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Hours before WWE SmackDown, the company announced that Bayley had suffered an injury while training and needed to take nine months away from the ring. Bianca Belair was left without a challenger for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, and SmackDown had to make some quick changes to fill the gaps.
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Sonya Deville arrived on the show and announced Carmella as the new opponent against Belair for MITB. Liv Morgan was awarded Carmella’s spot in the Money in the Ladder match.
Apart from that, two big men’s MITB ladder match qualifiers were held this week. Fans also wanted to see whether WWE would address Jimmy Uso’s recent run-in with the authorities or carry on with his current storyline without any hiccups.
A couple of top NXT Superstars also made their SmackDown debut this week and made a big impact right away. Roman Reigns was set to show up on SmackDown this week after skipping last week’s show.
Take a look at the five things WWE got right on SmackDown this week.
#5 Roman Reigns returned to reunite The Bloodline on WWE SmackDown
Universal Champion Roman Reigns was missing from last week’s WWE SmackDown. This allowed Edge to attack Jimmy Uso and make an example out of him. Jimmy was looking for Reigns early on Friday night, and Paul Heyman assured him that he would appear this week.
The Head of the Table returned to SmackDown this week and kicked off the evening’s broadcast. He laughed off Edge’s claims and said that the Hall of Famer only came close to beating him because of the family drama that distracted him.
Jimmy Uso made his way to the ring soon after, insinuating Reigns was on vacation. Jey Uso came out next, wanting the family to get on the same page once again.
Jey vowed to always have his brother’s back and The Tribal Chief claimed that they were untouchable as a trio. Reigns embraced The Usos to end the segment on a high note.
The segment was well-written and ensured that The Bloodline got together early in the night. SmackDown did well to ignore Jimmy’s recent legal problems. Edge now has a mountain to climb, as Reigns will have the backing of both Jey and Jimmy in this rivalry.
What will Edge do to ensure he can beat The Head of the Table for the Universal Championship?
#4 Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Baron Corbin on WWE SmackDown
Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura competed in yet another match on WWE SmackDown this week. The two men competed to claim a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match.
Big E and Pat McAfee enjoyed pedicures while watching the match at ringside as the two rivals got down to business inside the ring. Corbin tried to focus on the action and took control of the bout early on.
Nakamura fought back and delivered a few big strikes to take down his larger opponent. Corbin tried to punish Nakamura and sent him into the announcers table a few times. He survived a triangle choke and delivered a big clothesline to gain control late in the match.
However, Corbin could not stay on top for long and Nakamura took him down with a Kinshasa to pick up the win and advance to Money in the Bank.
This was a much better contest between the two SmackDown Superstars. The match was better-paced and had some big spots. Nakamura deserved to win and progress to the MITB ladder match.
The King of Strong Style should be performing at the top of the card on SmackDown. Even though he probably won’t win the MITB briefcase, he can add a different dimension to the contest.
#3 Seth Rollins qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match on WWE SmackDown
Seth Rollins and Cesaro wrote another chapter in their rivalry with a match on WWE SmackDown. The two superstars also competed for a spot in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Kevin Owens took a seat with the commentary team for this bout.
Both men tried to take control of the contest early and hit some of their best moves. Cesaro gained the upper hand and took Rollins for a spin with his signature move.
The Messiah fought back and sent Cesaro head-first into an exposed turnbuckle. The move busted his forehead open and he started bleeding profusely. Cesaro started to lose focus from there on and fought to stay in the match.
A DDT from Rollins on the entrance ramp nearly took him out for the 10-count. Back in the ring, Rollins hit a vicious Stomp to get the 3-count and make his way into the MITB ladder match.
Rollins and Cesaro are great together. They delivered yet another solid match on SmackDown, even though The Swiss Superman was busted open. However, the angle did help him retain his credibility.
Rollins will be one of the favorites to win the briefcase on Sunday. However, what will be next for Cesaro after the loss on SmackDown?
#2 Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox made a grand debut on WWE SmackDown
WWE SmackDown’s broken women’s roster got some backup this week. Natalya and Tamina made their way to the ring to take on a brand new tag team.
The two women believed no one could end their reign as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox made their SmackDown debuts right in time to prove the two veterans wrong.
They came out through the curtains on Shotzi’s awesome tank to make a grand entrance. The two women got down to business right away and put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions on the backfoot. Natalya and Tamina looked completely out of sorts as Shotzi and Nox kept them down with various tag team maneuvers.
Shotzi finally hit the Ballpit finisher to Natalya to pick up a massive victory for her team. Fans of WWE NXT will be familiar with Shotzi Blackheart and her recent tag teamwork with Ember Moon.
However, it was interesting to see her teaming up with Nox instead of Moon on the main roster. SmackDown needed new big names on the women’s roster, especially after Bayley’s recent injury.
Nox returned from injury on Tuesday on NXT and immediately made an impact on Friday with a big victory on SmackDown. Later in the night, SmackDown also teased the arrival of Toni Storm.
#1 Rey and Dominik Mysterio join forces with Edge to take down Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown
The final segment of WWE SmackDown saw Edge walk out to the ring and call out the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. The two superstars are set to battle for the Universal title at Money in the Bank.
Edge vowed to take the title away from The Tribal Chief and called him out. Reigns watched from his locker room and ordered The Usos to not get involved, before walking out to face Edge.
Soon after, Jey and Jimmy joined Reigns and all three men tried to trap The Ultimate Opportunist. Right in the nick of time, Rey Mysterio and Dominik appeared with steel chairs to take out The Usos.
A brawl broke out and Reigns nearly got nailed with a Spear by Edge. The Mysterios continued to target Jey and Jimmy before Reigns escaped up the ramp. The Iconoclast ended the segment by locking Jey in a cross face with a steel bar from a chair.
The segment was epic, to say the least. The Usos will likely go after The Mysterios and their SmackDown Tag Team Championships, while Edge will hunt down The Head of the Table.
SmackDown kept Rey and his son away long enough for the fans to turn their attention to Edge before bringing them back. The segment was booked remarkably by the creative team.
