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With Clash of Champions on the horizon, this week’s Friday Night SmackDown looked to build on some existing rivalries and a few new ones for the upcoming pay-per-view.
Alexa Bliss had delivered Sister Abigail to her friend Nikki Cross during last week’s show, and fans were looking forward to her explanation.
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso teamed up to defeat Sheamus and King Corbin last week on SmackDown. The cousins teamed up once again to face the heels in a Samoan Street Fight.
Sami Zayn and AJ Styles were booked for an exciting match for this week’s SmackDown. Meanwhile, Cesaro took on Gran Metalik, but the differences between The Lucha House Party allowed The Swiss Cyborg to defeat his opponent.
It didn’t just end there, as Sasha Banks made her return to the blue brand to talk about Bayley turning on her a couple of weeks ago.
All this and much more was in store for the fans this week. With that being said, let's look at the five things WWE got right during this week’s SmackDown.
#5 The Miz and John Morrison continue to get under Otis’ skin on SmackDown
Friday Night SmackDown opened with The Miz and John Morrison hosting an episode of The Dirt Sheet. The two heels said that they had taken it upon themselves to reveal the truth behind several of the storylines unfolding on the blue brand.
The Miz claimed that he wanted to help Otis, and that’s why he’d been keeping him on his toes. He said he sent Mandy Rose to Monday Night RAW so he could focus on his work without any distractions.
The A-Lister went on to throw some dirt on The Golden Goddess, which led to Otis making his way down to the ring. Mr. Money in the Bank attacked Miz and Morrison, with Tucker showing up to ensure the two heels could not get away easily.
Afterwards, Otis was served with legal papers by The Miz, suggesting that this storyline is going to take a very interesting turn sooner rather than later. The Miz and Morrison have been two of SmackDown’s most entertaining Superstars recently, even though they’ve had very average bookings.
WWE is truly using the former WWE Champion to keep Otis busy and make him a bigger star. It seems to be working just fine at the moment.
#4 Alexa Bliss strikes again with Sister Abigail on SmackDown
Alexa Bliss hosted A Moment of Bliss this week and welcomed Nikki Cross onto her talkshow. Even though Bliss had hit Sister Abigail on Cross last week on Friday Night SmackDown, the Scottish star came out and hugged her teammate.
The Goddess spoke about the number of times Cross had already lost to Bayley and asked her about her plans against The Role Model at Clash of Champions.
Cross asked Bliss why she hit her with Sister Abigail and left the match last week, to which The Goddess of SmackDown replied she couldn’t explain what had taken over her.
Lacey Evans came out and mocked both women before Cross disrespected her, which led to a brawl and then a match between the two women.
While Evans had the upper hand for some time, Cross managed to take The Sassy Southern Belle out and win the match. Afterwards, Bliss hit Evans with Sister Abigail before leaving the arena.
This was a decent segment that allowed Cross to come across as a bigger threat to Bayley. However, Bliss was the centre of attention once again. She managed to leave a big mark by hitting another Sister Abigail, this time on Evans, to show that her character is still under transformation.
#3 SmackDown gets a chance to crown the real Intercontinental Champion
Sami Zayn arrived for his match on Friday Night SmackDown and demanded that the announcer give him a proper introduction. AJ Styles attacked him from behind and took him to the ring to get the match started.
Styles tried to end the match quickly with a Styles Clash, but Zayn managed to get out of the move. The two men exchanged some great moves as the WWE Universe got to see the best of both these talented veterans.
Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall. The referee then caught Zayn trying to grab a handful of tights, allowing Styles to roll up The Critic of Critics for the pin on SmackDown.
Jeff Hardy then came out to the middle and attacked both men with ladders. He then informed them that their Triple Threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Clash of Champions would be a ladder match.
Fans got a good match between The Phenomenal One and Zayn. Hardy’s arrival also allowed WWE to make the Clash of Champions event much more exciting.
#2 Roman Reigns and Jey Uso score another victory on SmackDown
The main event of this week’s Friday Night SmackDown saw Roman Reigns and Jey Uso team up to take on Sheamus and King Corbin once again. The two teams had competed last week, when Uso held his own for a major portion for the match before Reigns arrived to pick up the victory.
This match was different, as it was a Samoan Street Fight. Reigns gave a promo to remind everyone that SmackDown belonged to him and promised to defeat his cousin at Clash of Champions.
The cousins took control of the match early, but the heels managed to get back in the match soon after. There was chaos everywhere as the Samoan Street Fight took the four Superstars all over the arena.
In a big spot, Reigns speared The Celtic Warrior through the barricade. Jey was able to pick up the victory for his team with a Superfly Splash on Corbin, narrowly missing The Big Dog during the maneuver.
While the match was good, there weren’t too many big spots to make this Street Fight memorable. However, the match allowed the rivalry between Reigns and Jey to develop even more. It seems like WWE is ready to make things very personal at Clash of Champions.
#1 Sasha Banks appears on SmackDown
After suffering a brutal beatdown at the hands of Bayley a couple of weeks ago, Sasha Banks appeared in a neck brace for an interview during this week’s Friday Night SmackDown.
Michael Cole replayed the footage of the attack after which The Boss talked about being betrayed by The Role Model.
Banks revealed that she heard every word Bayley had to say last week and it hurt her, as she thought the two would conquer the world of wrestling together.
The Boss started to tear up as she continued to talk about her journey with Bayley before their break up. This led to Bayley appearing out of nowhere and attacking Banks with a steel chair once again.
She tried to break Banks’ neck once again, but officials arrived to take the WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion away before she could do any more damage.
This was a great segment that helped build the storyline between the former members of SmackDown’s Golden Role Models.
Banks is a natural on the mic and delivered a great promo just a week after Bayley delivered hers. Bayley has slowly transformed from being the biggest babyface in the women’s locker room to the most unforgiving heel. This character will help WWE build a phenomenal rivalry.
