RETRIBUTION made their presence felt on SmackDown as WWE’s new faction stormed the Performance Center and destroyed the set in the final moments on air.
Following the main event tag team bout between Heavy Machinery and Miz & Morrison (more on that below), the the mysterious masked group hit the arena and caused chaos to end the night on an exciting note.
Armed with a chainsaw, baseball bat and more, the five wrestlers launched a shocking attack as they ripped the set apart, attacking anyone in their path and breaking down the ring.
‘This is our house now’, the collective bellowed just days after they were shown setting fire to the generator on Raw.
From chasing off Michael Cole and Corey Graves to targeting the rookies making up the audience, this was a retelling of Nexus’ historic debut and it hit the right notes.
As it stands, it’s still not known who makes up this group – besides the fact it’s men and women involved rather than one or the other – but it’s smart storytelling to not limit them to one brand.
Seeing them focus on Raw and SmackDown while ignoring NXT also makes sense, as they were shown spray painting a red WWE logo onto the barricade with a large slash through it – hinting their issues lie with the running of the main two brands.
This was a fine way to end an up and down broadcast, and it’s sure to get people talking.
Best of the rest
The opening match of the night was as hard hitting and physical as it looked on paper, with Sheamus and Matt Riddle slugging it out.
The duo showed great chemistry in the ring, so hopefully this gets revisited after a DQ ending when Shorty G attacked the Original Bro.
Riddle attacked the man formerly known as Chad Gable for getting involved, before the Celtic Warrior reacted very badly to his loss and also took out the former Olympian.
This week’s Miz TV/Dirt Sheet segment was a more of a miss than a hit, although Miz and Morrison joking about RETRIBUTION amid some technical difficulties was either a good quip or even better foreshadowing (it turned out to be the latter).
Less impressive was them interviewing ‘Mandy Rose’s hair’, but things did pick up when Sonya Deville came out to rant about her former tag team partner.
The segment came to a decent ending as Heavy Machinery rushed to the ring and sent the A-Listers running – although the predictable tag team content would come later in the night, as well as some real fire from Otis backstage.
Instead, we went into a clash between Lince Dorado and Cesaro as the SmackDown Tag Team Title feud between Lucha House Party and the champions continues to roll on.
These two deserved more time and showed some real promise before it ended too soon, although it was nice seeing the Swiss Cyborg pick up the win.
At the top of the show, Bray Wyatt promised The Fiend would be here, and later on he was joined by his captive Alexa Bliss, as he crawled towards her and teased another Mandible Claw before she stopped him and rubbed his face.
Braun Strowman appeared on the screen, calling The Fiend sadistic but insisted an emotional mind game won’t work because he doesn’t care about Alexa. Erm. Alright then.
He insisted the Swamp Fight pushed him to breaking point and The Monster will be unleashed at SummerSlam.
Later in the show, Jeff Hardy faced King Corbin in something of a grudge match (a decent one at that) which ended when Sheamus cost Corbin the match with a Brogue Kick on his opponent in retaliation for earlier events.
The two powerhouses faced off in an impromptu match, but Riddle turned up and distracted the king and allowed the Celtic Warrior to pick up a win.
We were also treated to a phenomenal promo from Big E as he hyped up his solo run and promised to give everything for the WWE Universe.
Next, Bayley and Sasha Banks – who still hold all the gold – were in the ring for a video conference with Stephanie McMahon, as she insisted she would challenge the duo after the Legit Boss won her title through less-than-honourable means.
As previously announced, she’ll face Asuka at SummerSlam (if the Empress of Tomorrow can beat Bayley on Monday) while the Role Model will face the winner of a Triple Brand Battle Royale.
We finally jumped back to the earlier issues between Miz, Morrison and Sonya, and Heavy Machinery, as the two teams faced off in tag team action.
It was a decent bout without being exceptional, but the ending – while awesome with Mandy Rose coming out with short hair – was a little nonsensical as her appearance shouldn’t have resulted in a DQ.
Quickfire results
- Matt Riddle beat Sheamus via DQ
- Cesaro pinned Lince Dorado
- Jeff Hardy defeated King Corbin via DQ
- Sheamus pinned King Corbin after Matt Riddle’s distraction
- Heavy Machinary vs. Miz & Morrison ended in a No Contest
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