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On this week's episode of WWE SmackDown, we will have the first glimpse of WWE ThunderDome in the final show before this year's SummerSlam pay-per-view. And as we already know by now, the WWE Intercontinental Championship will be up for grabs with AJ Styles defending his title against Jeff Hardy in a highly-awaited singles title match between the pair.
After winning the Championship, AJ Styles has already retained his Intercontinental Title over the likes of Drew Gulak, Matt Riddle, and Gran Metalik. With the number of challenges dwindling for Styles (well, at least that's what he likes to claim), The Phenomenal One decided to introduce his own Phenomenal Intercontinental Statistic System on last week's show.
As expected, Styles' new system failed to find a fresh challenger for the Intercontinental Title. However, The Enigmatic Charisma stepped up and left his signature on Styles' whiteboard, thus earning himself a title match.
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With AJ Styles now aiming to gain momentum at the ThunderDome ahead of WWE SummerSlam, The Phenomenal One will have to go through the resilient Jeff Hardy to retain his title.
With that being said, here are the five potential finishes to the IC Title match between AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy.
#5. AJ Styles retains clean
It has been just over two months since AJ Styles won his first WWE Intercontinental Championship in the company after he beat Daniel Bryan on an episode of SmackDown. Despite being the champion for about 70 days now, Styles is yet to have a successful Title defense on a WWE pay-per-view. As a matter of fact, ever since winning the championship, he hasn't even featured in any PPV as all of his title defenses have been on SmackDown.
Another title defense on the Blue brand, this time against a veteran as Jeff Hardy, could possibly lead to AJ Styles being added to the SummerSlam card. A clean win over The Charismatic Enigma would do all the good in the world for The Phenomenal One, especially in the build-up to The Biggest Party of the Summer.
#4. Matt Riddle interferes in AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy title match
So far, AJ Styles is yet to be added to the SummerSlam 2020 card and this week's SmackDown might be his only chance unless WWE plans on adding him to the PPV at the very last minute. In the lead-up to SummerSlam though, reports have suggested that AJ Styles could be in line for a feud against Matt Riddle and if everything goes according to the plan, The Phenomenal One will be defending his title against Riddle in a few days time.
Now given the fact that Styles has already beaten and successfully retained his IC Title over The Original Bro on SmackDown. The former NXT Tag Team Champion could possibly be on the hunt of a rematch against the reigning champion and also get added to his first SummerSlam PPV, in the process.
We also shouldn't overlook the fact that Matt Riddle did take AJ Styles to his limits when the pair faced-off for the very first time a few weeks ago and following Styles' successful defense of the IC Title, he did share a moment of mutual respect with The Original Bro. Riddle causing an outside interference this Friday might be Styles' last hope to actually end up on this year's SummerSlam card.
#3. Jeff Hardy shocks AJ Styles
To some fans, Jeff Hardy might only seem like a gatekeeper in WWE right now. However, that might not be the case after all. Hardy, despite being in his early 40s, is still regarded as one of the most athletic men in WWE today. If done right, he could have the perfect chemistry with AJ Styles in their Intercontinental Championship Match.
After a somewhat lackluster feud against Sheamus on SmackDown, Friday night will be Jeff Hardy's opportunity to prove his worth to the WWE fans once again. And given that The Charismatic Enigma has already faced AJ Styles a few years ago in TNA, chances are the two men will put on an instant classic on the WWE ThunderDome debut.
Much like AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy also isn't part of the SummerSlam card. At this point in his career, the former 4-time Intercontinental Champion would love to add a fifth title and, more importantly, possibly add himself to the SummerSlam card with a win over The Phenomenal One.
#2. Joseph Park helps AJ Styles retain
Arguably the biggest surprise from last week's episode of SmackDown was the on-screen debut of Joseph Park. The man formerly known as Abyss has been a part of WWE for quite some time now as a producer but last week was the first time we got a glimpse of Park on our TV screens when he appeared with AJ Styles in multiple segments.
Before joining WWE as a producer, Joseph Park was known for his time in TNA where he also wrestled as Abyss and delivered some of the finest TNA blood-bath classics of all time. However, with Park finally making his WWE on-screen debut, fans certainly shouldn't get their hopes up and expect the man to wrestle anytime soon. However, what Park could do come Friday night, is help his friend AJ Styles retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
In a rare SmackDown appearance, Joseph Park and AJ Styles did reunite for a while where the former helped the Intercontinental Champion inaugurate the Phenomenal Intercontinental Statistic System.
With Jeff Hardy cementing his place as Styles' next challenger, courtesy of the permanent marker that was handed by Joseph Park, maybe the TNA veteran could make it up to the IC Champion by helping him retain the title on Friday night.
#1. RETRIBUTION causes chaos during AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy
It is almost guaranteed by this point that this Friday on SmackDown, RETRIBUTION will definitely cause havoc yet again. However, what we do not know for sure is who their target will be. Last week on SmackDown, the group attacked Big E and John Morrison during their singles match. This week, the newly formed faction would want to make a bigger impact and what better match to do so than AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy?
With AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy set to take center stage at the WWE ThunderDome, the stage is also set for RETRIBUTION to make their impact on WWE TV once again. The group has done a pretty formidable job so far in the amidst all their attacks but this Friday on SmackDown could actually see them write all their critics wrong by ruining the highly-anticipated IC Title clash between AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy.
An unsuitable conclusion to the title match between Styles and Hardy could also lead to a rematch between the pair at SummerSlam and in doing so, both men would also end up on the PPV card, as well. Pretty much a win-win situation.
