WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER 7/2: More Build Towards Edge vs. Roman, Last Man Standing with Money in the Bank Implications

WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER
JULY 2, 2021
TAMPA, FL. IN THE THUNDERDOME AT THE YUENGLING CENTER
AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Michael Cole and Pat McAfee

Match Results and Key Segments from Last Week

• Bayley & Seth Rollins defeated Smackdown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair & Cesaro.
• Big E defeated Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews to earn a spot in the upcoming men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
• Liv Morgan defeated Carmella, who was anointed by Sonya Deville as a participant in the upcoming women’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
• Jimmy Uso defeated Dolph Ziggler. Earlier in the evening, Paul Heyman suggested Jimmy wrestle and win a match in order to prove himself to his cousin, the Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
• Speaking of Roman, he closed out the show with a State of the Championship address. He discussed everyone he had beaten including Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro and the recently released Braun Strowman. He claimed that no one was left, until Edge interrupted and attacked Roman. Edge had not been seen on WWE television since WrestleMania where he was involved in a triple threat match won by Roman that included Bryan.

Smackdown Exclusives

This Week

We move closer towards the Money in the Bank PPV that is rapidly taking shape. After last week’s edition of Smackdown, we found out that Edge will challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. Edge won the first Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania back in 2005, and that widely contributed to his “ultimate opportunist” persona. He won this year’s Royal Rumble, his second triumph in such a match since winning it back in 2010. This past week on Raw, Drew McIntyre qualified for the men’s ladder match. WWE’s official preview is not up as of this writing, but they have advertised that they will follow up on the situation between Roman and Edge, along with the Last Man Standing match we heard about last week:

Last Man Standing with Winner Qualifying for Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Another chapter in the long-storied feud between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will be written tonight as they compete in a Last Man Standing match. The winner will be entered in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Sami defeated Kevin at the recent Hell in a Cell PPV which took place two days after Kevin suffered a Nigerian Nail at the hands of Commander Azeez.

Last week in an interview with Kayla Braxton, Sami was informed about the Last Man Standing match. He tried to plead his case to Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville, but they wouldn’t have it. He even suggested they just give him the Money in the Bank contract. That said, here’s Kevin Owens on Twitter:

If you’ve paid any attention to my career, you know that I can’t stay away for very long, especially when I get a chance like this.

You also know what I do in this kind of match. You already know this is going to be must-see…

And against him on top of it?

Don’t miss it. https://t.co/pmmg54tijV

— Kevin (@FightOwensFight) June 26, 2021

Frank’s Analysis: I know everyone gets tired of Sami vs. Kevin matches, but I’m actually looking forward to this match. Sometimes feuds are just so well-established that enjoy it I every time. Anybody that watches New Japan doesn’t complain about Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi or Kizuchika Okada or any of those guys vs. Tetsuya Naito. That said, either one of these guys I would consider a dark horse to win MITB, especially Sami. I still have Big E or Drew McIntyre winning, but that’s not knowing whom the remaining entries are.

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!