WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER 6/11: Mysterio and Bloodline Battlelines, Street Profits vs. Otis & Gable

WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER
JUNE 11, 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

Latest WWE Then and Now

I would have liked to have announced that the latest WWE Then and Now episode is available, but technical issues wiped out a recording made last night by myself and PWTorch contributor Tyler Sage. We will do a “take two” over the weekend, and I publicly want to express my appreciation to Tyler for being understanding. I anticipate it will be available for your listening pleasure by Monday. In anticipation of the upcoming Hell in a Cell PPV, we will review the first version from 2009 and preview the upcoming edition.

Match Results and Key Segments from Last Week

• Rey & Dominik Mysterio defeated The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Dominik pinned Jimmy, although it was apparent Jimmy’s shoulders were up. Their cousin Roman Reigns, Universal Champion, demanded the Usos “fix this tonight.” He accidentally called Jey “Jimmy,” but said at this point does it really matter?
• Seth Rollins walked out of an interview with Kayla Braxton in which he was questioned as to what happens with Cesaro when he returns to Smackdown.
• Chad Gable tried to get the Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) to join the Alpha Academy. Later the Profits questioned Gable’s partner Otis what Gable had done for him. Otis attacked both men in anger.
• Carmella defeated Liv Morgan. After the match she demanded ring announcer Greg Hamilton announce her as the “most beautiful woman in all of WWE.”

• Smackdown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair challenged Bayley to a match at Hell in a Cell.
• King Corbin defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (w/Rick Boogs) in about two minutes. After the match Nakamura still walked away with the crown.

• Apollo Crews (w/Commander Azeez) defeated Kevin Owens to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Before the match Azeez attacked Owens in the back.

• Rey & Dominik Mysterio defeated The Usos via DQ to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship when Roman Reigns intervened. Earlier after Roman demanded the Usos “fix” what happened in the opening match, they went to Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville for a rematch. Pearce and Deville caught the Mysterios and told them they had to defend their titles again. Luckily, they were still in their wrestling gear. Who knew?

This Week

We continue towards the 2021 edition of Hell in a Cell, which will be the final PPV held in the award-winning and critically acclaimed Thunderdome. Last week we learned that Bianca Belair will defend the Smackdown Women’s Championship against Bayley at Hell in a Cell. Bianca defeated Bayley at WrestleMania Backlash. WWE has not put out their preview yet, but one match has been advertised which we knew about last week. They also hyped issues between Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio because of what happened last week in a video:

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

Tonight, the Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) will take on the Alpha Academy (Otis & Chad Gable. I alluded to what led to this match in the recap section. Chad Gable was trying to get the Street Profits to join him, cleverly stating that “profits were down.” They wanted no part of it. Later, Otis went back to confront the Profits and said that Gable was only trying to help, and they need to apologize. Ford said to Otis that Gable was actually holding him back and questioned what he’d accomplished since joining Gable. They suggested he check out of the academy, which led to Otis slapping Ford and throwing Dawkins to the ground.

Later, the Profits very seriously said they’re going to “dump” Otis where he belongs with Gable, referencing Otis’s previous Heavy Machinery tag team. These teams had a match back in February. Here’s a clip:

Frank’s Analysis: It’s great to see the Profits serious, as we talked about on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post Show last when I was a cohost. It’s also great to see a tag team feud not involving the titles. Tag team wrestling featured over personal issues is fun to watch. I’m interested to see what they do, especially on Otis & Gable’s end as they’ve been entertaining and fun to watch.

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