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WWE brought us this week's episode of SmackDown Live from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. With the brand split proceeding towards its eventual end, the blue brand didn't have much to offer as a fallout from the Stomping Grounds PPV.
WWE had already completed most of the groundwork for their next PPV Extreme Rules on this week's Raw and SmackDown Live just had to pick up the crumbs from under the red brand's table.
The WWE planted the seeds for the next WWE title feud between Kofi Kingston and Samoa Joe on Raw, and it's obvious Heavy Machinery is already in contention to challenge Daniel Bryan & Rowan for the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships. WWE only had to take care of the rest of the blue brand's mid-card on this week's show.
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With Extreme Rules only three weeks away, the SmackDown Live title pictures have been set on this week's show, and the mid-card feuds are also taking shape. With that in mind, let's take a look at four genius bookings by WWE on this week's episode of SmackDown Live:
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#4 Finishing up the Dolph Ziggler & Kofi Kingston feud
Kofi Kingston defeated Dolph Ziggler in their steel cage match at WWE Stomping Grounds and retained the WWE Championship. The ending of the bout saw Kingston leaping over Ziggler to escape the cage and secure the victory.
However, the champion had little time to celebrate his victory as he got brutalized by a vicious attack at the hands of Samoa Joe. WWE made the match official, and Samoa Joe will take on Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules.
Kingston's win over Ziggler at Stomping Grounds looked more like a desperation move, and the champion needed a more impactful win to seal off their feud for good. That's what exactly happened on this week's SmackDown Live as Kingston took on Ziggler in a 2-out-of-3 falls match on the condition that Ziggler will get added to the WWE title match at Extreme Rules if he defeats the champion.
Kingston defeated Ziggler in an excellent back and forth match securing two pinfalls over the Show-Off. The victory has officially written off Dolph Ziggler from the WWE title picture, and Kingston will now have to concentrate on his next opponent Samoa Joe.
#3 Giving Nikki Cross a big win over Bayley
Nikki Cross secured a big win over SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley on this week's episode of the blue brand. With the win, Nikki Cross has earned a SmackDown women's title opportunity for her best friend Alexa Bliss.
Alexa Bliss could not defeat Bayley for the SmackDown women's title at Stomping Grounds after Nikki Cross inadvertently cost Bliss the match. Cross promised to get the Goddess a rematch for the title on Raw, and she delivered on her promise by defeating Bayley.
It's clear WWE is planting the seeds for a feud between Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. The Goddess using the help of Cross to get to her sixth women's title would be a great way to add more spice to their potential feud.
We can expect Alexa Bliss to win the SmackDown Women's title from Bayley at Extreme Rules and start a program with Nikki Cross over the title at the right time.
#2 Building up a great chemistry between R-Truth & Drake Maverick
It's been only a month since WWE introduced the 24/7 Championship and as of this week's episode of Raw, there have been eighteen reigns between nine wrestlers. The current champion R-Truth leads the table with a record eight reigns with the title.
The title has changed hands in the most bizarre places including on an airport tarmac, 37,000ft above the red sea inside an airplane and most recently at Drake Maverick's wedding.
Drake Maverick disguised himself like Carmella on last week's episode of SmackDown Live and defeated R-Truth to win the 24/7 Championship. Truth regained the title by pinning Maverick at his wedding ceremony.
WWE tried it with Jinder Mahal, but the chemistry between Drake Maverick and R-Truth is so good and it can give the fans a lot of hilarious segments going forward. Maverick's wife still hasn't called him since he lost the 24/7 title and he is in hot pursuit of R-Truth to regain the championship.
We can expect more hilarious segments between Truth & Maverick in the upcoming weeks, and the fans are waiting to see how R-Truth manages to escape with the 24/7 title around his waist.
#1 Starting a dream feud
WWE has finally started to do something intriguing with the Intercontinental Championship. Shinsuke Nakamura confronted the IC Champion Finn Balor while the latter was doing a backstage interview with Kayla Braxton.
Finn Balor's reign with the Intercontinental Championship has been lackluster so far. His feud with Andrade over the title had big potential but became a victim of some below average booking by WWE. WWE has finally figured that out and has done the right thing by booking a dream match for the fans in Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor.
There was no exchange of words between the two superstars, but Balor would've understood Nakamura's message that he's coming for the Intercontinental Championship.
There are still three weeks left for the Extreme Rules PPV, and WWE should not waste any time building up the dream match between Balor and Nakamura. We can expect the WWE to make it official on next week's episode of SmackDown Live.
