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WWE SmackDown once again delivered a solid show this week with very little room for complaint. We saw a former Universal Champion return intending to reclaim the world title, a popular duo potentially teasing a split, and a top champion’s official heel turn. It was also confirmed that Naomi had been moved to the Blue brand.
Here, we look at the biggest hits and flops from WWE SmackDown tonight. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
#5 Hit on WWE SmackDown: Finn Balor challenges Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship
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The main event of WWE SmackDown witnessed a family celebration. Roman Reigns and The Usos walked out for a glorious ceremony after successfully defending their respective championships at SummerSlam. The crowd really went all out to cheer for Jey and Jimmy Uso when Paul Heyman described them as "undisputed champions."
The boastful celebration was quickly halted after Finn Balor's music sent the crowd into a frenzy. The Prince arrived on the scene and demanded a shot at the Universal Championship, just as he had promised. He was originally supposed to face Reigns at SummerSlam, but he was wrongfully taken out of the equation by Baron Corbin during the contract signing on WWE SmackDown.
The following week, Roman Reigns and The Usos attacked Balor after the main event and forced him to stay out of action. Tonight, The Prince returned on with a vengeance on his mind. He said he would eventually deal with John Cena before challenging Reigns for the title next week.
Finn Balor was booked very well on WWE SmackDown this week. The creative team capitalized on his genuine popularity among the fans without compromising his persona. The subtleties involved in this segment also accounted for good storytelling. The Usos doubted Paul Heyman’s intentions throughout the show, but Roman Reigns referred to him as “family.”
Additionally, the last time Balor challenged Reigns to a title match, The Tribal Chief threw his mic at the returning superstar. This time, The Prince returned the favor on WWE SmackDown. Balor immediately attacked Reigns and rocked him with a solid elbow to the face instead of showing typical babyface naivety.
Soon after that, The Usos took over, and Finn Balor was outnumbered, but that wasn't the case for long. The Street Profits walked out to help even out the odds and helped Balor in brutalizing Jimmy Uso. A frustrated Roman Reigns looked on from the end of the ramp but walked backstage instead of helping his cousin.
The crowd rose to its feet in support of Finn Balor, who sent a strong message to The Tribal Chief and the rest of the WWE SmackDown roster.
The Universal title match between Reigns and Balor was made official for next week's show. We hope they will extend their feud on the Blue brand, eventually leading to a big match at a big pay-per-view.
But for now, Reigns is most likely to feud with either Edge or Brock Lesnar ahead of Extreme Rules. Before that, he has to keep an eye out for Finn Balor. There's also a looming threat from Big E, and even Seth Rollins to an extent.
The main event was quite entertaining, and Kevin Owens' expert comments at regular intervals only served as an icing on the cake. The Universal Championship picture now looks very exciting on WWE SmackDown, and we wonder why RAW doesn't borrow a page or two from the show when it comes to booking a world title.
#4 Hit on WWE SmackDown: Unapologetic Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair shines
Becky Lynch made a huge return at SummerSlam and won the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship after squashing Bianca Belair in under 30 seconds. The Man arrived on the Blue brand and addressed the turn of events at the recently concluded pay-per-view. She said she wouldn’t apologize for the apparent controversy and declared herself at the top of the women’s division.
Soon after that, Bianca Belair walked out and demanded a rematch before being interrupted by Zelina Vega, Carmella, and Liv Morgan. Lynch refused to face Belair tonight, a great move to gain more heat.
She can work well as a heel while The EST of WWE crafts another heroic story. It is evident that Lynch will automatically be considered the face if she faces Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series two months from now.
After Becky Lynch left, Belair defeated Vega, Carmella, and Morgan in a No. 1 Contender’s Fatal-Four Way Elimination Match. Her one-on-one spot with Morgan even fetched “This is Awesome” chants from the viewers.
Belair needs to gain momentum before eventually challenging Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. We hope that both superstars will engage in a brutal feud on WWE SmackDown.
#3 Hit on WWE SmackDown: Dominik goes solo
This week's WWE SmackDown saw Rey Mysterio make a bold decision about his and Dominik's future. Following their unsuccessful attempt at reclaiming the tag team championships at SummerSlam, the masked legend insisted that he should take a step back and let his son carve a path of his own.
Dominik has impressed us over the last year and tonight was no different. He delivered an entertaining match against Sami Zayn as both superstars faced each other in an equally balanced match. Zayn also looked incredible on WWE SmackDown, sporting the perfect heel.
At one point, Dominik started to struggle against his opponent, which prompted Rey Mysterio to walk out and occupy the space at ringside. He encouraged his son to keep fighting inside the squared circle. Dominik also deserves credit for working up the crowd throughout the match, and they did well in rallying behind the budding superstar.
Despite a valiant effort, he couldn't win the match, but he was certainly impressive. After the match, Rey Mysterio tried to console him, but he wouldn't listen to him, teasing a potential split between the father-son duo.
WWE SmackDown can rule it out as a misunderstanding, but they have a great opportunity to script a huge feud on the Blue brand using this angle. It will be interesting to see what's in store for Dominik as we advance.
#2 Hit on WWE SmackDown: Happy Corbin
Baron Corbin doesn’t get his due credit on WWE SmackDown that often. Regardless of what is given to him, he tries his best to make it work and does a good job until the writers run the storyline to the ground. But that shouldn’t be the reason why Corbin isn’t appreciated for some of his work. Tonight, he returned as “Happy Corbin” after a huge change of fortunes over the week.
He is rich now and has not held back from letting the world know about his massive turnaround. Corbin even got “you deserved it” chants from the fans on WWE SmackDown. He invited Big E to his segment and offered to buy the Money in the Bank contract but politely left when the New Day member had had enough of his ridiculous offers.
From this point on, Baron Corbin can move forward as both a heel and a babyface. He was once compelling as the “Lone Wolf” and can eventually borrow some of the elements from that gimmick for his current run. Fans have their eyes on him, and the creative team should take advantage by booking him in good feuds as we advance.
#1 Flop/hit on WWE SmackDown: Cesaro back in action, the match ends in disqualification
On WWE SmackDown this week, Cesaro faced one half of The Alpha Academy, Chad Gable. The Swiss Cyborg looked great inside the ring and delivered a solid match against Gable. Both superstars were booked strongly throughout the match as they took turns to assert their dominance during their in-ring bout.
Cesaro’s swing also looked picturesque on WWE SmackDown. Everything about this segment was good except the finish to the match. The Swiss Cyborg was close to picking up a victory when Otis ran interference and caused the match to end in disqualification. He continued to brutalize Cesaro for a while to assert his dominance while Gable celebrated his favorite student’s actions.
Now, it is understandable that the creative team wanted to show The Alpha Academy as dominant heels. But they have been doing it for a while, and it has been quite convincing so far. Attacking Cesaro after the match would have had the same impact.
In hindsight, the finish was unnecessary as a genuine victory could have helped either Cesaro or Gable add more credibility to their respective runs on WWE SmackDown.
Randy Orton picks the next Randy Orton HERE.
