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Just like WWE RAW, SmackDown was also looking to seal some of its top rivalries and matches for SummerSlam this week. Finn Balor was robbed of his Universal Championship opportunity by Baron Corbin and John Cena last week, and fans wanted to know how The Prince would react this week.
The SmackDown Women’s Championship scene also heated up after Sasha Banks attacked Bianca Belair last week. Meanwhile, Tegan Nox continued her good run on SmackDown and defeated WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Tamina in a singles match.
The Street Profits also returned to make an impact on SmackDown as they defeated Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in a tag team match. A dream match was confirmed for SummerSlam on this week’s episode, while the creative team hinted towards a split between two former tag team champions.
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Take a look at the five things WWE got right on SmackDown this week.
#5 The WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship scene finally heated up this week
Sasha Banks returned to WWE SmackDown last week to save Bianca Belair from an attack. The two superstars teamed up later in the night to take on Zelina Vega and Carmella.
After winning the match, The Boss betrayed Belair and immediately got back in the SmackDown Women’s Championship scene. Banks kicked off this week’s SmackDown to build towards WWE SummerSlam.
The Boss targeted Belair right away and claimed that she would not have headlined WrestleMania and made history if it wasn’t for Banks. The EST interrupted and shut the former SmackDown Women’s Champion up with some words of her own.
Belair laid down the challenge to Banks, but Zelina Vega interrupted. After exchanging some hot words, Belair told Banks she would see her at SummerSlam. She then told Vega that the two would meet for the title later in the night.
Adam Pearce made the match a non-title match later in the show before Vega and Belair went down to business. The EST trumped Vega and hit Kiss of Death for the win.
The charisma in the opening segment was great. It was the right way to build towards a big championship match for SummerSlam. This was the first time it looked like Belair had some real competition since Bayley got injured. Banks and Belair will likely put on a good match at SummerSlam later this month.
#4 WWE SmackDown built towards a rivalry between Rey and Dominik Mysterio
The Usos and The Mysterios have been battling it out on WWE SmackDown very frequently. The two teams will meet at WWE SummerSlam for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
This week, Dominik Mysterio took on Jey Uso in singles competition. Rey Mysterio and Jimmy Uso watched on from ringside as they cheered on their partners during the match.
Dominik gained control of the contest early and punished Jey for some time. Jimmy constantly tried to interfere in the match and helped his brother gain control on a few occasions.
Things were looking good for Dominik late in the match before Rey intercepted Jimmy. The distraction allowed Jey to recover and take down Dominik before hitting a top-rope splash for the win.
The match wasn’t anything special, but WWE did well to keep the rivalry ticking. It looks like there’s some frustration building that could lead to Dominik betraying Rey.
That could lead to a big storyline for the SmackDown brand and possibly give Rey a chance to retire while providing a major push for his son before hanging his boots.
#3 Shinsuke Nakamura made his case for an Intercontinental Championship match on WWE SmackDown
Shinsuke “King” Nakamura battled Apollo Crews with a potential shot at the Intercontinental Championship on the line on WWE SmackDown. It was one of the biggest matches scheduled for this week’s episode.
Nakamura looked good early on and took the fight to the Intercontinental Champion. He downed Crews with some good strikes and showed exactly what he is capable of.
The King of Strong Style hit a GTS followed by a big knee and went for the pin, but Commander Azeez pulled Nakamura out of the ring to save his leader. Azeez’s actions earned Nakamura a disqualification victory over the Intercontinental Champion on SmackDown.
The King survived the onslaught and sent Crews into Azeez to close the segment and celebrate. The match was nothing special, but it did give Nakamura a chance to shine after some time.
He could turn out to be the best man to dethrone Crews on SmackDown. The two will likely meet for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam. WWE must use this opportunity to put a championship on Nakamura to keep him relevant on SmackDown.
#2 Edge and Seth Rollins set a date for WWE SummerSlam on SmackDown
Edge made his way to the WWE SmackDown ring after being attacked by Seth Rollins last week. The Rated-R Superstar seemed furious and said if Rollins was in the arena, he would go to jail.
Edge called out Rollins for being just like him and said he would have done the same if anyone had come between him and a title shot.
Seth Rollins appeared via satellite and laughed off Edge’s threats. The Messiah said that he always had a plan B, unlike The Ultimate Opportunist. Edge laid down a challenge for a match at SummerSlam, but Rollins laughed it off, saying he would think about it.
The Hall of Famer started playing to Rollins’ ego, calling him “Edge Lite.” The trick worked as Rollins played right into Edge’s hands and accepted the challenge for a dream match at SummerSlam.
SmackDown built towards several big matches for SummerSlam this week. However, this match has the potential to steal the show. Rollins and Edge are two of the best superstars of their generations, and they will likely ensure that they give the best performance in this contest.
#1 Finn Balor defeated Baron Corbin before having an ugly confrontation with Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown
Earlier on WWE SmackDown, Paul Heyman said Roman Reigns would not honor the contract that John Cena signed, as it was not legally binding.
Finn Balor, the man who was supposed to sign on the dotted line last week competed against Baron Corbin at the end of SmackDown. Corbin cost Balor the contract against Reigns last week, and The Prince was looking to take out the former King of the Ring winner.
Corbin tried to talk his way out of the match, but Balor did not care and unloaded on his opponent. He did not waste much time and took out Corbin with a Slingblade followed by the Coup de Grace for the win.
After the match, Balor called out John Cena. He said that the 16-time World Champion would have to go through him to get a shot at the Universal Championship. This brought out The Tribal Chief, who refused to acknowledge The Prince.
The Usos jumped Balor, but the two-time NXT Champion managed to wipe them out before taking down Reigns with the Slingblade. Balor’s actions pissed the Universal Champion off as he got The Usos to attack him before applying a guillotine choke and standing tall to end SmackDown.
Reigns has been doing a great job at building towards multiple rivalries for his Universal Championship. SmackDown could look to make the match for the title a Triple Threat Match at SummerSlam.
Even though many fans would like to see Cena and Reigns go at it one-on-one, Balor's inclusion will definitely help elevate the quality of the match.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
