This edition of Friday Night SmackDown took place once again at the Performance Center in Orlando Florida. This was the first show since Extreme Rules: Horror Show and it featured a match that was supposed to be on the pay per view with Jeff Hardy taking on Sheamus in a Bar Fight.
The show opened with promos from Jeff Hardy and Sheamus. Jeff Hardy claimed he will overcome his demons in the fight with Sheamus. Sheamus said he will make sure Jeff Hardy drowns in his sorrows.
Sasha Banks and Bayley came out to the ring. Banks and Bayley said their definition of greatness is them holding all the gold. They said the Women’s Evolution era is over and their era has begun. Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss interrupted. Nikki said she wants a shot at the title right now. Bayley said Nikki could get her rematch if she beats Alexa and the winner could face her next week. Nikki pushed Alexa down on the stage, saying that it’s on.
The #GoldenRoleModels throw a celebration to mark their era of 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈. #SmackDown @itsBayleyWWE @SashaBanksWWE pic.twitter.com/TtcsrkdCBk
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
Nikki Cross Defeated Alexa Bliss To Become The #1 Contender For The Women’s Championship
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you, @NikkiCrossWWE 𝒊𝒔 battling @AlexaBliss_WWE for an opportunity at the #SmackDown #WomensTitle! pic.twitter.com/jQMJWv8pGb
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
.@NikkiCrossWWE defeats @AlexaBliss_WWE to earn a shot at @itsBayleyWWE's #SmackDown Women's Title NEXT WEEK! pic.twitter.com/bYwHoKGGCa
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
Review: Not a bad match. I had a feeling that Nikki was going to win it to become #1 contender. The commentary from Bayley and Sasha is what mostly kept my focus more than anything. From how the match played out with Nikki and Alexa, they might be teasing a break up between Cross and Alexa. If it is, I don’t know where they have Nikki and Alexa go from there though but it’s probably not a bad idea.
Alexa congratulated Nikki backstage and told her that it’s time for Nikki to focus on beating Bayley for the title.
Bray Wyatt appeared on the Fire Fly Fun House and shows the head of the old Bray Wyatt, saying his job is done for now but it’s The Fiend’s turn now.
“It’s 𝙃𝙄𝙎 turn now. 𝙃𝙀 has been unleashed.” #SmackDown @WWEBrayWyatt pic.twitter.com/hAo84L8K2w
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
Matt Riddle Defeated Tony Nese
After the match, Riddle called out Corbin. Corbin said Riddle doesn’t belong in his kingdom. He thinks Riddle should go to 205 Live. He throws out a King’s Ransom on Riddle. Riddle tells Corbin that Corbin is the next star of the Bro Show. Nese tried to attack him from behind but Riddle knocked him out with a kick.
Review: Good match. There was no doubt Riddle was winning this match but Nese also showed some of his impressive athletic ability as well.
John Morrison goes through a bunch of hashtags for himself with The Miz backstage. The MIz tells him that they have a show to do and they head to the ring.
The Miz and John Morrison welcomed everyone to Miz TV. They welcome Naomi as their guest on the show. Naomi talked about the #NaomiDeservesBetter trend on social media and that fans have been behind her for the last decade because they want more of her despite the ridiculous karaoke competitons. Miz and Morrison brought out Lacey Evans as their other guest. Lacey said that Naomi has been in WWE for 10 years and has nothing to show for it. Namoi attacked her as she was putting the lipstick on in the ring. Lacey escaped the ring with her mouth smeared with red.
** Mic drop **
🎤 #SmackDown @NaomiWWE pic.twitter.com/rGLUHpqG1F
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
Kofi walked up to Big E. He said he’s going to be out of action for a bit but he doesn’t mind since he’ll be able to spend time with the family. Kofi encourages Big E that it’s time to go out and shine as a singles star.
Gran Metalik Defeated Shorty G, Lince Dorado and Drew Gulak To Become #1 Contender For The Intercontinental Championship
4️⃣ Superstars. 1️⃣ championship opportunity.
Who will be the next challenger to @AJStylesOrg's #ICTitle? #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/skZV2lhCPS
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
.@WWEGranMetalik earns a shot at the #ICTitle!!!!#SmackDown @AJStylesOrg pic.twitter.com/cm04aEwDSD
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
After the match, AJ Styles went to shake his hand but then slapped him in the face. Metalik slapped AJ back and planted him with a springboard DDT.
Review: I was really certain that Drew Gulak should’ve gotten this but they went with…. Gran Metalik? I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying anything bad about Metalik’s ability and athleticism but this was just random. It felt like a #1 contender’s match for someone who’s just an easy win for AJ. At least if that’s where they were going, they could’ve just done an open challenge where Metalik just stepped up and AJ beat him. I think if they were going to do this fatal 4 way match, they should’ve just had Gulak win. The match itself was really good but the outcome was unexpected and not in a good way at least for me.
Kayla Braxton interviewed the New SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Cesaro said they don’t believe that it’s Big E’s time to shine, it’s their time.
Jeff Hardy Defeated Sheamus In The Bar Fight Match
A #CelticWarrior and #CharismaticEnigma walk into a bar. Then, this happened. ⬇️ #SmackDown @WWESheamus @JEFFHARDYBRAND pic.twitter.com/X1QyXF9bRP
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
.@JEFFHARDYBRAND takes down @WWESheamus in an EPIC #BarFight on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/a4JP9Xh8j9
— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020
Review: Really great main event. It was everything I expected out of a bar fight with Hardy and Sheamus. I think it would’ve been better though if they had points where Sheamus was trying to force Hardy to take a sip of alcohol of any kind to add to the drama of the story and maybe while he’s doing that show flashbacks to all of the arrests in Hardy’s past to show that he is being reminded of the things that alcohol has done to his life so that he can overcome it, beating Sheamus. Now maybe they didn’t do that because they didn’t want alcohol close to Jeff since he is recovering, I’m not sure of that but it’s just an idea. It didn’t take away from the match and I thought it was a great overall.
Overall Review: It was a easier show to get through especially the desire for me to see how the bar fight was going to go. They crowned new #1 contenders for the IC and Women’s titles but it was kind of underwhelming of who is going to challenge for those titles. Another repeat from Extreme Rules with Nikki and Bayley and in my opinion, a throwaway opponent for AJ Styles with Gran Metalik as his opponent next week. The Miz TV segment was interesting in the fact that they brought up Naomi’s hashtag. Hopefully, Naomi breaks out from this rivalry with Lacey Evans and it gets more over to the point where she could be back in the Women’s title picture.
Overall Grade: 6/10
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