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There isn’t too much time for WWE to set up storylines and matches for SummerSlam, and they have been doing all they can to keep both the brands starstudded in order the get the ratings up.
This week was no different for SmackDown as we got to see a match between AJ Styles and Kofi Kingston which also gave us a taste of what can happen between The O.C. and The New Day in the future.
Apart from that, the biggest Superstar in women’s wrestling made a return to the ring and is now confirmed for a match at SummerSlam.
All this and more was at the center of attention this Tuesday Night, and we will take a look at the 4 things that WWE got right on this week’s SmackDown Live.
#4 The stage collapse
Almost every fan in the WWE Universe has patiently been waiting for WWE to announce Roman Reigns’ opponent for SummerSlam. While things between The Big Dog and Samoa Joe have been feuding a lot lately, the two may or may not face each other at the big event.
This week on SmackDown, WWE decided to end the show by allowing Kayla Braxton to interview Roman Reigns about who he wanted to face at SummerSlam.
Before The Big Dog could make it to the interview, the stage fell on him. He barely managed to escape, and a frazzled Reigns walked away, unable to make his announcement.
While it doesn’t make much sense why WWE would want to delay Reigns’ announcement for the Biggest Party of the Summer, it seems like they are taking the Aleister Black route for him.
Black was the victim of a “mystery attacker” during his days in NXT, and the storyline worked out extremely well for him. Black also appeared on SmackDown a couple of months ago begging for a challenge, only for a “mystery man” to knock on his door.
It’s possible that WWE will manage to make Reigns’ mystery attacker storyline as interesting as the ones they did for Black.
See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page
#3 The Feind’s presence
Oh, how the WWE Universe has come to love The Fiend.
Over the past few weeks, The Fiend has been on Finn Balor's case while Balor's Demon has been asleep. This has given rise to a very interesting storyline.
During the latest edition of the "Firefly Fun House," Rambling Rabbit praised Balor and his bravery but warned he had made a grave mistake. This was followed by Finn Balor’s battle with Dolph Ziggler where we got to see some extraordinary spots from both men.
While things were heating up and heading towards a definite conclusion, the lights went out. Bray Wyatt appeared in the ring and quickly disappeared which allowed The Showoff to work on the distraction and connect with a superkick for the win.
WWE has managed to set-up this new gimmick by Bray Wyatt and his rivalry with Finn Balor pretty well, and they pulled off this week’s segment to near perfection.
#2 Ali’s revenge
Ali was missing from the squared circle for a little while but marked his return in a match from Smackville where he replaced Finn Balor.
Ali faced Shinsuke Nakamura at the event but lost the match after taking a knee to the face. This week on SmackDown, Ali got another non-title match to prove that he’s worth it, and countered the Kinshasa again and again until he managed to set up The Artist for an upset victory.
While the match wasn’t topnotch, it worked well in favour of both the men. There had been some rumours circulating that Ali will be facing Nakamura at SummerSlam for the United States Championship, but no buildup had been made till last Saturday.
WWE worked well in using the angle which led to Balor staying away from Smackville and Ali replacing him, and could now set up the big match for the event in the coming days.
#1 Charlotte vs. Stratus
We already had two big women’s matches for the Biggest Party of the Summer scheduled, and WWE decided to make things even better by adding a third one.
On "King's Court," Lawler asked Trish Stratus if she had ever considered competing in one last match. The WWE Hall of Famer was not interested, but Charlotte Flair interrupted and taunted the legend before laying down a challenge for SummerSlam. Trish has never been the one to back down, and she accepted the challenge to give the fans a dream match.
While the segment and the outcome were largely predictable, we don’t really care as we now have one of the biggest matches for SummerSlam set between one of the best female wrestlers the world has ever seen and a future legend who could surpass her in the coming years.
Needless to say, we are pretty sure that this can work out better than the Kurt Angle vs Baron Corbin angle did for WrestleMania 35.
