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WWE SmackDown had a few big segments and matches planned for the night before SummerSlam.
Fans were looking forward to the final face-off between Roman Reigns and John Cena. Bianca Belair pinned Zelina Vega and Carmella in back-to-back singles matches before her title defense at SummerSlam.
It seems the rivalry between The Alpha Academy and The Street Profits will only blow out after SummerSlam.
Meanwhile, Rick Boogs made his in-ring debut this Friday night as he teamed up with the Intercontinental Champion to take on Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez.
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Edge and Seth Rollins cut good individual promos ahead of their big match on Saturday. Natalya also returned to the ring on SmackDown after suffering a gruesome ankle injury several weeks ago.
Take a look at the five things WWE SmackDown got right before SummerSlam this week.
#5 A distraction allowed Jey Uso to defeat Rey Mysterio on WWE SmackDown
Another chapter was written in the long-running rivalry between The Usos and The Mysterios on WWE SmackDown. The two teams are set to meet at WWE SummerSlam for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
Rey Mysterio battled Jey Uso in a singles match on Friday night. Both men started well and traded big moves. Rey took his opponent down with a springboard moonsault to the floor. A top-rope hurricanrana allowed Rey to nearly pick up the win. The two men exchanged some more strikes before we reached the final moments of the contest.
Dominik Mysterio tried to help out his father, but the referee caught him. The official sent Dominik to the back and the distraction allowed Jey to take out Rey before hitting a Uso Splash for the win.
The match wasn’t the best one to kick off SmackDown, but it allowed the creative team to create more tensions before Saturday’s contest. It looks like there are some problems between Rey and Dominik. The younger Mysterio’s inexperience begins to show at crucial moments.
#4 Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox picked up another big victory on WWE SmackDown
Natalya returned to SmackDown this week after battling an ankle injury. She teamed up with her partner Tamina for a Tag Team Championship Contender Match against Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox.
Shotzi was targeted by Tamina early in the contest as she fought to stay alive. She remained on the back foot before mounting a comeback against Natalya.
Nox came into the ring for a short while and tried to take the fight to the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. However, the spotlight was on Shotzi who was excellent in the contest.
Natalya tried to go for the Sharpshooter, but Shotzi reversed it into a pin to pick up the victory.
The match did what the SmackDown creatives needed. The two newcomers have proven to be a good tag team that deserves a shot at the titles.
Shotzi and Nox have had a good time on SmackDown, and they could win the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles soon.
#3 Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura picked up a win on WWE SmackDown
Rick Boogs finally made his in-ring debut on WWE SmackDown this week. He teamed up with King Nakamura to take on Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez.
Boogs kicked off the contest against Crews, and the two men exchanged blows before Boogs caught Crews with an abdominal stretch and played the air guitar on his leg.
The former Intercontinental Champion fought back and delivered a quality dropkick. Soon after, Nakamura and Azeez entered the ring.
The King outwrestled Azeez and hit a few good moves, including a knee off the top rope. He was setting up for the Kinshasa but the big man caught him with a side slam before tagging Crews back in.
When Boogs came into the ring, he planted Apollo with a pump-handle slam to pick up the win in his first match on SmackDown.
The match showcased Boogs' incredible strength. He could become a top star for the company in the months to come. Unfortunately, it looks like Crews will slowly slide down the SmackDown card from here.
#2 Edge and Seth Rollins delivered their final promos on WWE SmackDown
On SmackDown, Edge had a final message for his opponent.
He recapped the moment when Seth Rollins had the opportunity to end him for good seven years ago. He said Rollins was taking him to a dark place, a place where blood runs black. He promised to burn Rollins down at SummerSlam.
Later, Rollins came out on SmackDown for his retort to Edge. The Drip King laughed off Edge’s words and said that the Hall of Famer was not on Rollins’ level, and that The Rated R Superstar shouldn’t be ashamed to find the darkness that can help him get on his level.
The Brood’s music played right on cue, and the arena turned dark before Edge appeared on the screen. He sent a message to Rollins before black blood spilled from the ceiling to completely cover Rollins.
The match between Edge and Rollins is one of the biggest for SummerSlam this year. WWE did well to deliver the final two segments of this rivalry. Who will come out on top at The Biggest Party of the Summer?
#1 John Cena reminded Roman Reigns how easy it is to lose a title on WWE SmackDown
Roman Reigns made his way to the ring for the final segment of SmackDown. He was soon followed by John Cena.
The two men tried to up the ante on their promo from last week. Reigns called out Cena for saying a lot of dumb stuff. He reminded Cena that he could not defeat him at SummerSlam before asking Paul Heyman to remind the WWE Universe of his win record.
Cena snapped back at the Universal Champion. He said he was brought back to bring The Head of the Table back to earth, and that he would not give up until he wins the Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
The Tribal Chief decided to up the stakes for SummerSlam, vowing to leave WWE if he did not win the match against The Hollywood star. Reigns tried for a sneak attack, but Cena quickly rolled him up for a quick three-count on SmackDown to show how easy it was for him to win the title at SummerSlam.
SmackDown did really well with another great promo between the two superstars. The main event of SummerSlam is all set, and fans will be looking forward to seeing what The Tribal Chief has up his sleeves for the match. Will Reigns come out of SummerSlam looking even stronger than he already is?
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