivered a low running knee to the back of Rose's neck to pick up the victory.
After the match, Otis tried to check on God’s Greatest Creation but Ziggler delivered a Superkick to him to end the segment.
This was a well-booked match by the WWE Creative that allowed SmackDown to work on its latest breakout star. Sonya Deville has proven to be a great mic-worker an in-ring performer, and another clear victory for her furthers her case as a top contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
While we will see Deville and Rose lock horns once again sooner rather than later with the babyface picking up the final victory, it could lead to a big push for The Pride Fighter on SmackDown.
#3 The Phenomenal One returns to WWE SmackDown
AJ Styles headed over from RAW to SmackDown to compete in the WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament this Friday Night against Shinsuke Nakamura. Before the match, Michael Cole made the huge announcement on commentary that Styles had been traded back to SmackDown in exchange for Superstars to be named later.
The two men displayed great heelwork throughout the clash and showed great chemistry as they always do. Nakamura got to gain more control in this match as compared to any other match he’s competed in this year and displayed many different moves in the fight.
A running knee almost earned WWE’s Japanese Superstar the victory, after which he went for the Kinshasa, only to be countered. Styles caught Nakamura with the Phenomenal Forearm minutes later to earn a huge comeback victory on SmackDown.
This was a much better match between the two men as compared to their matches in 2018. Styles on SmackDown could end up being great for WWE, especially with The O.C. gone and Bray Wyatt on the loose. Who will head over to RAW in his place?
#2 The SmackDown Women’s Champion gets a real fight
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley was overconfident for her match against NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair this week and told Sasha Banks to remain backstage for the match. The Boss obliged and watched on the screen backstage as her best friend took on The Queen of WWE.
Flair gained control early in the match and called out Banks to the ring so that she could teach both the heels a lesson. However, Bayley managed to capitalize later on and mocked The Queen.
The SmackDown Women’s Champion’s heel work worked well in this match as she managed to make Flair look like the face and delivered some great moves to keep her at bay.
She even tried to apply the Figure Four on Flair, but The Queen managed to fight out of it. The Role Model did not give up and scored the win with a rollup, illegally using the ropes to her advantage.
This was one of Bayley’s best matches of the year. We have seen her compete in several mediocre matches, especially with the SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line. Flair bought the best out of her, and the two women once again proved to have great chemistry.
The bonus of the storyline was watching how WWE Creative convinced the WWE Universe that Bayley doesn’t need Banks by her side anymore, even against the biggest Superstars.
This was a match that could have featured on Backlash, but we will have to wait to see who challenges Bayley for the pay-per-view.
#1 Jeff Hardy continues to impress on his SmackDown return
Jeff Hardy was put on notice by Sheamus when he returned to SmackDown a few weeks ago, and the two men had a chance to go at each other in the ring this week. They competed for a spot in the semifinals of the WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament, but their issues with each other became the highlight of the clash.
The Celtic Warrior physically dominated Hardy and kept him down as often as he could. The Charismatic Enigma tried to make a comeback by slamming Sheamus into the announce table, but could not maintain the control for long.
While Hardy had already scored a victory over Cesaro in an excellent match at Money in the Bank, the SmackDown commentary team continued to question how much ring-rust was affecting Hardy’s performance in the match.
Sheamus’ overconfidence got the better of him, and after he missed a few moves, Hardy was able to roll him up for a victory. Hardy will now meet former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in the semifinal of the tournament.
While SmackDown could have allowed Hardy to pick up a better victory, they went this route possibly to build up towards a bigger match between these two men heading into Backlash. Will Sheamus cost Hardy his match against Bryan?
