Once again, a multi-layered story carried us throughout the show.
And it ended with a big surprise.
Jimmy Uso walked up to Roman Reigns and had to tell the Head of the Table that Main Event Jey Uso said he’s not showing up anymore.
But Jimmy said that he would fill in because he wants to represent the family too. Now, he also said he’s not anyone’s bitch, but we’ll see this tune and how it plays out. Reigns laughed in his face and said that he’d have top prove that he can be Main Event Jimmy Uso.
Paul Heyman made the match between him and Dolph Ziggler, which I touch on on its own later.
Spoiler alert for that match – Jimmy won. And he went to the back and was super happy that he proved himself. Reigns smiled and walked off to address the state of the Universal Championship. Heyman told Jimmy to hang back.
Heyman listed off all of Reigns’ opponents (even mentioning the Fiend and Braun Strowman) but interestingly left out Jey Uso. Heyman said that there was no one left.
And just when the Tribal Chief was about to make his big announcement, “You think you know me.” A big bushy bearded Edge walked down the ramp and attacked Reigns. He was about to give him the conchairto, and Mr. “Ain’t Nobody’s Bitch” made the save for his cousin. Edge speared him through the barricade.
Now, here’s where this gets really interesting. After Seth Rollins and Bayley had their match (also talked about later) Rollins went to Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville and said that he is the next opponent for Reigns.
Sooooo what does this mean now? Rollins wants in, but Edge is back earlier than I believe he was announced for. My dream Edge scenario for SummerSlam was actually him and Rollins. This would be a great way to build to that!
Let’s get to the rest of the hits and misses. For a full rundown of SmackDown, check out the live blog, this time by our General Geno Mrosko!
King’s coronation
My goodness did Shinsuke Nakamura look like royalty in that white gear.
Rick Boogs and Pat McAfee were the best supporting actors for this segment. McAfee is a national treasure, really. To think that I didn’t like this guy in his NXT run. I admit I was wrong.
Boogs played the music the entire time and he, King Nakamura, and McAfee jammed out. Then we went to the back and King Baron Corbin was sulking like a child who got his Playstation taken away. He asked Kayla Braxton what the point was anymore and walked off.
It’s nice that they didn’t just have Corbin attack Nakamura similar to when he was feuding with Chad Gable (this was right before the Shorty G moniker). A somewhat sympathetic Corbin was not one I expected.
Truthfully, I have always wondered what a face turn for him would be like. I would like to see it.
To qualify or not to qualify
This was an interesting segment.
Right before this, Sami Zayn went to Adam Pearce and demanded to be put into the Money in the Bank match and Pearce said he had to qualify by beating someone he beat already.
Then Sonya Deville came to the ring and announced Carmella as an entrant into the women’s match. No qualifying match for her.
And then Liv Morgan came out and reminded us that she actually beat Carmella last week, so why does declaring yourself as beautiful give you opportunities?
So, just like Zayn, Morgan had to beat someone she beat already in order to qualify. But Kevin Owens didn’t get inserted into the match. All of this is likely because there aren’t that many women on the main roster right now.
Morgan won this match, so you’d expect that this means that she will be in the Money in the Bank match. I mean it’s likely most, if not all, of the main roster women will be in the match, except the Raw and SmackDown women’s champions and their challengers for the pay-per-view.
The Rest
Jimmy Uso defeated Dolph Ziggler
This match got a nice chunk of time, and featured quite a nasty Zig Zag onto the steel steps. I thought Jimmy was going to be really injured from it but thankfully he is okay. Ziggler was in control and Jimmy took Ziggler out of the ring, also taking out Robert Roode. Ziggler hit a good Zig Zag and I thought it was over, but Jimmy kicked out. Jimmy caught him on the Fameasser and hit the superkick to win. Gave Jimmy a great win to further the Reigns saga.
Big E defeated Apollo Crews
This was a really good match. I realize I’ve probably hounded WWE on the repetition of this feud, but just like Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (which we will see next week as a Last Man Standing Match!) these men do have good in ring chemistry. No Nigerian Nail this time because the referee saw the interference and threw him out, so I saw E winning here. That’s good. I would pick him to be the winner of the Money in the Bank briefcase this year.
Bayley and Seth Rollins defeated Bianca Belair and Cesaro
Rollins and Belair had a fun back and forth before the match, and she used Cesaro as a jumping point to take out Bayley. While I normally shit on the mixed tag feuds thing, this one actually made sense, as did the finish. Yes, the champion was pinned, but at least it was off of Seth bumping into her and Bayley took advantage.
Grade: B+
What were your thoughts, Cagesiders?