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Friday Night SmackDown is in the books! Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown! It was a good episode but we weren't too big on the lack of overall storyline progression. There were surprisingly few segments and matches as a whole - thanks to the fact that the opening match took a large chunk of the time.
Either way, WWE's build to Extreme Rules: The Horror Show continued and we were a bit disappointed to not have any Braun Strowman-Bray Wyatt segment other than a preview.
We'd imagine that if the PPV is themed around the Swamp match, more effort should be put into building it. Either way, here are a few subtle things hinted at on SmackDown:
#5 A possible change in the SmackDown Tag Team title scene next week?
For some reason, WWE often avoids putting Tag Team Championship matches on PPVs. That's been the case lately at least. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro are a team that's replaced The Forgotten Sons - who were feuding with The New Day early on when they debuted on SmackDown.
Unfortunately, "that" tweet from Jaxson Ryker turned out to be a possible death sentence for The Forgotten Sons, and Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake have been directly impacted by it as well.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro are a bit of a "thrown together" team, but they still have good chemistry and are two big names who can challenge for the SmackDown Tag Team titles. They've had The New Day's number recently and on the latest episode of SmackDown, Shinsuke Nakamura took on Kofi Kingston in a match we felt was good enough for a PPV.
As expected, the Japanese former NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kofi Kingston and just like that, a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match has been secured for next week.
While we'd rather have seen it at Extreme Rules: The Horror Show (since it would be a great PPV match featuring four elite athletes), it seems as though WWE wants to have the match on SmackDown.
We fully expect a title change next week. The SmackDown Tag Team scene hasn't been very strong despite SmackDown having stronger tag teams overall. The New Day is and always have been great Champions, but it seems like they're just placeholders right now with no real direction.
We don't blame WWE for putting the title on them, but a change in scenario is needed for the SmackDown Tag Team division.
#4 Multiple feuds for Matt Riddle on SmackDown?
When Kurt Angle declared that Matt Riddle could be the next face of SmackDown, he wasn't lying. The King of Bros has been a busy man on SmackDown and is now being targeted by multiple Superstars.
While he beat AJ Styles on his debut, there are still a few obstacles for him to overcome. One such obstacle is King Corbin, who has been on his back recently. This week, he teased facing him but called out John Morrison instead.
Matt Riddle and John Morrison would have a solid match where The Original Bro came close to losing a few times but pulled through and ended up getting the victory. Post-match Matt Riddle was attacked by AJ Styles (right before his title match with Drew Gulak), indicating that it's another feud waiting to happen on SmackDown.
It's not often that we see debuting superstars featured this heavily and in multiple rivalries. If he comes out on topmost of the time, then it's a big sign that WWE is serious about pushing Matt Riddle as the next face of SmackDown.
#3 Drew Gulak looks great even in defeat
AJ Styles had a big Intercontinental Championship defense against Drew Gulak on SmackDown. Interestingly, Daniel Bryan joined the commentary team via Zoom and spoke about Gulak's ability to intercept high-flyers and how he found success in 205 Live - the land of high-flyers.
It was a technical masterclass as expected and had some fantastic storytelling. Daniel Bryan mentioning Gulak's ability to take down high-flyers was no coincidence and throughout the match, AJ Styles stuck to a ground-based offense.
Drew Gulak wasn't expected to win on SmackDown and he didn't, but he looked great in defeat - something that's always welcome in character development. Styles took to the sky only at the end to finish off Gulak with a Phenomenal Forearm and it established the former Cruiserweight Champion as a legitimate threat to any top star.
We love this "student of the game" gimmick of Drew Gulak on SmackDown and hope that his future is filled with great storylines, success, and Championships. Daniel Bryan can certainly be a great part in helping him reach there.
#2 A big story for The WWE Women's Tag Team Champions
After Charlotte Flair took a hiatus from WWE TV, it seems as though Sasha Banks and Bayley have taken the role of pulling off "triple duty" on all three brands - RAW, SmackDown, and NXT.
Granted, their NXT appearances aren't that frequent, but Sasha Banks had an incredible match with NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai this past week. On SmackDown this week, Bayley faced Alexa Bliss and it ended in a DQ, but the feud isn't over just yet.
They're set to face off in a regular tag team match next week on SmackDown, but not before Bayley goes to RAW and faces Women's Champion Asuka in a Champion vs Champion match. It's a hectic time for them but a lot is going on. We've seen subtle moments where Sasha Banks is holding the SmackDown Women's Championship, much to Bayley's dismay and insecurity.
There's a story brewing there between them, one on SmackDown, and seemingly one on RAW as well. It's going to get interesting!
#1 WWE keeps repeating the same mistake with Jeff Hardy
We've been criticizing the Jeff Hardy redemption angle on SmackDown for a while now. CM Punk - one of Jeff Hardy's biggest on-screen adversaries, opened up about it a couple of months ago and said that WWE shouldn't be using The Charismatic Enigma's past issues as a storyline.
Instead, we hear about it every week. Granted, they wouldn't be doing it without Jeff Hardy's consent, but most of the angle seems to be in bad taste. This week on SmackDown, Sheamus hosted a socially distanced "toast" to Jeff Hardy where two tables full of fine alcohol were placed for the WWE legend to give in to his weakness.
Sheamus was at his private home bar mocking Jeff Hardy as usual and while it looked like he was going to take a sip of a drink, he ended up pouring it on a poor waiter's head and hit him with the Swanton Bomb.
Why take out his anger on a waiter who did nothing? It didn't make Jeff Hardy look any better and this angle hasn't been getting any better on SmackDown either.
