WWE SmackDown Score (08/20/21): SummerSlam SmackDown
Tonight is the “Biggest Party of the Summer”!
Last night, a certain somebody made their return to professional wrestling!
SmackDown also happened last night (believe it or not), so let’s get to how the blue brand wrapped up their side of things as we head to Vegas.
The Final Showdown
The “Tribal Chief” and the leader of the C-Nation went face-to-face one more time before they square off tonight in one of the biggest main events in SummerSlam history. This time, they got the main event spot, which shockingly was the first time during this feud that Cena and Reigns were both in the last spot of the evening, and I like how WWE saved both of their appearances until 9:45 p.m. Eastern, and we didn’t hear from either of them until then. It made the segment feel more special.
To add to the twist, the “Head of the Table” came out first, a real rarity during his 356 day championship reign. As soon as he entered the ring, Cena’s trumpets played, and we went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, and Reigns tells the Phoenix crowd he doesn’t care if he gets booed, and everybody he’s faced since he’s returned last year he’s smashed so hard they’ve had to leave the company (referring to Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan and The Fiend). I thought it was a really nice touch I didn’t think about. Cena responded by saying something we in the WWE Universe have all thought for the last few weeks: When this feud first started, nobody gave the 16-time World Champion a chance because we all thought he was coming back for one match to put Reigns over and go back to Hollywood, and while Cena essentially admitted he will be leaving after tonight, people like me are giving him a shot to defeat Reigns because he’s John BLEEPING Cena, and no one can stand Reigns anymore. Cena reminds the champion that all he has to do is shock Reigns out of nowhere and keep his shoulders pinned for three seconds, and he’s champion, and while that’s no easy task, it’s very possible.
Reigns, adnament he won’t lose to Cena, then says if he doesn’t win at SummerSlam, he’ll leave WWE. The two men shake on the deal, but then Reigns tries to give Cena an AA, but Cena slips out, rolls Reigns up for the one, two, three, sprints out of the ring, looks at the camera and holds up three fingers on the stage. Reigns is sitting on the ground pissed to end the show, realizing his championship may be slipping away.
I loved everything about this, and while the stipulation now probably means Reigns is retaining the championship, it doesn’t have to be. If Reigns loses, he can say because he pulled Cena in for the AA, they really didn’t shake on the stipulation, which would be a nice touch. In my preview and predictions article, I said Reigns beats Cena clean, and then he’ll move on to Finn Balor at Extreme Rules, and I still think that outcome is the most likely, but in total, there’s four outcomes that could happen tonight.
- Reigns beats Cena clean.
- Cena beats Reigns thanks to Balor.
- Reigns beats Cena thanks to Balor.
- A no-contest thanks to Balor.
Whatever the result is going to be, this match is going to be worth every second of my time. Whether you’re on Team Cena or Team Reigns, enjoy the showdown folks!
Seth Rollins Turns Black
Edge opened up the show by sitting on a steel chair with the spotlight hanging over him. He cut a dark promo, explaining how Seth Rollins’ promo last week about how he could have paralyzed Edge if he would have just Curbstomped him seven years ago. Edge said that thought still scares him, but Rolllins has made him go to a place where his heart is black, and at SummerSlam, he’s going to burn Rollins down because he has to in order to protect his own health and his family.
Rollins responded later in the night with a typical heel promo on how he’s going to make sure SummerSlam is Edge’s last match. The crowd reallyyyyy wanted Edge to come out and beat him down, but Edge had something else in mind. All of a sudden, the arena turned all dark red and fire came up on the tron. I thought maybe Rollins’ old authority buddy Kane was going to have a shocking return, but it was Edge on the tron. Then, black blood dripped down from the sky and covered Rollins’ white drip from head to toe in black with Edge laughing, a nod back to his old days in the Brood.
This was a great way to close this segment. They didn’t get physical with each other. They just made the rivalry more personal. I’ve said it multiple times over the last few days, but I believe besides Reigns and Cena, this match is going to be match of the night at SummerSlam.
Seven years ago, this match was only possible on WWE2K. Now, it’s reality, and these two men are similar in almost every way. The LVPD better be on speed dial because Edge and Rollins are going to steal the show this weekend!
Bianca Beliar Wrestles Twice
Before putting her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line against Sasha Banks (which now it looks like the match may be in jeopardy again), Beliar cut a promo on how the word ‘Sasha’ makes her sick before defeating Zelina Vega and Carmella in back-to-back matches.
We finally got to see a dark side of Beliar come out thanks to Banks. The EST is still the TOUGHEST, the FASTEST, the B.E.S.T., but she’s not taking Banks lightly anymore. Their Wrestlemania match was about two friends with respect for one another main eventing Wrestlemania for the championship. This match is about a challenger doing anything she can to get her championship back, and the champion trying to beat some respect back into a challenger.
If the match goes on tonight, it will surpass their Wrestlemania encounter, and I expect Beliar to send the “Boss” to the back of the line, but it’’ll be interesting to see if Beliar still defends the championship if Banks isn’t cleared, or if WWE just saves Beliar for Banks when she is cleared.
Jey Uso defeats Rey Mysterio
After a great back and forth match, Mysterio looked like he had Uso beat with a rollup when Dominik tried the same thing the Usos did to the Mysterio’s at Money in the Bank and use his feet to help his father secure Uso’s shoulder’s to the mat, but referee Charles Robinson caught Dominik and ejected him, leading to Uso taking advantage with a Super Kick and splash for the win. In my preview for SummerSlam, I predicted exactly this. The two teams will have multiple false finishes against one another, and Dominik will get distracted by something or try to cheat and get caught, and he will cost him and his dad the titles, and WWE will begin teasing their feud. Pretty standard stuff here, but what can you do only one night away from the biggest Pay-Per-View of the year?!
Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs Defeat Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez
Rick BOOGSSSSSSSSSSSSS made his in-ring debut last night, and as the GREAT Pat McAfee pointed out, he was sweating in a singlet! He looked pretty good in the ring and even pinned Crews with some kind of powerslam after the new Intercontinental Champion took out Crews’ commander. Nakamura and BOOGSSSSSSSSSSSSS would celebrate on the announce table with McAfee, and I will NEVER get sick of these three dancing together, especially when McAfee tells Michael Cole to go to hell when Cole tries to get him to stop!
It feels like Crews’ push is done, and the Nigerian gimmick isn’t really working anymore. No one is truly invested in the character anymore, and he had a terrible title reign. So far, I know it’s only been one night, but Nakamura’s at least looks entertaining.
Baron Corbin is a Thief!
So Corbin had a rematch with Kevin Owens from last week, and as Owens went for a Stunner, “Bum Ass Baron Corbin” (thanks for the AWESOME nickname Pat McAfee!) was able to roll to the outside near the stage. Big E would appear and attack Corbin, causing the disqualification, but Corbin was able to reverse E, send him into the ring post and once again run out of SmackDown with E’s Money in the Bank contract. McAfee was yelling, “THERE’S A 6’6 TRASH BAG ON THE RUN”, which got an LOL out of me and even Cole, who you could see was laughing in one of the camera shots!
It was a fantastic moment, and I love what they’re doing with this Corbin storyline. I low-key want him to try to cash in on one, or both of the World Champions tonight! It would be hilarious to see E chase him like a 24/7 Championship scene for a few weeks as Corbin tries to cash in the contract on any champion he sees!
My dream fantasy booking is having Corbin cash in on his former friend Lashley and win the championship, but he doesn’t actually win the championship because the contract is in Big E’s name. Big E takes out Corbin, but then HE cashes in the contract on Lashley, wins the WWE Title and avenges his New Day brother’s loss at Money in the Bank!
A man can dream, can’t he?!
Otis Defeats Montez Ford
Ford had on new ring gear, but it didn’t matter. The man who used to be all about fun is now all about reckoning people because he flat out destroyed Ford, doing the splash from the top rope for the win. We all know Ford is a great seller, but man is he putting Otis over well!
I love the Alpha Academy. My only concern with them right now is since the Usos are SmackDown Tag Champions, they can’t really challenge for the belts, and they’ve already faced the Mysterio’s and the Street Profits multiple times. Going over to RAW in the draft in October and feuding with RK-BRO is something I would like to see.
Shotzi and Nox Defeat Natalya and Tamina
I was shocked to see Natalya return so quickly from her injury! That was good to see! Shotzi and Nox won with a rollup via Shotzi pinning Natalya. It looks like these two are next in line for a future title shot, maybe as early as next week’s SmackDown.
____________________________________________
As always, SmackDown delivered! It wasn’t the best show in the world last night, but for a night before a Pay-Per-View, it got the job done, and it got me more excited for tonight!
I wish I was in Vegas, but I’ll be perfectly fine watching on Peacock, as long as Peacock’s servers don’t crash… again!
Enjoy SummerSlam everyone! The “Biggest Party of the Summer” is here! Fall and football season is right around the corner!
GRADE: B+
