Summerslam is merely three weeks away. Tonight’s WWE Smackdown episode should help to answer some questions about what will happen.
PNC Arena in North Carolina is hosting tonight’s show.
Show opens up with Bianca Belair. She cuts a typical babyface promo, talking about how she’s been waiting for a chance to reclaim her WWE Women’s Championship from Asuka. Tonight, Belair gets her chance in a title match.
Charlotte Flair interupts Bianca fresh off her no contest match against Asuka two weeks earlier. Flair says she’s mainfesting a Bianca Belair title win tonight in Flair country. And if she wins, Bianca knows where the line starts – Flair. Tonight’s WWE Women’s Title match promises to be a great one.
Backstage, The Brawling Brutes are ready for Fight Night. Butch will be participating in a Fatal Four Way match as a part of the United States Championship tournament. Sheamus and Ridge Holland are taking on Pretty Deadly.
Pretty Deadly vs. The Brawling Brutes
Elton Prince and Sheamus out to start. Prince immediately heads outside. Sheamus goes after Kit Wilson. Both Wilson and Prince get rolling sentons from Sheamus. Ridge Holland gets tagged in and overcomes a double team from Wilson and Prince to slam both. Sheamus and Holland pull off synchronized chest chops to Pretty Deadly.
Heading out of the commerical break, Prince and Sheamus go at it for a bit. Prince starts building some offense, then tags in Wilson. Sheamus tries to tag on Holland, but Prince drags him off the apron. The Celtic Warrior holds off Wilson long enough to give Holland a hot tag.
Prince exposes the turnbuckle. Holland tries to give him a clothesline but Prince gets out of the way just in time. Holland runs into the turnbuckle and injures his throat. Prince hits a leg drop from the top rope to pin Holland. Overall, a quality match that helps Pretty Deadly get over.
Grayson Waller is joining Butch in the Fatal Four Way match for the US title tournament. He cuts a promo telling everyone how The Rock is more concerned about how Grayson Waller is doing than his own family imploding. Waller is getting better on the mic every week and he’s got the arrogance and charisma to be a very effective heel.
After a recap of Tribal Court from Smackdown last week, we get a medical update regarding Jimmy Uso. He will be out for the forseeable future. It appears Jey Uso will be taking on Roman at Summerslam if that’s the case.
Zelina Vega vs. Bayley
Bayley makes her entrance with Money In The Bank briefcase holder Iyo Sky and the lock of hair she cut off Shotzi two weeks ago. Classic heel move. Bayley and Zelina have a short match with the former coming out on top.
After the match, we get a promo from Shotzi. She shows just how chaotic she is by taking a razor to her head. Shotzi’s definitely showing more of a crazy persona here. Wonder if we’ll be seeing more of that moving forward.
Jey Uso
Speaking of crazy personas, here comes Jey Uso, who’s been going through a soap opera for the better part of 2023. After commerical, he cuts a promo. All his life, Jey has been there for Jimmy. Anywhere Jimmy is, Jey is. And vice versa.
Jimmy goes off on Roman, Solo, and the “wise man” Paul Heyman. Jimmy says he’s the real head of the table now. Out comes Heyman to a chorus of boos he hasn’t heard in a while with Solo. Solo is here, according to Heyman, to “enforce the peace”. Jey and Roman are going to discuss the “rules of engagement” next week. But this week, Heyman wants to talk about Jey. Jey is sounding more like a tribal chief every day.
However, Heyman talks about how Jey is the reason Jimmy is injured. He’s being selfish and he needs to stop. Heyman notes that all of Jey’s family will never forgive Jey for what he has done. Solo reinforces that. Jey and Solo start brawling. Solo gets a super kick and Jey stares down Heyman. Just as Jey gets Heyman cornered, Solo attacks Uso from behind. Jey is able to fight back and gives a super kick to Heyman. It’s a super kick party. Jimmy runs outside the ring and grabs a steel chair. Solo tries to defend Heyman but he gets a steel chair to the gut.
The Bloodline narrative gets even more dramatic. Everyone’s doing a phenomenal job. The facial expressions, the emotions, everything has been top notch. This storyline has created countless priceless moments. Sami hitting Roman with a steel chair. Kevin Owens saving Sami. Kevin and Sami winning at Wrestlemania. The Usos turning on Roman. The Bloodline Civil War. This is another one of those moments.
Out comes Austin Theory to watch the first match of the United States Championship Invitational.
Grayson Waller vs. AJ Styles vs. Butch vs. Santos Escobar
Waller attacks Butch right off the bat. He jaws off to Theory, who is on commentary, before Butch attacks him from behind. Styles and Butch meet in the ring. Waller goes for an impressive double pin of both, but both are able to escape.
This was an excellent match. Highlights include Santos Escobar pulling off a triple Sunset Flip from the top rope. Styles was about to perform a Styles Clash to Butch, but then the Titantron cut to Karion Kross taking out Anderson and Gallows. Styles ran off backstage. Waller hit Butch with a Stunner. Escobar hit Waller with a splash from the top rope to win the match.
Backstage, Bobby Lashley makes his long awaited return. He steps into a car with the Street Profits. Curious to see if this is a partnership moving forward. Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, LA Knight, and Cameron Grimes are among the participants in next week’s Fatal Four Way match in the US Championship Tournament.
It’s LA Knight time! He gets a better pop every week. Knight talks about how he’s the best decision WWE has ever made and he’s coming from Theory’s United States title.
Belair vs. Asuka
Overall, this match felt rushed. It was a decent match, mind you, but considering how good Smackdown main events have been lately, it’s a tad bit disappointing.
-Flava Dave
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