LECLAIR’S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 8/28: Alt perspective, detailed coverage of Reigns/Fiend/Strowman developments, Hardy defends IC title, more

LECLAIR’S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
AUGUST 28, 2020
ORLANDO, FL AT WWE THUNDERDOME IN AMWAY CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON FOX NETWORK

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

-The show opened with a static tribute screen to “Bullet” Bob Armstrong.

-A video package recapped the finish of the SummerSlam main event, and subsequent return of Roman Reigns.

-Backstage, Adam Pearce debriefed a security crew about making sure they stay on top of things. He was standing outside Vince McMahon’s locker room, revealing that he’d be on the show tonight. Pearce knocked on McMahon’s door and walked in, offering a handshake, then a fist bump, then an elbow bump. Vince turned them all down.

McMahon told Pearce he appears to be intimidated. He gave him a “mission.” Vince said it will take him into the presence of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and The Fiend. McMahon said he needs signatures from all three participants before the night is over. “You may want to start with The Fiend,” Vince said. McMahon said maybe he could reach him by visiting the Firefly Funhouse. Vince said he loves Huskus. “Don’t fail me,” he added.

-Michael Cole welcomed the audience to the show over a sweeping wide shot of the WWE Thunderdome.

-Jeff Hardy headed to the ring. Cole and Graves talked about his “gutsy” performance on last week’s Smackdown. Hardy still heavily favored the leg injured at the hands of A.J. Styles. Cole threw to a recap of Styles injuring Hardy’s leg on last week’s show.

-“Man, it is good to be standing in the WWE Thunderdome tonight,” Hardy exclaimed to open up his remarks. He said he’s not complacent in his successes, and is ready to defend his Intercontinental title. A.J. Styles music interrupted him. Styles stood atop the stage.

A.J. Styles said Jeff seems pretty proud of himself, considering what he did last week. “You’re not a conquering hero,” Styles said, “you are a liar and a cheat.” Styles walked down the ramp and stepped in the ring. He told Jeff that he can blame him from his knee injury if he wants. Styles said he’s had knee injuries before, but he didn’t go “whine and cry” to a doctor to get an illegal object placed on his knee. Styles said Hardy knew exactly what he was going to do with that knee brace. He claimed he had Hardy beat with the Styles Clash until Hardy used the brace.

“You know how to play the system,” Styles claimed. He said the same doctor who gave Jeff a brace last week will not clear Styles to compete tonight. Hardy said it’s unfortunate, because he was about to issue an open challenge to anyone backstage, except Styles. A.J. became enraged. He accused Jeff of “taking advantage of the system. He charged Hardy, but Jeff dropped him with a punch. Cole sent the show to commercial in a hurry.

Out of the break, Shinsuke Nakamura’s was playing. Cole announced him as Hardy’s challenger.

(1) JEFF HARDY (c) vs. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA – WWE Intercontinental title match

Jeff Hardy and Shinsuke Nakamura locked up in the center of the ring and wrestled to the corner before breaking. Back in the center of the ring, Nakamura worked over Hardy’s arm, but Hardy quickly battled free and took hold of Shinsuke’s arm. Nakamura fought free and tangled Jeff Hardy up in the ropes, then delivered a swift kick to the gut.

Nakamura grabbed a headlock, but Hardy quickly shot him off the ropes. Nakamura caught Hardy with a quick shoulder tackle. Hardy bounced to his feet, hit a reverse atomic drop, then a snapmare. Hardy dropped an elbow and covered Nakamura for a quick two count.

Off the ropes, Nakamura gave Hardy a basement dropkick to the injured knee. Hardy struggled to his feet and Nakamura clipped the back of the knee again. Cole threw to an inset promo of Cesaro, saying Nakamura is more “impulsive” than him, but not more ambitious. He passive-aggressively wished Nakamura good luck in his match.

In the ring, Nakamura continued to attack the injured knee of Jeff Hardy. Hardy stumbled to the corner and fell down, begging Nakamura off. Nakamura kicked Hardy in the chest repeatedly. Jeff caught the final kick and hit a step through rolling kick before tossing Nakamura to the corner. Nakamura quickly regained control, hoisting Hardy to a flattened position on the top rope. He tried to kick Hardy in the gut, but Jeff slid down onto the apron.

Hardy returned to the ring and clothesline Nakamura to the outside, then caught him with a dropkick through the middle rope. Hardy tossed Nakamura over the announcers desk and onto A.J. Styles. The show cut to break quickly.

Shinsuke Nakamura applied torque to Jeff Hardy’s injured leg when the show returned from commercial. Hardy slowly fought to his feet and caught Nakamura with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a sit out leg drop and basement dropkick. Hardy splashed Nakamura and covered him for a two count.

Nakamura hit a flurry of quick fists to Hardy’s chest then a spin kick to take him down. Hardy retreated to the corner but Nakamura pursued, lifting Jeff onto the top rope. Jeff elbowed him to the floor, then connected with Whisper in the Wind. Hardy clutched at his knee and slowly hobbled to his feet.

Shinsuke caught Hardy in the corner and managed to hit his sliding German Suplex, returning the ring quickly and covering for a two count. Nakamura set up for the Kinshasa. Hardy sidestepped him and went for the Twist of Fate, but Nakamura blocked it. Hardy hit a snapmare, and a quick knee using the braced knee, followed by the Twist of Fate. Hardy climbed the ropes and hit the Swanton Bomb, covering Nakamura for a three count.

WINNER: Jeff Hardy in 14:00

As Hardy celebrated up the ramp, Styles screamed at him from the ring. Suddenly, Sami Zayn’s music hit. He walked onto the stage, dancing and holding another Intercontinental title. Hardy looked away for a moment and Sami hit him with the Heluva kick. A.J. Styles stormed up the ramp, appearing to prepare to attack Jeff, but Hardy crawled to his feet and Styles stopped in his tracks.

(LeClair’s Analysis: Nothing special here. Much of the match wound up being during a commercial break. Styles was effective on commentary, offering his disdain over Hardy winning under questionable circumstances last week. It’s hard to really argue Styles point. Not only did Hardy use the brace last week, he used it again tonight. It’s kind of an odd story to be telling with a babyface. Interesting to see Sami Zayn make his comeback here. Zayn is right, he never lost the Intercontinental title, and given what a big deal he made about it on Twitter, I’m not surprised that they’re moving forward with this “rightful champion” angle. These three could have an excellent series of matches.)

-In the Firefly Funhouse, Ramblin’ Rabbit sat inside the Universal Championship, teasing a new episode later in the night.

-Sami Zayn was shown walking backstage, singing “Oh Happy Day.” Kayla Braxton approached him. Zayn said nothing has changed around here. He talked about winning the title and successfully defending it against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. Kayla pressed him on why he hadn’t been around to defend the title in five months. “Many valid reasons that I don’t need to explain to anyone,” Zayn claimed. He spoke in French to Kayla, then stormed off.

-The Firefly Funhouse title card played, then cut to Bray Wyatt walking through the front door of the Funhouse. Wyatt said it feels great to be back home with all his friends. Huskus began talking, but Bray cut him off, saying he thinks the Internet is rotting his brain.

Bray said it feels like something is missing. He looked toward a gruesome thought bubble super imposed on the screen, then suddenly, the Universal title appeared in his hands. He said it was really nice to see Roman Reigns again. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Bray opened the door and welcomed in “Postman Pearce.” It was Adam Pearce, dressed in a postman uniform. He asked Bray to sign the contract for The Fiend.

“Why would I sign it?” Wyatt asked. Pearce said it feels like there’s a “connection” between he and The Fiend. Bray turned serious and stared him down, then laughed and agreed to sign the contract. He did so, then said he’s just signed a couple of death warrants. Bray laughed uproariously. “Remember, let me in!” Bray said, cheerily. He waved goodbye and held up the Universal title.

(LeClair’s Analysis: The Firefly Funhouse segments used to be a highlight of the show, but now they just feel like overproduced fluff pieces that serve little to no purpose and say virtually nothing. Adam Pearce appearing in a postal worker outfit was a little too on the nose timely, and not in a good way. This, coupled with the current Retribution angle, is showing WWE’s hand and desire to dip a little too far into the current hot button issue pool.)

-Back inside the Thunderdome, Cole talked up the set up, then recapped McMahon tasking Adam Pearce with obtaining signatures from all three competitors in the triple threat match for the Universal title at Payback. They then turned to Matt Riddle, and tossed to the Progressive Match Flo, covering Riddle’s ongoing story with King Corbin.

-After the video package, Matt Riddle headed to the ring. He pointed out fans on the Thunderdome screens and grabbed a microphone. Riddle said it seems like King Corbin is afraid to face him. He challenged Corbin to prove him wrong right now. “Come on, bro!” Riddle challenged. The show faded to commercial.

Out of the break, Riddle continued to challenge Corbin to come out. Conveniently, his music hit just moments after the show returned. Corbin stood atop the ramp and looked down at Riddle, then slowly sauntered down toward the ring.

Suddenly, Riddle was attacked from behind by Shorty G. Corbin accepted Riddle’s challenge on behalf of Shorty G.

(2) MATT RIDDLE vs. SHORTY G

Matt Riddle recovered from the cheap shot quickly and fired off punches at Gable. Shorty G caught a kick and turned it onto a dragon screw, quickly mounting Riddle and connecting with a flurry of punches. Riddle rolled to the ropes quickly, shot to his feet, and hit Gable with a pair of gut wrench suplexes.

Shorty G rebounded quickly, wrestling Riddle to his feet and connecting with a bridging Tiger suplex for a two count. Gable went for a rolling German Suplex, but Riddle rolled through it, cause Gable a quick knee, then followed up with the Bro Derek for a three count.

WINNER: Matt Riddle in 2:00

King Corbin rushed into the ring to attack Riddle. Riddle was able to quickly fight him off, sending Corbin in retreat.

(LeClair’s Analysis: Nothing they attempt to do with Shorty G seems to work, which isn’t particularly surprising with a name like Shorty G. It’s sad, because Chad Gable is supremely talented, and he could theoretically have a great, competitive match with Matt Riddle. He can’t, though, because he’s been defined so low that it would look ridiculous for Riddle to go anything more than a couple minutes with him. I wish they’d get on with this Corbin match already.)

-Michael Cole threw to video of Big E’s appearance on last week’s re-debut of Talking Smack, where he got into an argument with The Miz. Big E was then shown talking about only appearing on MizTV tonight because he was “contractually obligated.” The Miz overheard and walked onto screen, followed by John Morrison and Sheamus. Heavy Machinery wound up walking into back up Big E. Cole announced a six man tag match for later in the night.

-Backstage, Big E joked with Tucker and Otis. Bayley and Sasha Banks walked onto screen. Bayley said some people can only handle being a tag team champion. She and Sasha laughed at Big E and left. Cole said we’d hear from them next.

-Adam Pearce stood knocking on Roman Reigns’ door following the commercial break. He didn’t answer.

-The camera spun around to show Kayla Braxton approaching King Corbin. Corbin said he plans to deal with Matt Riddle on Sunday, sending him back to NXT, or MMA, or “wherever else he wants to go.” Corbin said Riddle doesn’t belong in his kingdom.

-Sasha Banks and Bayley headed to the ring. Cole and Graves talked about the two women’s title matches at SummerSlam, leading to Asuka becoming Raw women’s champion. They talked up Sasha and Bayley’s tag title defense against Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax at Payback.

Bayley said she and Sasha are in the midst of one of the most difficult weeks of their career, having had to defend their titles at SummerSlam, and now having to defend the tag titles at Payback. “Lucky for us, we’re the greatest tag team champions in the whole world.” She quickly turned on the bravado, talking up herself and Sasha. She apologized to Sasha, saying even when they have the best intentions, sometimes things don’t go according to plan.

Bayley said the whole thing is her fault. She said she never should’ve let Banks challenge Asuka for the Raw women’s title. “As your best friend, I should’ve known you can never successfully defend a women’s title…” Bayley trailed off at the sight of Sasha’s glance. “I didn’t mean it like that,” Bayley walked it back. She turned her focus to their friendship, and their tag team titles. She said they can’t lose on Sunday.

Banks said she’s right. She said as long as Bayley has her back, they can get through anything. Sasha promised to do everything in her power to make sure they keep the tag titles. They were interrupted by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler on the tron.

Baszler said they’ve had a bad week, but it’s about to get worse. Nia Jax said the only people she dislikes more than Shayna is Banks and Bayley. Baszler said the two of them talk about everything except winning. Banks retorted, saying winning is all they do. Banks promised to get her vengeance, then looked at Bayley. “I will be walking out of Payback with my tag team championship, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about that.”

(LeClair’s Analysis: Banks and Bayley were effective as always. Bayley slipped up, provoking Sasha about her loss more than once, and seemingly taking blame only to reveal she was really knocking Sasha again. Banks’ facial expressions sold the tension well, especially the look at the end of the segment when she swore to get vengeance. On the other side, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler are incredible awkward to watch together. Jax has never been a strong promo, and Baszler seems to have completely lost her confidence. She’s coming off  really unnatural. I’m not sure if it’s the booking, or the lack of interest and confidence in this angle with Jax.)

-Adam Pearce approached Drew Gulak backstage, looking for Roman Reigns. Gulak said he hadn’t seen him, but asked if he’d seen Braun Strowman. Gulak saw Braun in the distance. He grabbed a chair, walked up to Strowman, and hit him in the back. Strowman didn’t even flinch. Gulak tossed the chair into Pearce’s hands. Strowman turned around. Pearce said it was Gulak, but asked Braun to sign the contract. Strowman refused to do so unless Pearce delivered him Gulak in the ring.

(LeClair’s Analysis: Wait, what? Braun Strowman refused to sign a contract that grants him a Universal title rematch unless he gets Drew Gulak? How does that make sense? Just sign the contract then find Gulak. Jeeze, this is bad.)

-Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro were deep in discussion following the commercial break. Sami Zayn barged into the room, excited to be reunited. Nakamura said they hadn’t even heard from him four months. Sami shrugged it off, saying he’s working on being better at communicating. Cesaro said things changed for the better with Sami gone. Zayn said it was part of his plan, to give them space. He tried to set up shop with Cesaro and Nakamura, but Cesaro cut him off, saying they were in the midst of a “tag team conversation.” They asked Sami to leave.

-Drew Gulak stood in the ring, trying to psych himself up. “What are you doing, Drew Gulak?” Cole wondered aloud. Braun Strowman’s music hit and he stormed to the ring. Cole tossed to a recap of the Universal title match from SummerSlam.

(3) DREW GULAK vs. BRAUN STROWMAN

Braun Strowman immediately grabbed Drew Gulak and tossed him across the ring. Graves compared this match to the cow being lowered into the raptor cage at the beginning of Jurassic Park. Strowman gave Gulak a short arm clothesline, then roared. He followed up with a quick senton, then began clubbing at Gulak’s chest.

Strowman scooped up Gulak by the throat and gave him a big choke slam. He pulled Gulak up by the beard, scooped him up and hit the running power slam, covering him for a three count.

WINNER: Braun Strowman in 1:00

Strowman walked back up the ramp, meeting Adam Pearce at the top. Strowman signed the contract and shoved it into Pearce’s chest.

(LeClair’s Analysis: Why is Braun so vehemently opposed to this contract? It’s like he doesn’t actually want to be in the match. i get that it’s meaningless, it’s just weird behavior, even for his character.)

-Backstage, Lucha House Party were huddled up talking. Kalisto told Lince Dorado to stay in the back and “see how it’s done.” He walked off. Cesaro blindsided Dorado and Gran Metalik from behind. Cole said he’d face Kalisto next.

Kalisto was already in the ring when the show returned from break. Cole threw to a clip of last week’s tag team title match and the resulting frustration from Kalisto. Cesaro headed to the ring with Shinsuke Nakamura at his side.

(4) KALISTO vs. CESARO (w/ Shinsuke Nakamura)

Cesaro and Kalisto locked up in the center of the ring. Cesaro tossed Kalisto to the floor with ease, then shot him at the ropes. Kalisto leapt over Cesaro, caught him in a head scissor and sent him flying to the outside. Kalisto retrieved Cesaro, then caught him with a quick kick off the apron.

Kalisto pulled Cesaro to his feet, but Cesaro killed his offense with a big back breaker. He followed up with a back body drop into a cover, but Kalisto was too close to the ropes. Cesaro tossed Kalisto into the air, but Kaliso countered into a sunset roll up for a two count. Cesaro quickly rebounded, dropping Kalisto with an elbow and scoring a two count of his own.

Out of the corner, Kalisto caught Cesaro with a swift boot, then went for a hurricanrana. Cesaro tossed him into the air, but Kalisto managed to briefly balance on Cesaro’s shoulders, leaping backwards and dropping Cesaro with an impressive DDT. Kalisto covered him for a near fall.

Kalisto set up for Salida-Del-Sol, but Cesaro shoved him away. Shinsuke Nakamura hopped on the apron. Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado ran down to make the save, attacking Nakamura. In the ring, Cesaro rolled up Kalisto for a surprise three count.

WINNER: Cesaro in 4:00

(LeClair’s Analysis: Decent little match, though it was a little too quick to really get going. I’m generally happy any time a tag team champion gets a win in a non title match, simply because my standards for WWE’s booking of tag teams is so horrendously low. I’d have preferred a more decisive finish here, but I understand they’re really just trying to tell this break up story with Lucha House Party. I don’t agree with the split, for the record.)

After the match, talks between Lucha House Party continued to disintegrate. They argued amongst themselves as the segment faded out.

-Backstage, Vince McMahon paced around in his locker room. Adam Pearce knocked and walked in. He told Vince he couldn’t find Roman Reigns. Vince said “two of three ain’t bad, but not here. You need three out of three.” He told Pearce to “ram his body into the door” until it opened.

-Cole and Graves teased a new episode of Talking Smack, featuring Big E, Sami Zayn, and Matt Riddle.

-Backstage, Tamina approached Nikki Cross. She asked how Alexa Bliss is doing. Bliss wandered on screen, uncharacteristically jovial and in girlish pigtails. Cross noticed a small portion of her hair was dreaded in a way similar to The Fiend’s. Bliss briefly went blank, then threw a fit, taking Cross’ friendship mug and smashing it. She walked off.

(LeClair’s Analysis: It is apparently obligatory that anyone who crosses paths with the Fiend undergoes at least a small character change. It’s fine that they want to explore what being captured by The Fiend did to Alexa Bliss, but it’d be nice if they’d address what the purpose of involving her in that angle was. After it being the focal point of the feud for several weeks, she was completely written out when it came time for the match itself.)

-John Morrison and The Miz talked backstage. Sheamus walked into frame and asked them what the plan is. Morrison said they need to keep each of their three opponents on the apron. Miz and Sheamus looked on in confusion. “Just follow my lead, yeah?” Sheamus said. Miz and Morrison argued about their lack of plan. Cole said that Morrison isn’t the brightest bulb.

-Back in the Thunderdome, Heavy Machinery headed to the ring. Big E followed, shouting out the Thunderdome and dancing to the ring in between Otis and Tucker. Cole said the six man tag team match would be next.

-After the break, Adam Pearce let himself into Roman Reigns’ locker room. Reigns walked onto screen and took the contract from Pearce He began looking it over as the segment faded out.

-The Miz and John Morrison were already in the middle of their entrance. Corey Graves said The Miz valiantly cancelled MizTV tonight in order to compete. Cole corrected him, saying Big E refused to show up. Sheamus headed to the ring.

(5) BIG E & HEAVY MACHINERY (Otis & Tucker) vs. SHEAMUS & THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON

Otis began the match with John Morrison. Morrison grabbed a quick waist lock, but Otis powered him into the corner. Morrison leapt off the middle rope and attempted a kick, but Otis dropped him with a belly bump. Otis tagged in Tucker and the trio executed a triple team dance.

Morrison reached Miz for a tag and took Tucker down. He kicked at Tucker’s head and neck, then drove his knee into the shoulder. Miz tagged Morrison back in. The continued to work over Tucker’s upper body. Morrison covered him for a one count. Morrison grabbed a chin lock and drove his elbow into Tucker’s neck.

Tucker wondered into the heel corner and punched Miz and Sheamus off the apron, then took Morrison down. Morrison recovered quickly and gave Tucker a dropkick, sending him tumbling to the outside. Sheamus tried to attack, but Tucker cut him ff and dropped him with a boot to the face. Miz ran at him, but Tucker took him down as well. Sheamus rang the bell. Everyone looked around in confusion. The show went to commercial.

Morrison covered Tucker for a two count when the show returned from break. He tagged in Miz, and the two double teamed Tucker until the referee forced Morrison out of the ring. Miz grabbed a chin lock on Tucker. Tucker powered out of it with a big back body drop. Both men struggled to their corner. Miz reached Morrison, who cut off Tucker.

John Morrison mounted a downed Tucker for a serious of punches. Sheamus begged for a tag. Morrison tagged in Miz. Miz dropped Tucker with a kick, then tagged Morrison in again. Sheamus grew frustrated. Morrison hit a springboard kick off the ropes, then covered. Otis and Big E broke up the count quickly.

Morrison backed into the corner and Sheamus tagged himself in, but the referee didn’t see it. Sheamus argued with the official as Morrison got back in the ring. He wound up knocking Sheamus off the apron inadvertently. Sheamus tore the announcers desk apart, then began screaming at Miz. “Kiss me arse!” Sheamus exclaimed. He abandoned Miz and Morrison and stormed to the back.

Meanwhile, Morrison tagged in Miz and Tucker reached Big E. Big E caught Miz with a pair of belly to belly suplexes, then hit a running big splash. Miz tried to roll to the outside, but Big E caught him. Big E hit Miz with a Uranagi. Morrison launched himself in the ring, but was quickly dropped by Otis. Otis hit Morrison with a Caterpillar. Miz hit Otis with the Skull Crushing Finale. Big E hit Miz with the Big Ending and covered him for a three count.

WINNERS: Big E & Heavy Machinery in 14:00

(LeClair’s Analysis: This went fourteen minutes, but it felt closer to thirty. Slow, plodding, downright boring six man tag match that saw Tucker get beat down by Miz and Morrison for at least ten of the fourteen minute run time. This was a total time filler.)

-Backstage, Roman Reigns sat on a couch in his dressing room with Adam Pearce standing beside him. Reigns said he’d sign the contract and be at Payback to win back the title he never lost. Reigns looked off camera to his left. He said it’s not a prediction, it’s a spoiler. The camera panned left to reveal Paul Heyman seated next to Roman Reigns. Heyman leaned in and smiled, “believe that,” he said. The show cut to black.

(LeClair’s Analysis: Whoa. Now that’s a show closing angle to get people talking. I assumed there had to be something more to Reigns ignoring Pearce earlier in the night, only to just be found hanging around in his locker room like nothing happened. Paul Heyman seemingly inserting himself as the new manager of Roman Reigns is a huge change for the Reigns character, and I’d argue it’s for the better. I’m genuinely intrigued to see what they do here. Reigns has been long overdue for a serious attitude change, and Heyman will certainly bring that.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Outside of the Paul Heyman reveal, this felt like a show thrown together on the fly that served little purpose. It’s incredibly hard to book competently and confidently when you’re dealing with fallout of one show and trying to hype another for this weekend already. There were two major plusses tonight – the aforementioned Heyman reveal, and the continued tension building between Sasha Banks and Bayley. The rest of the show was not only forgettable, much of it was downright bad. The main event seemed to serve no purpose. I initially assumed it must be to set up a Retribution angle, but it didn’t (for better or for worse.) Jeff Hardy and Shinsuke Nakamura had a fine, but forgettable match. Sami Zayn’s return was fine, but doesn’t feel like it’s going to impact the show in any discernible way. Strowman’s character is senseless, Bray Wyatt is lost, and the mid-card, in general, continues to flounder. Smackdown appears to be on the upturn only because of the injection of Roman Reigns, but they’ll need to book him strongly to keep that going. Meanwhile, any positive effect the Thunderdome had in week one seems to have returned to neutral.