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WWE SmackDown was on a roll this week as we got one of the finest episodes of the brand in a long time. While SmackDown has built some interesting rivalries over the past few months, this week was something special as it gave the fans more than what they expected.
RETRIBUTION returned to SmackDown this week to make a statement after completely uprooting the brand last week and then vandalizing the RAW backstage area.
Jeff Hardy confronted WWE Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles during his brand new Phenomenal Intercontinental Statistic System (P.I.S.S.) segment, and we will likely see Hardy compete for the Intercontinental Championship soon.
Bayley and Sasha Banks got the shock of their lives as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions and RAW & SmackDown Women’s Champions were not prepared for what went down on the show.
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Kalisto made a surprise return during the show to help Gran Metalik defeat Shinsuke Nakamura, and with the Lucha House Party back, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions will need to get into defensive mode.
Sheamus took down Shorty G to make yet another statement, as the Celtic Warrior may be heading into a rivalry with Big E down the line.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE got right on this week’s episode of SmackDown.
#5 RETRIBUTION strikes again on WWE SmackDown
WWE’s newest faction RETRIBUTION has been leaving a mark on both WWE RAW and SmackDown without the members revealing their identity. After attacking and vandalizing RAW earlier this week, the men and women of the faction took over SmackDown once again.
The group first made its mark when Big E and John Morrison were set for their match. They attacked both men and injured Big E’s knee in the process. The entire SmackDown locker room seemed united against the common enemy, but they still weren’t ready for what to expect from the attackers next.
During Big E and Morrison’s second meeting on SmackDown, a part of the SmackDown locker room surrounded the ring to keep RETRIBUTION out. They managed to do that but exposed the backstage area where the faction attacked several officials and talent before the SmackDown Superstars could head back to save them.
This shows that WWE has big plans for RETRIBUTION, and they seem to be unstoppable at this point. Will we see the RAW locker room unite against the villainous faction too, or will the division on RAW allow the group to leave another mark?
It looks like RETRIBUTION has grown in size, and the numbers game could help the faction make a huge statement on both the brands before they finally reveal their identity. Looks like WWE and SmackDown are doing the right thing with the group at the moment.
#4 Is Big E the locker room leader for WWE SmackDown?
The first attack by RETRIBUTION took place when Big E and John Morrison were getting started for their match in the WWE SmackDown ring. Both men were attacked by the faction as the men and women did not discriminate between them and dished out the same level of punishment.
They quickly left after the attack as The Miz came out to check on his tag team partner Morrison. Following the attack, the SmackDown locker room gathered backstage as Morrison blamed Big E for incurring the wrath of RETRIBUTION by tweeting about them.
King Corbin arrived and suggested that he was taking control of the situation and was making himself the leader of the SmackDown locker room, following which Big E shut him up and took control himself.
If Roman Reigns or Daniel Bryan would have still been competing on SmackDown, we very well know who would be leading the troops on the Blue brand. However, in their absence, it seems like a great idea to have Big E lead the men as he is just getting warmed up in his singles run.
This could end up giving Big E a greater push than any rivalry or victory in the current situation.
#3 The former best friends of WWE SmackDown head to SummerSlam
A couple of weeks ago on WWE SmackDown, Sonya Deville surprised the entire WWE Universe by returning and attacking her former best friend Mandy Rose and cutting her hair off.
Rose tried to get her hands on Deville, and the two had an intense brawl, following which Rose appeared in front of the WWE Universe this week on SmackDown. Rose reminded The Pride Fighter that she may have been a model, but she had to work hard to get to where she is today. She also spoke about both the women’s history in the WWE Tough Enough competition.
Rose then told Deville that being ugly doesn’t scare her, and she challenged her to a Hair vs. Hair Match at WWE SummerSlam later this month. This was an intense promo that may have brought the best out of Rose.
The Pride Fighter responded later in the night, taunting Rose that she didn’t know that Rose needed a haircut to bring out her aggression. She ended her side of the promo by accepting The Golden Goddess’ challenge for WWE SummerSlam.
This finally gives the feud the edge that it needed, and it will do wonders for both the women on SmackDown as it will give them a chance to shine individually.
#2 Asuka targets the WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion
Following a promo by RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, the Triple Brand Battle Royal to determine the No.1 contender for the SmackDown Women's title kicked off.
A mixture of competitors took to the ring, with Lacey Evans, Peyton Royce, Shayna Baszler, and Bianca Belair looking like the favorites. The main representatives from NXT were Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox.
The women kept eliminating one another, as Belair and Tamina seemed to have the upper hand in the contest. Baszler tried her best to take out her opponents and was one of the final three left in the ring with Dana Brooke and Asuka.
The Empress of Tomorrow sent Brooke out of the ring, after which it was between herself and The Queen of Spades. While it seemed like Baszler had eliminated Asuka, the Japanese Superstar got saved by landing on the bodies of Bayley and Banks outside the ring. She ended up eliminating Baszler to pick up the victory and get her second title match for this year’s WWE SummerSlam.
This was an interesting decision as The Golden Role Models have been a pain for Asuka for quite some time. They played a major role in getting the RAW Women’s title off The Empress of Tomorrow, and it’ll be good to see her compete in two big matches at SummerSlam. Will she end up winning both the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championships?
#1 WWE SmackDown finally meets its Monster
Earlier on SmackDown, Alexa Bliss sat down for an interview and spoke about her friendship with WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman which dates back to the Mixed Match Challenge.
She was asked whether their relationship was much more personal off-screen which may have led to ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt to attack her, to which she had a very interesting reply.
Emotions overcame The Goddess as she was asked how she felt after Strowman claimed that he did not care about Bliss.
Later in the night, Strowman made his way out to the middle of the ring for the first time since the Wyatt Swamp Fight. He looked and acted completely differently, and demanded The Fiend to come out. Instead, Bliss joined The Monster Among Men and asked him to snap out of his new character.
She tried to slap some sense into the giant but was met by Strowman’s wrath who decided to slam her with gorilla presses until The Fiend made his way out. However, Strowman disappeared from the ring and appeared on the big screen instead, laughing hysterically. The Fiend joined him in laughing to end the massive segment and a good episode of WWE SmackDown.
SmackDown’s top rivalry hasn’t been this hot since Goldberg won the WWE Universal Championship, and it’s great to watch this rivalry develop so well. It will be interesting to see what sort of a match is booked between these two men on the upcoming episodes of SmackDown for SummerSlam.
