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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown! We felt that the show was a massive improvement from last week and the build to SummerSlam looks to have started off in a big way for the Blue brand.
How SummerSlam is going to shape up on the SmackDown side, we're not yet sure. However, there were quite a few interesting things to note from this episode of SmackDown that concluded with a Bar Fight between Sheamus and Jeff Hardy.
Since there was a lot to unpack from that alone, that's where we're going to begin. Here's what WWE subtly told us on SmackDown!
#7 Jeff Hardy's contract status and direction going forward on SmackDown
The main event of SmackDown wasn't exactly a 'cinematic style' match-up, but it was somewhere in between a regular match and a cinematic match. Either way, it's fun to watch matches that don't always take place inside the ring.
Sheamus invited Jeff Hardy to have a Bar Fight and poured him a drink, continually provoking him for his past alcoholism. Jeff Hardy said that sobriety had changed him and started to utter a dialogue that in all honesty, didn't make much sense.
Either way, that wasn't the point. The point of the match was to have Jeff Hardy face his demons head-on, and this involved having his face "cleansed" in a urinal. As disgusting as that might sound, it played in well to the match and the theme of the storyline.
There were two major things we interpreted from this match - firstly, Jeff Hardy finally signed a new WWE contract. There were reports of how Jeff Hardy refused to sign a new contract, which is why Sheamus got a win over him previously.
This was a clear indicator that Hardy is here to stay. Another indicator? Our second point - his change in character. We're seeing the "willow" version of Jeff Hardy that emerged unexpectedly to win the match. It's going to be interesting to see how he'll be utilized going forward, but we're just happy that WWE made the right call and gave Jeff Hardy the win.
It's never good to have a heel continually berate a babyface and then have no payoff to end it. Whether it's the end of the feud or not, we can't be sure. But Jeff Hardy is going to have a big role on SmackDown going forward.
#6. Is Big E's time as a singles star approaching?
The decision to go with Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro as SmackDown Tag Team Champions makes a lot more sense now that Kofi Kingston is seemingly injured. If it's legitimate (which we can't confirm yet, but should have a report out on soon), then one thing is for sure - the tag team division is going to be in a mess.
The New Day have been carrying the tag team division on SmackDown for a long time now and without them, The Usos, and a decreased presence for The Miz and John Morrison, things could be in shambles.
Either way, Kofi Kingston told Big E that he had a rib injury and with Xavier Woods already having been out for a long time, it means that we're only going to have one New Day member on TV.
There were reports from Wade Keller of PWTorch a few years ago that Vince McMahon originally wanted to go with Big E over Roman Reigns, but was convinced otherwise. The course of WWE history would have changed if he went in that direction.
Big E is great as a tag team wrestler, but WWE might just come across something special with him as a singles star on SmackDown.
#5 The reason why Nikki Cross is getting the spotlight over Alexa Bliss on SmackDown
Bayley offered Nikki Cross another SmackDown Women's title shot, but only if she defeated her tag team partner Alexa Bliss. We all know that from from 2016 to 2018, Alexa Bliss was the most or second most dominant woman on the roster.
Accumulating five Women's Championships across two brands, there was a point where many felt she was made to look 'too strong'. You're certainly not going to hear those complaints now since her entry into the Women's Tag Team division last year.
When we saw this opening match, we thought that WWE might go with Alexa Bliss vs Bayley as it's still an interesting match-up with their roles reversed from a few years ago.
Instead, Nikki Cross got one over her partner and will be challenging Bayley for the SmackDown Women's Championship next week. We don't think she's going to win, but it's interesting to see that WWE has no intention to have Alexa Bliss have a good singles run at this point on SmackDown.
That doesn't mean she won't win any more Women's Championships, but it could be hard for her to top her run of dominance between the summer of 2016 and the summer of 2018.
#4 Is King Corbin the SummerSlam direction for Matt Riddle?
Admittedly, we're slightly disappointed with the possible SummerSlam direction for Matt Riddle. He lost to AJ Styles in his first Intercontinental Championship opportunity on SmackDown, which was fine since he was made to look good and was facing the greatest in-ring talent of this generation.
However, it seems like Matt Riddle vs King Corbin will be more than just a TV feud on SmackDown. From the look of things, the two could end up clashing horns only at SummerSlam.
Matt Riddle would be expected to win, of course. We wouldn't be surprised if WWE feeds King Corbin to Matt Riddle to overcome a heel as his first obstacle. But given how big SummerSlam is supposed to be, Matt Riddle vs AJ Styles would have been a far more exciting direction for the show.
However, we expect WWE to take their time building Matt Riddle as a top babyface on SmackDown. He isn't the kind of Superstar you want to see get skyrocketed to the top (like Finn Balor, and to some extent, AJ Styles), but rather, a Superstar whose journey you want to follow and get invested in.
#3 It's The Fiend's time to emerge on SmackDown
The Firefly Fun House returned on SmackDown and it was an interesting edition. Following the Swamp Fight between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt, we saw the emergence of 'The Fiend'.
That was the theme of the Firefly Fun House this week. In the feud with Braun Strowman, we've seen the Firefly Fun House Bray Wyatt, The Eater of Worlds Bray Wyatt, and now, it's time for 'The Fiend' to emerge.
The Fiend vs Braun Strowman looks to be the SummerSlam direction and that could be the point where we see Wyatt regain the Universal Championship. It's been over 100 days since Braun Strowman became the Universal Champion, but it could already be time for him to drop the title.
The return of 'The Fiend' was always inevitable. We haven't seen The Fiend on SmackDown since WrestleMania 36 and a year after the new character debuted at SummerSlam, he's going to make a big return. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out in the coming month.
#2 Is the Naomi hashtag working?
SmackDown Superstar Naomi has had two hashtags supporting her that have become trending - #NaomiDeservesBetter and #GiveNaomiAChance. While Booker T has been critical of the social media hashtags, there's no doubt that they're effective in the modern age.
WWE takes social media metrics into account a lot and the #GiveDivasAChance was one of the many things that eventually led to the Women's revolution. WWE recognized this and seemed to continue her feud with Lacey Evans on SmackDown.
Evans, who turned heel after losing a karaoke contest, got one over Naomi last week. However, Naomi has been getting regularly featured and we're always happy to see a non-title feud between the women.
In this case, the feud serves to benefit both Naomi and Lacey Evans and we're going to see them face each other next week again. It's a good little TV feud and we expect Naomi to get one over Lacey Evans, continuing the rivalry for a bit longer on SmackDown.
Ultimately, Naomi should emerge victorious and if Bayley is still the SmackDown Women's Champion after SummerSlam, then she'll need a babyface title challenger. It's an obvious but correct direction to go in.
`#1 AJ Styles' unexpected title challenger on SmackDown
We had a Fatal-4-Way match on SmackDown to determine AJ Styles' next Intercontinental Championship challenger. It featured the likes of Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Shorty G/Chad Gable, and Drew Gulak.
It was a good match and we were a bit surprised to see Gran Metalik coming out on top at the end of it. WWE may not have pushed and featured Gran Metalik as heavily, but if you watched the Cruiserweight Classic from a few years ago, you might realize that Metalik is an extremely special talent.
Unfortunately for him, a botch in his 205 Live debut affected his push, but things seem to be going on the right track for him. We're not saying that he's going to beat AJ Styles and become the Intercontinental Champion, but it's a good start.
It just goes to show that good things take time and Gran Metalik, even if he isn't winning next week on SmackDown, has the opportunity to prove to the WWE brass that he can hang with the best in-ring talent of this generation.
We're hopeful to see a classic encounter between the two and hopefully, a big future for Metalik.
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