24th July Edition Of The Friday Night Smackdown & Wrestling News

The show opened much like it did last week - with everyone involved in the show cutting  a quick promo about their character and what they’re doing this week. Wait no,sorry, it’s just Jeff Hardy and Sheamus talking about their Bar Fight that opened with Jeff Hardy saying “My name is Jeff Hardy, and I’m an alcoholic.” So that’s the level we’re starting at this week?  Alright then. The actual show opened with Sasha Banks and Bayley continuing to be the best at what they do, bragging with their usual heel shenanigans, before they were interrupted by Nikki Cross, seemingly begrudgingly accompanied by Alexa Bliss. This continued Nikki’s fantastic character arc from the week before Extreme Rules, as she’s now morphing into someone who is obsessed with winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Bayley said she would gift Nikki a rematch, but only if she can beat Alexa Bliss, which is a masterstroke of booking. The winner of their match would face her next week for the title. This fired up Nikki, who then pushed Alexa to the ground before storming to the ring  for the match, which made you say “what a dick, Nikki”. The match wasn’t anything amazingly spectacular in terms of moves, but it was an incredibly intense psychological match, where they were both friends but seriously wanted to win this match, with shades of working heel from both competitors. Alexa repeatedly targeted Nikki’s injured ribs, which made you say “what a dick, Alexa”. You could feel the emotion between them, and serious Nikki getting fired up is always a  joy to watch.  The finish came about when Nikki missed a flying crossbody and played up her injured  ribs, but she was playing possum - a heel move! - to roll up Alexa for the win. I personally thought Alexa was going to win this match as it would further Nikki’s downward  spiral from “the betrayal” of her best friend, but I actually think Nikki winning  was the right move. The two shared a backstage promo after the match where they seemingly made up, but there’s definitely still tension there. Alexa Bliss heel turn to cost her next week? Nikki heel turn on Alexa after she loses again one week from now? I’m really into this story. Bloody love Nikki Cross, me. After that we got a Firefly Funhouse promo after a quick recap of the Swamp Fight, where  Bray spoke to his old Bray Wyatt lantern, saying he can’t let him out again, he had  his chance.

Now it’s The Fiend’s turn, and he’s been unleashed. Next was a quick match between Matt Riddle and Tony Nese, which Riddle won decisively, before calling out King Corbin, bro. Corbin said that Riddle didn’t belong on SmackDown, and placed a King’s Ransom on Riddle’s head to anyone that could take him down. I quite like this addition to the story, and if it means we get to see Riddle beat up some random jabronis throughout the shows, I’m ok with that.  After that was MizTV with special guest Naomi, where they spoke about Naomi blowing up on  social media with the #NaomiDeservesBetter hashtag.  Naomi cut an impassioned promo about why her fans still continue to follow her despite  everything, before Miz brought out Lacey Evans as a second special guest to remind us that  this feud is still happening. Lacey said Naomi didn’t have much to show for her time in WWE, to which Naomi proceeded  to beat her up, smearing her lipstick - not the lipstick! - and the two will have a match  next week. Naomi needs to win that match, and decisively, if WWE want to avoid further social media backlash.  If they can build Naomi effectively, make her a serious competitor, push her properly and get over her offense, I could see her ending Bayley’s reign as SmackDown Women’s Champion a few months down the line. I would say at Survivor Series, but we all know that’s Brand Warfare month, so not  then. After a recap of the SmackDown Tag Title match from Extreme Rules, Kofi Kingston emerges  from a trainer’s room, holding his ribs, and tells Big E that he’s going to be out  for 6 weeks due to being put through the two tables. But most interestingly, he then tells Big E that he has the New Day’s blessing to  go after some singles glory while he and Woods are out, and it’s put over like a massive deal. I personally can’t wait, because I think Big E is fantastic. Perhaps foreshadowing where Big E’s journey will take him next, Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles then made his way out for commentary for a fatal 4-way match to determine who will  face him for the title next week between Drew Gulak, Shorty G, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik. The match was insanely fast, as you’d expect, and had some brilliant false finish sequences,  including a Gulock transitioned into an extended Ankle Lock, only for Dorado to break it up  with a splash. After Shorty G threw Dorado to the moon and back off the top rope, Gran Metalik took advantage with an elbow drop and picked up the win, and he’ll face AJ next week for the title. This was kinda random, but honestly?  I’m into it. Metalik is really, really good, so give me a proper 15 minute match between Styles and Metalik, and I’ll be one happy Chopper.  I think it would have been better for Lucha House Party to be pushed in the tag team division, simply because, with Kingston gone now, who’s left for Cesaro & Nakamura to face?  Miz & Morrison?  The Usos? They cut a promo after this saying they’re going to splat all the other teams on SmackDown, but I don’t know who they’re planning to splat. 

And finally on the show, after being hyped up through the night by JBL, we’re finally  at the Bar Fight between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus. Moral concerns surrounding Hardy having a fight in a bar aside, this was genuinely pretty  fun. They utilised the small setting they had pretty well, had some fun spots in there, and we  even saw a possessed Brother Nero-type Jeff Hardy after it looked like Sheamus had it  won. Nero Hardy awoke within Jeff and hit a Swanton off a convenient ladder to pick up the win over Sheamus. And now we potentially get to see Brother Nero running wild in WWE, and I think it might  be pretty cool.  Maybe.  So that was the show, let me know what you thought of it in the comments section below  because I’ll be replying to people FROM OUTTA THE STOCK TOILET SOUND EFFECTS THEY USED IN THE BATHROOM IN THE BAR FIGHT. They were super hokey. Overall, this was a pretty good show. There wasn’t anything on this show that was actively bad, the in-ring action was pretty  good, and it furthered a lot of stories that I’m invested in. Give me more Big E singles action please! This show gets a SmackTastic 4/5.

Wrestlings News

Since Edge’s return at the Royal Rumble this year, fans were eager to see Edge square  off against your favourite wrestlers - AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins - but he  has instead just faced Randy Orton 17 times. As a WrestleMania match that lasted far too long and The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever at Backlash, This Is The Greatest Show, clearly aren’t enough for a feud, the original plan  was for the pair to have a third installment at SummerSlam in an I Quit Match. Unfortunately though, Edge was injured during the This Is Greatest Match match at Backlash, The Greatest Show. These names are getting confusing. As such, plans for Edge and Orton have been pushed back, and the match was originally  reported to take place at Royal Rumble 2021 instead. Now though, according to a new report from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter,  it may be pushed back even further. “The plan is for Edge vs. Orton in an I Quit match as one of the key matches for next  WrestleMania”. Meltzer did also note however, that “this can change 100 times” between now and then. WrestleMania 37 is currently pencilled in to be taking place in Los Angeles, but it  very well could be another show to be in the Performance Center if the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t improve in the US.  The report also states that the match could involve the WWE Championship, with Randy Orton  winning the belt off Drew McIntyre. Just imagine - The Greatest I Quit Match Ever To Determine The World Cup For The Best WWE Champion Of All Time To Kick Ass And Take Names The Horror Show At The Corporate Ladder In The Beautiful City Of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia!  I think I've gone excessively far down the bunny gap.  Edge is reported to have a lot of creative influence backstage, as he should, so if this  does go ahead as currently planned, you can bet it’ll probably be quite good.  While both Edge and Randy Orton have signed long term deals with WWE, there’s one big  star who may be feeling the urge to move to greener pastures. Just days after he went on an epic rant about former Raw Executive Producer Paul Heyman, current Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles has committed the ultimate sin by teasing a potential move to AEW later down the line.  The tease, like the Heyman rant, took place on his Twitch stream, where he was asked by  a fan what the future holds for him. AJ answered: "Most definitely, never state never, isn't that so? Be that as it may, I think once my profession is done, I'm ideally simply going to work for WWE in some limit. What might I do? I'd prefer to be an enrollment specialist, go scout some folks, I believe that would be entertaining. I would have no issue heading off to the Indies. I need to get folks and young ladies who have needed to do this their entire life, offer them some guidance, determine the status of them now and again, and assist them with getting to the following level or the Performance Center. I think that'd be cool, to support someone and check whether they're coach able.” [QUOTE] Yeah I know that was mostly about WWE, but he said NEVER SAY NEVER!  OH MY GOD AJ STYLES TO AEW CONFIRMED. At 43, Styles is likely heading towards the final few years of his in-ring career, unless of course Saudi Arabia wants him to wrestle the Undertaker in 10 years time. It is thought that Styles signed a three year contract with WWE back in March 2019, which  would mean his deal expires in March 2022. And you know what they say about March 2022?  No?  Me Neither. Congratulations to WWE Raw star Angel Garza, who married Zaide Lozano this past week. You may recall Garza proposed to Lozano on NXT after winning the NXT Cruiserweight Championship  last year.  Yay for weddings!