WWE SmackDown

The Summer of Cena continued Friday on WWE SmackDown as the star of numerous of this summers hit movies went back to the business that made him a household name and challenged Universal champ Roman Reigns. John Cena took off through the drape, drawing a big reaction as he started the first episode of WWE SmackDown on the road to SummerSlam. The franchise star instantly restated his difficulty to Roman Reigns for a Universal Championship match on PPV.

Cena stated SummerSlam is an opportunity for all to defend what the company believes in, as fans emerged into chants of his surname. The previous 16-time champ called out Reigns, consistently, to no obtain. Instead, Paul Heyman made his way onto the WWE SmackDown stage and said Cena is not worthwhile of being listened to by The Head of the Table. He said Cena will get his response later tonight, however on Reign’s time.

The unique counsel for The Tribal Chief buffooned Cena’s music in an amusing bit to close out the sector. Cena was excellent here, the skilled entertainer. He brought energy to the show right out of the gate, captivated the audience with every word he framed the feud and spoke with Reign’s precisely as intended. Heyman addressing on behalf of Reign’s and setting up a centerpiece promotion segment for later in the program may not be everyone’s favored conclusion to a show however offered the star power included, it is precisely what a show this near to among WWE SmackDown’s premier occasions is worthy of.

Finn Balor battled Sami Zayn in the night’s WWE SmackDown first match.

The outcome of The Princes return to the main lineup a week ago via interrupting the conspiracy-minded loudmouth. After several moments of rubbish from the heel, Balor fired back, stomping away at him and flattening him at ringside with a dive heading into the break. Throughout the timeout, Zayn developed control and coming out of it, grounded Balor with a side headlock and followed with a DDT.

Balor resisted, countered out of an exploder suplex and provided a double stomp. The sling blade followed and the previous Universal champ put his challenger away with the Coup de Grace for the hard-fought SmackDown success. There was not much to the match, but there does not have to be. Balor and Zayn are old pros who almost might sleepwalk their way through an appropriate match.

The WWE industrial break certainly harmed the circulation however both guys upped the strength for an enjoyable final stretch. Balor winning should have been a no-brainer given his recent return however considering the method management has treated other NXT champs recently, it was still something worth crossing your fingers and toes over. The SmackDown commentary team put Balor over strong, specifically Pat McAfee.

Time will tell if The Princes return to the big stage of the WWE SmackDown primary lineup will net him better results than his first trip there.

Backstage, a dejected Baron Corbin exposed to Kayla Braxton that he lost money on last week’s effort at collecting funds to help him return on his feet, thanks to an uneven service partner. Mr. Money in the Bank Big E made his way to the ring, just 5 days after recovering a brief-case that will bring him an ensured chance at a world title of his choosing. Before he could really get into his in-ring promotion, global champion Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez interrupted.

Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode followed, as did Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura. Cesaro was the last out, revealing his desire for a shot at the SmackDown gold, before a brawl featuring all of the competitors broke out. The babyfaces cleared the heels out of the ring, culminating with Cesaro swinging Crews, and stood tall to close out the random sector. Huge E and Crews had previous concerns so it makes sense that the IC champ would try to ruin his competitors huge minute.

If the objective was to bring everybody together to develop a brand new title photo, there were certainly much better and more fascinating ways to do it than a nondescript, random-ass SmackDown brawl.

If there is a silver lining, the spotlight on Cesaro recommends he will be the next opposition to Crews title and, rather possibly, the guy to dismiss him. The rivalry between The Street Profits and Alpha Academy continued in singles action, live from the Rolling Loud music celebration in Miami, as Angelo Dawkins fought Chad Gable. The 2012 Olympian got rid of Dawkins early attack and targeted the left arm.

Dawkins endured submission efforts, resisted and eventually pinned Gable to regain momentum in the SmackDown fight. This was not precisely the kind of match you would wish to put on phase to produce a reaction from a crowd of casual fans, however The Street Profits always bring energy to their performances and having long time wrestling fan Wale introduce them to the audience did not harmed. Dawkins won, but the greatest takeaway was simply how cool the visual was.

The phase was awesome, the sea of fans was sensational and WWE SmackDown welcoming popular culture that is not in some way 6 years too late is always welcome. WWE SmackDown women’s champion Bianca Belair wrapped up the protection from Rolling Loud, safeguarding her title versus “The Most Beautiful Woman in All of WWE SmackDown”, Carmella. The EST dominated early but Mella pulled her down on the apron, her back and neck crashing off the hardest part of the ring.

Belair spent a number of minutes on the defensive however resisted, steamrolled the SmackDown challenger with a huge shoulder deal with and ultimately put her away with the KOD.

Belair commemorated in front of a sea of fans to liquidate the sector. Like the previous match, the title match faced an uphill battle. The work was there, the match was perfectly acceptable and Belair winning was the right call. The question now is where the EST goes from here.

She has exhausted the fight with Carmella, but prospective match-ups versus NXT call-ups like Shotzi and Nox and the debuting Toni Storm wait for. A fantastic heel to combat her sensational babyface act would be the very best choice, but such a performer is not easily offered on the blue brand. That is, till Sasha Banks returns. Edge made his way to the ring, back reside in Cleveland, all set to address the debate surrounding his loss to Roman Reigns.

He advised the audience that he remained in The Brood and The Ministry of Darkness, insinuating the levels he is willing to go to get what he desires in reference to avenging Seth Rollins costing him the Universal Championship at Money in the Bank. Rollins made his way to the ring and complained the likes of Edge and John Cena jumping the line and taking opportunities. Rollins confessed to being reluctant to put Edge down and out permanently seven years ago but suggested he would not blink at the chance to do it again.

Edge, admitting he is a phony when he stated he would not put his hands on The Architect, assaulted him.

Rollins pulled away before The Rated R Superstar might deliver a spear. The work here from Rollins was excellent. He is such a hateable little jerk. The obnoxious laugh and over-the-top clothing, combined with an extremely genuine ability to beat any guy he sets foot in the ring with, makes him one of the very best heels in the WWE industry. He is precisely the man to position across from Edge to guarantee The Rated R Superstar stays a centerpiece gamer without consistently needing to be in the primary occasion.

It likewise raises Rollins, who has actually been associated with significant rivalries with Cesaro and Rey Mysterio however has been noticeable in his absence from the world title photo on both Raw and WWE SmackDown. The probability that both men advantage, the matches are awesome and the WWE Universe delights in some hella fun tv on the roadway to, and coming out of, SummerSlam is high. Previous NXT UK women’s champ Toni Storm made her WWE SmackDown debut this week, fighting Zelina Vega, herself fresh off an appearance in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match 5 days previously.

She impressed, completing off Vega in brief order with a disastrous headbutt and Storm Zero. There was inadequate time for this to grade out any better. Storm hit her offense and looked strong as she tossed Vega around the ring with suplexes, so that is a positive. What is not, however, is Vegas use early in her go back to the business. She has yet to win a match, has no clear story instructions and appears no better off than she was when she was employed the very first time.

How WWE SmackDown can not recognize the asset it has in the charismatic performer is impressive, for all the wrong reasons.

Ideally, it determines what to do with Vega earlier rather than later on since it definitely ought to not enable her to fade into obscurity because of its own imaginative shortcomings. On the heels of a frustrating Money in the Bank in which he and daddy Rey Mysterio lost the WWE SmackDown tag team titles to The Usos, Dominik Mysterio fought Jimmy in singles competitors, their particular tag partners at ringside. Dominik had his challenger reeling getting in the industrial break, cleaning him out with a dive to the floor.

Uso, though, took control throughout the time out and kept it after. He wore Mysterio down but the rookie rival combated his way back into the match. Late, Jimmy scored a rollup with an assist from Jey for the win, tones of the surface from Sunday night. As the triumphant Uso and his twin bro made their way up the ramp, Roman Reigns music played and The Head of the Table made his way to the ring.

A good, perky fumbling match that used the ending of the championship from Sunday, this was a completely appropriate conclusion to the in-ring portion of the night. The Uso’s construct momentum, Mysterio ate a pinfall that does nothing to harm him or his papa and The Bloodline stood high heading into the break. It was an excellent visual heading into the centerpiece sector of the night and keeps alive the side fight to whichever challenger actions to Reigns and The Uso’s supremacy over the WWE SmackDown brand next.

Balor and Zayn are old pros who nearly could sleepwalk their way through an appropriate match.

Like the previous match, the title match faced an uphill battle. In one sector, Reigns knocked Cena and set up a huge match with Balor. If Balor beats Reigns in a non-title SmackDown match, with assistance from Cena, an irate Head of the Table would likely accept Cena’s obstacle out of anger. Balor would logically have the next claim to a title match by way of his success over Reigns.

Reigns dealt with the difficulty from John Cena made on Raw and echoed previously in the show. He mocked Cena, stating Hollywood tricked him due to the fact that the guy that is back now is the very same man we have been looking for the last 15 years. He rejected Cena’s SmackDown challenge, which brought out Finn Balor. The Prince stood across from Reigns, not to acknowledge him however to release a difficulty of his own.

“Roman’s frightened” chants spilled from the stands before The Tribal Chief accepted. The show ended on a cliffhanger, no date right away announced for the impending match. This was a fantastic section, the similarity which we do not get enough from WWE SmackDown. In one segment, Reigns denounced Cena and set up a big match with Balor. The result is increased intrigue as to where the Cena fight is heading and interest in a prospective centerpiece run for Balor.

WWE SmackDown has actually possibly planted the seeds for its post-SummerSlam plans.

If Balor beats Reigns in a non-title match, with assistance from Cena, an irate Head of the Table would likely accept Cena’s challenge out of anger. They would battle for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam. Balor would rationally have the next claim to a title match by way of his triumph over Reign’s. A series between them, beginning at September’s WWE Extreme Rules, would bring the brand through the early part of the fall.

It will have demonstrated the sort of broadened SmackDown storytelling it has actually typically compromised in the name of nearsighted goals if that is the direction the company takes. WWE Raw Underground was presented as Shane McMahon’s show-inside-a-show, including “worked shoots” in a faux-“Fight Club” atmosphere that failed to record the imagination, rather playing out with cheesy, overproduced “fights” in between shots of dancers. By the end of the program, WWE Raw Underground was overrun by The Hurt Business, with MVPs Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin getting almost everybody in presence prior to McMahon praised and invited them to stay as long as they desired due to the fact that “anything goes” at WWE Raw Underground.

The talk leading up to Monday’s edition of WWE Raw Underground was focused on two things: WWE SmackDown’s announcement that a new faction would debut and reports of a “shoot battle” element being added to the show. One of those things did not occur, the other was an amazing disappointment and WWE Raw Underground struck an innovative low point. When it comes to the brand-new faction, a group of masked people were shown tossing bomb at a power generator, but no indicator of who the men were or what their objectives are, a second huge dissatisfaction for the night’s most hyped angles entering the program.

During opening intros, the lights briefly dropped.

Something that took place once again as Apollo Crews remained in the ring, with the announce group blaming the concerns on “weather condition in the area”. Before the match, MVP claimed once again to be the true United States champion after Apollo Crews was not able to battle at WWE Extreme Rules. The lights flickered again as the match started and continued to flicker occasionally through the match.

After some early back-and-forth, things got a bit nastier with big strikes before MVP was taken out of the ring by his Hurt Business team, just for Apollo Crews to strike a substantial dive onto the three guys. Lashley slanted things back MVP’s way by taking Apollo Crews out while the referee was sidetracked. MVP trapped Apollo Crews in the corner and struck a big series of elbows prior to Apollo Crews fired back, hitting a huge spinebuster for a two count.

Moments later, Apollo Crews hit the sit-out powerbomb for the win. Lashley tried to run in and lock up the complete nelson, however Apollo Crews got away. After the match, MVP declared the flickering lights produced “hazardous working conditions”. MVP did not care about Apollo Crews’ other half or kids, he simply appreciated the rematch and he wants it at WWE SummerSlam.

This was a solid, if unspectacular, match to open the program.

After Kevin Owens asked the technical difficulties which plagued this section likewise to impact just the IIconics’ microphones, both women slapped him, leading him to invite Morgan and Riott to attack, which they did, setting up a tag match which The Riott Squad won in short order when Morgan scored a quick pin. Randy Orton disrupted, running McIntyre down for not revealing the exact same level of regard he had last week when he laid down the difficulty for a WWE SmackDown title match at WWE SummerSlam. Orton challenged McIntyre to say something initial about him, leading McIntyre to say that Orton represents everything that is wrong with WWE SmackDown.

Ric Flair informed Owens he was ending up being too much of a guidance counselor recently. Owens was simply trying to be a locker space leader unlike Orton. This all led to Owens throwing down a difficulty to deal with Orton next week on WWE Raw Underground. Nia Jax received a suspension for striking a WWE SmackDown authorities, struck a WWE SmackDown official again. Jax was out to “apologize” for her actions, striking WWE SmackDown authorities Pat Buck.

Jax rather called Buck a “runt” and said she was doing her job by taking him out last week, in the past challenging Buck to a match. Dollar declined the deal, rather suspending Jax without pay. Jax’s response was to lay Buck out with a headbutt before kicking him in the ribs. Tozawa bailed from the ring as soon as the match started, slipping back in and trying to roll up Benjamin minutes later.

Benjamin responded by providing a violent powerbomb to Tozawa and hitting Paydirt on Truth.

Tozawa’s ninjas got involved, with The Hurt Business taking them out and enabling Tozawa to hit a senton on Truth to score the win and the title in a brief match. Dawkins definitely wiped out Garza, sending him flying into the ringside barrier with a shoulderblock. Garza got fired up after taking a great deal of offense from Dawkins, hitting a huge dropkick prior to trying for the Wing Clipper.

Rather, Dawkins reversed previously striking a bulldog. Montez Ford was then revealed on the flooring at ringside and a concerned Dawkins was distracted, allowing Garza to strike a dropkick to Dawkins when he was on his hands and knees for the pin. Ford was great to opt for his match, however it was clear that Andrade’s focus was on working over Ford’s head, drilling him with lower arms to the face along with other kicks, strikes, and stomps.

Ford fired back up, turning off Andrade’s back in the past hitting a huge jumping clothesline. The referee right away called the match off and he was attended to by medical specialists. Later in the show, Dawkins revealed that the physicians believed Ford had been poisoned, leading Bianca Belair to accuse Zelina Vega and her team and a quick brawl to break out prior to everybody was separated by authorities.