WWE SmackDown: 5 startling moments from the episode before SummerSlam (Aug 6, 2019)

We’re just a few nights away from SummerSlam, and WWE has been throwing in as much content as they possibly can to make each match for the event memorable.

Some matches have been built so much that we have seen the build taken place on both the red and the blue brand. However, there are a few matches and storylines which haven’t gotten much time to breathe.

Due to this, we saw Aleister Black take on Sami Zayn on SmackDown Live instead of SummerSlam, which was rumored earlier. Apart from that Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston continued to remain less physical and continue their attacks on each other through visual means.

Throughout the night, many moments shocked and startled the fans. In this article, we will look at the 5 most startling moments from this week's SmackDown Live.

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#5 The main event

The main event of a go-home episode before a major event usually focuses on a storyline that is already in the works or has been heavily worked on so that the fans stay engaged for the days before it unfolds.

Raw ended on Monday Night by taking the feud between The Miz and Dolph Ziggler a step further and throwing in Goldberg into the mix. Before the revelation, a few fans believed that Shawn Michaels would be returning to the ring.

However, when this week’s main event was announced, we weren’t sure of what was going on. Why would WWE book two teams in a match who are not even scheduled to appear at SummerSlam yet? Obviously, there had to be something to it.

While nothing much was achieved throughout the match, and even though the conclusion did not even hint that they would compete at SummerSlam, a startling revelation was made right at the end.

How this will affect SummerSlam is yet to be seen as we don’t have much going on yet for WWE to schedule a match better Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan and/or Rowan. Will the story even be a part of Sunday’s big event?

#4 The Queen’s slap

While the King of Kings is not booked for the Biggest Party of the Summer, it’ll be the Queen of Queens who will be under the spotlight upon her return.

Charlotte once again walked out on SmackDown this week and insulted Trish Stratus, claiming today's athletes are greater than any the Hall of Famer ever faced.

While Charlotte wanted fans to see a video package highlighting her own career, the screen showcased Trish’s accomplishments while audio clips of Michael Cole, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler put over the Hall of Famer as arguably the greatest ever.

Right after, the Queen of Queens walked out and the two women engaged in a war of words which surprisingly ended with a slap across Charlotte’s face.

This was an interesting way of booking the segment and building up the storyline for Sunday which might be Trish’s last match in the ring.

It was also interesting to see how WWE once again protected Trish from getting very physical in the ring, just like they did during the tag team match she was a part of on Monday.

#3 The Showoff’s entrance

Dolph Ziggler has always been known to mock legendary superstars during his time as a heel on television, and the superstar he's been targeting recently is Shawn Michaels.

This week on SmackDown, Goldberg’s music hit, which was met by a huge pop from the fans who were up on their feet to welcome the legendary superstar. The cameras rolled backstage as the security guards knocked on the locker room and instead of Goldberg, out came Dolph Ziggler.

While many would have believed that Ziggler would have been intimidated by Goldberg’s appearance on Raw just a night ago, and his booking against the legend for SummerSlam, Ziggler startled everyone by mocking the powerhouse.

Since Ziggler was throwing verbal insults at Goldberg for some time, this was a better touch to build up the match between the two superstars. Will Ziggler pay for all the insults on Sunday?

#2 The REAL Shane McMahon

Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens have been at it even before Roman Reigns’ feud with Shane ended. Owens has attacked Shane McMahon a number of times both physically and verbally and has gotten the edge over the Prodigal Son more often.

Since the past few weeks, we’d been watching Owens clear out Shane, Elias, and even Drew McIntyre and ending segments on a high, showing that the new babyface was above the heels.

This all needed to change before SummerSlam, and that’s exactly what happened on SmackDown Live this week. Shane and Elias brawled with Kevin Owens after the latter invited Shane McMahon to join him in the ring for "The Kevin Owens Show."

In a startling conclusion to the brawl, Shane McMahon tipped the announce table over The Prizefighter and trapped him. He then delivered a baseball dropkick to a steel chair which was positioned against Owens' face.

This was a really good way to wrap up the action before the showdown on Sunday.

#1 Roman Reigns’ attacker revealed

The New Day was scheduled to face Rowan and Daniel Bryan at the end of the night. After the conclusion of the match, which saw a disqualification win for the New Day, we saw Roman Reigns clear the locker room and interrogate Buddy Murphy. A beatdown of the former Cruiserweight Champion concluded with him revealing it was Rowan who perpetrated the attacks on Reigns.

This was a startling revelation even though many fans on the internet were aware of rumors that a storyline involving Reigns and Bryan was in the works.

The plot thickened as the episode ended with a cliffhanger rather than Reigns storming out to the middle and exacting revenge from Bryan and Rowan.

Putting two men who were not on Reigns’ lift of suspects added a great touch to the story WWE has been trying to present before SummerSlam, and it will be interesting to see how the creatives answer fans’ questions in the days to come.