With just one SmackDown show in between SummerSlam and this weekend’s Payback, the pressure was on for WWE to deliver.
Overall, it’s fair to say the blue brand succeeded where Raw stuttered, with a focused effort setting up its side of the card with simple and entertaining storytelling.
The show opened with a great hook as Vince McMahon himself gave Adam Pearce the contract for Sunday’s Universal Championship match and tasked him with getting it signed by “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman.
There was a great thread running throughout the night, with the producer given a postman outfit – yep, Postman Pearce – as he headed to the Firefly Funhouse for a great skit to get Bray to sign the contract.
He had no luck getting the Big Dog to answer the door, and Strowman only agreed to sign if Pearce helped him get rid of Drew Gulak after the latter cracked him with a steel chair backstage to continue their issues.
The subsequent “match” was every bit the battering you’d expect (poor Drew) with the Monster not even getting out of his jeans and t-shirt for the mauling, and signing the contract on his way out.
Eventually, Pearce was able to talk to Roman but he wasn’t immediately keen to sign the contract.
The former world champion – rocking his ‘wreck everyone and leave’ t-shirt – stayed silent and didn’t look impressed as he showed off his new attitude, insisting he needed to read through all the paperwork.
While the entertainment six-man tag main event – pitting Miz, John Morrison and Sheamus against Big E and Heavy Machinery – was rolling on, we got told Pearce was still in Roman’s locker room.
Big E picked up the win for his team, and went backstage as Roman promised to be at Payback to ‘wreck everyone and leave’ to reclaim the Universal Championship.
In an incredible show closing moment, Reigns said ‘that is a spoiler’ before Paul Heyman was shown by his side as he revealed he’s teamed up with Brock Lesnar’s advocate.
WWE looks fully prepared to position Roman as more of a bad guy than we’ve ever seen him before, and becoming a Heyman guy is the perfect way to do it.
Best of the rest
Kicking off the show, AJ Styles wasn’t happy as he confronted Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy about the latter’s win last week after he caught him with the knee brace.
The Phenomenal One insisted he wasn’t cleared to compete tonight, which was a shame because the Charismatic Enigma was all set to issue an open challenge.
Shinsuke Nakamura accepted (which his partner Cesaro didn’t seem to happy about), with AJ shining on commentary for a decent match – albeit one slowed down by the story of Jeff’s bad knee – with Hardy retaining the gold.
After the bell, fans were treated to a huge surprise as Sami Zayn made his return out of nowhere, holding his own IC Title (which he never lost) as he danced his way onto the stage and cracked Hardy with a stiff kick.
Backstage, Zayn was on fire as he insisted he was back to take his spot as the rightful champion – and it’s good to have him back, even if the Artist Collective seems to be a thing of the past after their interaction.
Later in the night, Naks and Cesaro took out Lucha House Party’s Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik before the letter’s match with Kalisto – although ringside shenanigans were enough for the Swiss Cyborg to steal a win in a great bout.
Earlier in the evening, Matt Riddle called out King Corbin, but Shorty G attacked the Original Bro from behind and then lost his match in incredibly short fashion – before the royal star laid down the challenge for Sunday at Payback.
After mocking poor Otis backstage during a segment with Big E and Tucker, the Golden Role Models hit the ring as there were some major signs of dissent with Bayley implying her BFF Sasha Banks could be a weak link.
Raw oddball duo Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax appeared on the screen for a verbal back and forth days away from the Women’s Tag Team Title match at Payback on Sunday.
Elsewhere, a shocking moment backstage suggested The Fiend has had a big impact on Alexa Bliss, who didn’t react well when her BFF Nikki Cross said she wasn’t sure about her new pigtails and single dreadlock.
As soon as she said they reminded her of Bray’s alter ego, Alexa’s eyes briefly glazed over before they snapped and smashed a mug she’d given her tag partner as a gift.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: Who is Adam Pearce? WWE producer takes SmackDown by storm
MORE: WWE SmackDown: Sami Zayn returns months after being stripped of Intercontinental Title
0 Commentaires