The summertime extravaganza's momentum was intended to be built upon in a number of Friday Night SmackDown stages and it did.
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After leaving SummerSlam disappointed and without a title, Asuka and Charlotte Flair renewed a rivalry that has produced countless intense, hard-hitting contests in the past, and their most recent encounter promises more of the same. The summertime extravaganza’s momentum was intended to be built upon in a number of stages, including their match.
In other matches, Austin Theory faced Santos Escobar to defend the United States Championship, and in the most anticipated moment of the evening, Roman Reigns, the undisputed WWE Universal champion, addressed the crowd for the first time after defeating Jey Uso, a victory that would not have been possible without Jimmy’s shocking betrayal.
In the beginning, Flair maintained the advantage. She attempted to use a handspring maneuver to defeat Asuka, but instead was hit with a missile dropkick. Damage CTRL suddenly appeared to create a distraction, assisting Asuka in obtaining a rollup. When Bayley and IYO entered the ring and knocked both wrestlers to the ground, the fight was called off, but Flair was able to get back up with a powerful boot.
AJ Styles topped the opening phase and eliminated Kross. Then, when he grabbed Styles and slammed him into the announcement desk, Kross reached for a counter. The unplanned altercation between Scarlett and Michin at the ringside allowed Kross to get a takedown. With a Pele kick and the finisher to seal the victory, Styles could recover.
Moments after a video package announcing a celebration of 25 years in WWE next Friday night from Toronto went live, Edge made a surprise appearance on SmackDown on Friday night and shocked viewers by challenging for a match that night. And Sheamus. A sincere and heartfelt advertisement that included some amusing friend teasing ended with The Celtic Warrior accepting responsibility and wishing his friend hadn’t made a mistake. The contest is shaping up to be a classic, pitting two Hall of Famers against one another and marking the beginning of Edge’s arguably greatest run as an active ring competitor.
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The current hottest star in professional wrestling, LA Knight, defeated Hit Row’s Top Dolla on Friday night by using Blunt Force Trauma to finish him out. The bout was what it was, but the babyface was supported by the crowd in a way that is usually saved for the biggest names in the business. While Knight is still not there, the WWE Creative team and the public are behind him. It will be challenging to refuse Knight and keep him off the spot on the card that is appropriate for someone as over as he is once the authors catch up to the crowd.
After preparing for two weeks for Austin Theory to defend his United States Championship against Santos Escobar, WWE Creative made a U-turn and scheduled an injury angle that forced Escobar out of the title match and brought in Rey Mysterio in his stead. What followed was another historic triumph for Mysterio as he put a stop to Theory’s protracted reign at 258 days. What Theory does next is not the question at this point; rather, it is how Escobar will respond to Mysterio leaping over him to win the title.
He was initially happy for his mentor and buddy and showed them respect, but what happens when envy sets in and he starts to feel bitter that his replacement got a title he had intended to achieve? Although Rey Mysterio didn’t look entirely prepared for the title battle, he might show intelligence. Mysterio goes all out when the match starts, attempting a big suplex to pin Theory in the corner. Then Mysterio launched his signature 619, but Theory was able to avoid it. Mysterio decided to use the same maneuver once more to complete the victory.
It was crucial that WWE properly explain Jimmy Uso’s devastating betrayal of Jey at SummerSlam on Friday night’s SmackDown, and it mostly succeeded in doing so. Roman Reigns’ corruption as Tribal Chief, according to Jimmy, is what caused him to desire to protect his brother from. The answer was intriguing and unexpected, and it was much more compelling and simple to understand than the worn-out story of envy. That doesn’t mean Jey agreed to it; he most certainly didn’t.
Before leaving the programme and WWE, The Right Hand Man delivered a superkick to his brother, raising more questions than he did answers concerning his whereabouts. WWE can buy some time while deciding where the tale will go next by building intrigue and creating a strong cliffhanger. The response to Jey as he left the building on Friday night implies that he was not negatively affected by the SummerSlam defeat and, in fact, that he is poised to become a major player in WWE in the coming years, starting in 2023.
With some puzzling creative choices and a general lack of clear purpose outside of The Bloodline material, this was an intriguing show. Sheamus vs. Edge is going to be fantastic, and their interaction was a lot of fun. It was good to see Damage CTRL get hot again and see WWE finally siding with LA Knight. There was definitely a decision made when the US title match was scheduled and Rey Mysterio was chosen to face Austin Theory. It is tough to find a reason why Mysterio would have gone through an injury angle simply to get Rey into the contest instead, unless there are intentions for Santos Escobar and/or LWO to start distrusting Mysterio. WWE needs to rediscover itself, and perhaps that will happen with Payback on September 2. This show lacked the spark that had recently become a hallmark of the company’s TV.
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