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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. This was one of the best episodes in the pandemic era and it was despite the fact that there was no Braun Strowman and the Universal Championship nor was there Bray Wyatt.
Even without the two top stars, the Blue brand did a great job in the build to Backlash, setting up several interesting feuds, new storylines, and more. The opening segment was a shocker, with Jeff Hardy involved in a DUI with Elias as the victim. We'll get back to that later, but we're going to start with the announcement of a BIG debut!
#5. Matt Riddle - the next face of Friday Night SmackDown?
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We haven't been this excited about an NXT Superstar's move in a while. If you follow NXT, you'll know that Matt Riddle faced Timothy Thatcher in a "Fight Pit" match, where Kurt Angle was the special guest referee.
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Thatcher would beat Riddle by making him pass out, seemingly concluding The King Of Bros' run with NXT. It was Kurt Angle who had a cameo on SmackDown to announce that Matt Riddle will be joining the Friday Night SmackDown roster.
He even declared Riddle to be the "next face of Friday Night SmackDown" and that could end up being WWE's intentions, no matter what the rumors are about "backstage" heat.
While he possibly moved to SmackDown because of issues with Brock Lesnar, we hope that he ends up succeeding. He certainly has all the potential in the world, but we have to wait to see whether that potential is squandered or not. We've been hopeful about countless NXT stars appearing on RAW and SmackDown.
With Riddle being an allegedly polarizing figure backstage, it'll be interesting to see how his run goes.
#4. Did Shorty G's appearance indirectly confirm the Mystery Hacker's identity?
Shorty G is back in the mix! In the second backstage segment, he was a part of the discussion where Superstars like King Corbin and Sheamus were arguing about possibly getting back in the mix and replacing Jeff Hardy to face Daniel Bryan in the Intercontinental Championship tournament on SmackDown.
Interestingly, Jey Uso put his name in the hat as well. All the Superstars present would have to earn that spot in a Battle Royal, all while AJ Styles opted to directly reach the finals (a request that was granted). That Battle Royal was won by Sheamus, but later on, Shorty G and Cesaro had a backstage altercation, with The Swiss Superman making jokes about his height and overall size as usual.
It ended with Shorty G getting a big win over Cesaro, seemingly dispelling the rumors of him being the SmackDown hacker. With that, it appears as though WWE indirectly confirmed that Mustafa Ali is the man behind the hacker gimmick on SmackDown. It's certainly not a bad choice or spot for Ali!
#3. The chase for the Women's title runs through these two Superstars
The chase is on! Sonya Deville has been on the rise as a singles star, seemingly ready to get a long-overdue singles push. While she defeated Mandy Rose in a mixed tag team match, it appears as though she's ready to move on as she's now tangled with a top title contender - Lacey Evans.
The two faced off on SmackDown and had a fun little back-and-forth that ended in a double count out. We felt that it was nicely executed and a good way to keep the rivalry going. It seems that Deville could finally be in the hunt for the title, even if as a "filler" challenger.
She's going to have to get through Lacey Evans first. She told the "blondie" Evans that when they meet next, it'll be on her terms. It's going to be interesting to see where this leads since it's a clear title eliminator. Will Lacey Evans become the #1 contender once again or will Deville finally rise?
#2. A different direction for the Champion?
Bayley and Sasha Banks have a bit of a different direction from the look of things this May/June and it's not going to involve the SmackDown Women's Championship. It all started with the Tag Team Championship summit, where Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross hosted The New Day to talk about their accomplishments.
It was SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks who interrupted and there was a verbal back-and-forth which was won by the Tag Team Champions - mainly Alexa Bliss. However, that would be all that Alexa Bliss won on the night.
She ended up facing a woman who she had a past rivalry with - Sasha Banks. It's clear when two Superstars have great in-ring chemistry and Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks have exactly that.
After interference from Bayley and Nikki Cross that led to a scramble, Sasha Banks took advantage and pinned one-half of the Tag Team Champions. It's now confirmed that The Boss N' Hug connection will be next in line for a Tag Team title shot next week on SmackDown.
The best course of action would be to put Sonya Deville vs Lacey Evans as a #1 contender's match on Backlash, but we don't expect that to happen.
#1. The Jeff Hardy incident and the fallout
This is the one that you were most likely looking forward to, so let's save the best for last! We're not big fans of the fact that WWE chose to make Jeff Hardy's personal demons a part of a storyline again, but one can only imagine that it had the stamp of Hardy's approval, which is why it's being done in the first place.
The show opened with Renee Young outside in front of Elias, who was on a stretcher and completely passed out. She revealed that he was involved in a car accident, with the assailant of the other car missing. A document fell out of the car revealing that it was Jeff Hardy, indirectly implying that it was a continuation of his DUI issues.
He was taken away by the police and Sheamus ended up winning the Battle Royal to replace him and face Daniel Bryan. It was Bryan who wanted to earn his spot in the finals while Styles was more than happy to take the handout. He even told Bryan that he was an idiot for not doing the same thing and facing him in the finals.
Either way, Bryan and Sheamus had a solid main event that ended with the interference of Jeff Hardy. The WWE legend helped Bryan win the match, after which he attacked his rival Sheamus, indicating that he was behind the entire thing. WWE.com posted an update, stating that Hardy was "absolved" of all charges. They wrote:
WWE Digital has learned Jeff Hardy was released from custody by the Orlando police after successfully passing the required sobriety tests, therefore absolving Hardy of the charges of public intoxication, driving under the influence, and the hit-and-run on Elias earlier tonight.
It's clear that the Hardy-Sheamus feud is extending and that they're most likely going to face off at Backlash and perhaps the next couple of PPV's as well.
