SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER
JULY 24, 2020
ORLANDO, FL. AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Michael Cole and Corey Graves
Top 10 Moments from Last Week
Extreme Rules: The Horror Show Results Pertinent to Smackdown
- Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) in a Tables Match to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.
- Bayley defeated Nikki Cross with assistance from Sasha Banks to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
- Bray Wyatt and Universal Champion Braun Strowman were featured in Wyatt Swamp Fight in which Bray’s alter-ego “The Fiend” appeared at the end.
Overview and Items Advertised by WWE
We continue to put Extreme Rules: The Horror Show behind us with tonight’s edition of Smackdown and turn our attention towards SummerSlam which comes to us Sunday, August 23 from the WWE Performance Center. This week WWE officially announced that the event, which was to originally have been held at the TD Garden in Boston, MA., was moved out of that arena because of a local ordinance preventing large crowd gatherings. I anticipate they’ll focus on fallout from the past Sunday’s show before starting to plant seeds for SummerSlam, which is considered one of WWE’s “big four” PPVs.
As of this writing, WWE does not have their official preview up, but they have advertised the following for tonight’s show:
- Jeff Hardy faces Sheamus in a Bar Fight
- Naomi to be a guest on Miz TV
- Bayley & Sasha Banks to address the Championship Picture
Bar Fight: Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
Jeff Hardy and Sheamus were to square off in a Bar Fight this past Sunday. We learned last week that this would instead take place tonight, as Sheamus interrupted and attacked Jeff while he was being interviewed by Kayla Braxton. Jeff was talking about battling his addiction and having to face it while playing Sheamus’ game. He then talked about the Matt Riddle vs. A.J. Styles Intercontinental Championship being bittersweet to watch since he himself was knocked out of the tournament when Sheamus framed him for drunk driving.
This feud has gone down quite a winding road with what Jeff mentioned plus the Sheamus’ toast to Jeff a few weeks ago where he tempted him to drink. He then interfered, via video, a match between Jeff and the Miz a few weeks ago although Jeff still came out on top. Prior to that match Jeff was on Miz TV where the Miz suggested Jeff and Sheamus have the bar fight. That takes place tonight and will highly likely be in cinematic format.
Frank’s Analysis: Following this I hope they move on to better things. If Braun Strowman doesn’t drop the Universal Championship to the Fiend, I could see Sheamus moving into that title picture. Jeff could move into the Intercontinental title picture.
Miz TV: Guest Naomi
Last week, former Smackdown Women’s Champion Naomi lost to Lacey Evans, whom she wrestled the previous week to a no-contest following the infamous karaoke competition. Lacey gained an advantage by tying Naomi’s hair in the ropes and nailing her signature Women’s Right. Here was a little trash talk on Twitter by Naomi:
Yo granny called and want her shoes back neooooow https://t.co/OawLxGxejB
— Trinity Fatu (@NaomiWWE) July 17, 2020
https://twitter.com/NaomiWWE/status/1284309840828018689?s=20
Following the loss, #NaomiDeservesBetter started trending on Twitter. There were north of 10,000 tweets in response. I’m obviously not going to include every tweet, but here’s Naomi’s response and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T who had other ideas:
https://twitter.com/NaomiWWE/status/1284505514051854339?s=20
I'm beyond outraged. Booker T shame on you. Absolutely disgusting of him to make these types of comments. His ass should be uplifting talent, not speaking this type of BS. This just goes to show how #NaomiDeservesBetter! @NaomiWWE we love you and we will continue to support you! pic.twitter.com/dvn2pOvmCJ
— Cody Shamoon (@CodyShamoon) July 21, 2020
Tonight, Naomi joins the Miz and John Morrison on Miz TV. Both men have their finger on the pulse when it comes to social media, so they will certainly discuss the trending hashtag.
Frank’s Analysis: I don’t disagree with Booker about hashtags. I could care less about them, at least in this context. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to see the best for everyone. He talks about earning your spot though, and that’s where we may differ. In WWE, you are subject to the opinions of Vince McMahon. In my opinion he books wrestlers in the manner HE sees them. He doesn’t try to position them in the best way possible to get them over. We’ve seen that time and time again for many years. Now for my taste, and this is just me and nothing personal against Trinity Fatu (Naomi), I can do without the “glow.” I do however like the way she comes across when she’s talking trash and I find her in-ring work well. I’m not the one booking her in two- or three-minute matches and karaoke segments. I think the whole roster deserves better.
Bayley & Sasha Banks to Address the Championship Situation
At Extreme Rules: The Horror Show this past Sunday, Asuka defended the title against Sasha Banks. The match “ended” when Bayley hit Asuka with the title belt after Asuka accidentally misted the referee. Bayley put on the referee’s shirt and counted to three. Sasha’s music played as she and Bayley made their way to the back. No further action was taken.
This past Monday on Raw, Stephanie McMahon returned to our television screens to address the Raw Women’s Championship situation. She declared that Sasha was not the Raw Women’s Champion, but neither was Asuka. They will have a match this coming week on Raw. The title can change hands via disqualification or count out, taking away Asuka’s advantage.
Tonight, Sasha and Bayley will address the current championship situation.
Frank’s Analysis: I was Wade Keller’s cohost on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post Show Raw edition this past Monday, and we talked about the absurdity of this situation. Forget about the nonsense that took place on Sunday. Why isn’t Asuka still the champion? She didn’t lose the match. Why is she being punished by potentially losing the title via DQ or count out? WWE likes to create hooks to get you to watch and see what happens, but the problem is these decisions can make people roll their eyes and tune out.
Other Match Results and News Items from Last Week:
- Cesaro defeated Big E, allowing he and Shinsuke Nakamura to choose the stipulation for their match with New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. They chose a tables match, which they won at Extreme Rules: The Horror Show.
- Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross hosted another “A Moment of Bliss” segment with a surprise guest, which turned out to be Raw Women’s Champion Asuka. Prior to Asuka coming out, Bayley & Sasha Banks arrived uninvited. This led to a tag team match (I bet Teddy Long was behind this) featuring Asuka & Nikki Cross taking on Bayley & Sasha, in which Bayley & Sasha won.
- Bray Wyatt hosted a Firefly Funhouse segment in his original Wyatt Family leader character. He talked about Braun Strowman ahead of their Wyatt Swamp Fight this past Sunday.
- Universal Champion Braun Strowman defeated John Morrison in a non-title match.
- A.J. Styles defeated Matt Riddle to retain the Intercontinental Championship. After the match, King Corbin attacked Riddle.
Final Thoughts
Despite some of the recent nonsense, I enjoyed Raw this past week because of mostly sensible booking and the fact that Styles beat Riddle clean last week. It doesn’t make me think less of him but rather more intrigued about his journey. If WWE just did more of this where they book shows that make sense and put the emphasis on who’s better and who needs to work harder, the product would be much more enjoyable to watch. I can get into a Riddle-Corbin feud and I’m curious where they go with A.J. Styles now. I’m going to guess he returns to a feud with Daniel Bryan, although he’s been appearing remotely as of late. I thought his wife, Brie Bella, was due to deliver their second child around now so it makes sense if he’s not around. Perhaps they go to Jeff Hardy and Styles as I mentioned earlier, or revisit Drew Gulak. We shall see!
Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.