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WWE SmackDown kicked off in the Thunderdome with Mr. McMahon in the ring and as he was about to talk about SummerSlam, the lights went out and The Fiend came out. He faced Vince and mocked him in the ring before Braun Strowman made his entrance.
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McMahon had left by the time Strowman got in the ring and Retribution had surrounded the ring after. The Fiend motioned goodbye and the lights went out - when they were back on, Wyatt was gone.
Retribution attacked Strowman and most of the locker room came out to defend the SmackDown ring at the Thunderdome. Drew Gulak helped Strowman up after they made the group retreat but Braun attacked Drew and Jey Uso before walking out.
Big E vs. Sheamus
We returned after a break to see Big E and Sheamus in a match on SmackDown. Sheamus was sent outside early where the WWE Superstars were waiting to defend the ring from Retribution. E hit a splash on the apron and was controlling the match now.
Sheamus came back with a top rope clothesline and then a huge backbreaker to E before we headed for a break on SmackDown. We returned to the match to see Sheamus hit a knee strike before missing the White Noise and taking the Uranagee.
Sheamus dodged the Big Ending and the Spear to hit the White Noise while at ringside, Baron Corbin and Matt Riddle started brawling. Sheamus was distracted, allowing Big E to pick up the win with a roll-up.
Result: Big E def. Sheamus
Match rating: B
Jeff Hardy was injured backstage. He said someone had fallen on him earlier and might not be able to face AJ Styles tonight.
Nakamura & Cesaro took out the Lucha House Party backstage on SmackDown before their match.
Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Lucha House Party - SmackDown tag title match
Cesaro & Metalik kicked us off on SmackDown and Cesaro was dominating early on. Dorado and Nakamura were tagged in soon and Nakamura looked to be in trouble. Metalik hit a huge dive over the ropes to take out Cesaro on the outside before Nakamura was taken out in the ring by Dorado.
Cesaro returned to the ring after Dorado hit the Golden Rewind on Nakamura. Cesaro managed to hit the Sunset Flip for the win. Nakamura and Cesaro retain their tag titles!
Results: Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura def. Lucha House Party tor retain the SmackDown tag titles
After the match, Metalik and Dorado got into a fight over the loss.
Match rating: B
Backstage on SmackDown, AJ Styles was shown to have attacked Jeff Hardy during the brawl against Retribution earlier. AJ did not care about the consequences as he walked off after greeting the women's champs.
Mandy Rose was backstage on SmackDown and said that she was still hoping that her friend, Sonya was still there, regardless of her recent behavior.
Sasha Banks and Bayley were being interviewed on SmackDown and they couldn't decide which one of them would fight Asuka first on Sunday. Cracks were showing in their friendship as they argued and Naomi interrupted them.
Naomi proposed the champs both fight her to see who would win and the winner can then pick who goes first. Corey Graves suggested a Beat The Clock challenge as we headed for commercials on SmackDown.
Beat the Clock Challenge
Sasha Banks vs. Naomi
Naomi hit a full Nelson at about 30 secs in and Banks was in trouble early on. Sasha was sent outside at about a minute in but Banks managed to get the momentum when they went back in the ring.
At minute two, Naomi was caught in a hold but came back with a crossbody from up top. The Banks Statement was locked in, making Naomi tap out at 3:39 before Bayley got her chance.
Result: Sasha Banks def. Naomi
Bayley vs. Naomi
Bayley unloaded on Naomi as the match started on SmackDown and keep the pressure on before she was sent into the turnbuckles.
Beat the Clock Challenge (contd...)
Bayley hit a clothesline and we had less than 2 mins on the clock. Naomi hit a sudden Rearview and picked up the win on the SmackDown before SummerSlam!
Result: Naomi def. Bayley
Match rating: B
Asuka came in after the match and said that she will be the Empress of every title before Sasha charged at her. Asuka took down the champ and attacked Bayley in the ring. Bayley just ran away, leaving her friend Sasha behind.
Backstage on SmackDown, Jeff was recovering and the doctor cleared him to wrestle if he could handle the pain.
Sonya Deville was backstage and Dana Brooke came to talk to her but she got slapped.
Sonya Deville was out on SmackDown and asked Mandy what she wanted. Deville wanted to up the ante for the match at SummerSlam. She now declared it was a No DQ match and the loser will have to leave the WWE!
Nikki Cross was backstage on SmackDown and said that Alexa Bliss had changed after being abducted by the Fiend.
Daniel Bryan was hyped for SmackDown and the IC Title match, live from the Thunderdome!
AJ Styles (c) vs. Jeff Hardy - Intercontinental Championship match
Hardy started off strong on SmackDown but AJ was going for the injured knee, ripping Jeff's pants to expose the knee brace. Hardy was about to hit a top rope move after sending Styles outside but he was taken out by the champ before we headed for ads.
Back on SmackDown, Hardy was still holding on in the match and hit dropkicks before taking a Pele kick. Hardy slipped off the ropes and fell down in the corner before dodging the Phenomenal Forearm.
Styles locked in the calf crusher but Hardy got out. Styles went for the finisher but was smacked with Hardy's knee brace. AJ took a Twist of Fate and then the Swanton Bomb before winning the match in a huge upset!
Result: Jeff Hardy def. AJ Styles to become the new Intercontinental Champion
Match rating: A
Backstage on SmackDown, AJ Styles was furious and yelled at his stats guy.
Bray Wyatt was set to return with the FireFly Funhouse next! This can't be good for Braun Strowman.
Bray Wyatt was back with the Firefly Fun House on SmackDown and said that he loved us before giving us a lesson about 'too much love'. He showed us Braun and Alexa's relationship using the puppets but they messed it up.
Wyatt sent them off and said The Fiend couldn't wait to get his hands on Braun before Strowman attacked him and dragged him out of the Fun House.
Back to the show, Braun and Bray were brawling backstage, and when the cameras came online, we saw Braun dop Bray off a ledge in the parking lot and dropping him on the concrete below where Wyatt stopped moving.
A host of medics and officials came to get him onto an ambulance but the ambulance was driving backward. The onlookers saw the Fiend re-emerge from the back of the ambulance and laugh at the camera before SmackDown was over.
Episode rating: A
A great first night back to a more traditional SmackDown, live from the Thunderdome! The show was light on matches but both AJ - Hardy and the Beat the Clock challenge were highlights of the night. Strowman and Wyatt showed up twice while Sonya made a very disturbing challenge to Mandy Rose.
