This week’s SmackDown continued to build Hell in a Cell pay-per-view next week, but there were also two returns on Friday’s show.
Daniel Bryan returned after being absent from the ring for several months, and Goldberg first gave the impression since losing Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 36.
We saw Jeff Hardy take on the recently returned Lars Sullivan. Street Profits had its first-name defense on SmackDown opposite Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, and Roman Reigns had a confrontation with Strowman.
This week marked The New Day’s farewell to the blue mark after Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were recruited for Raw.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened this week on SmackDown.
Here are the segments announced through WWE before Friday’s show:
The season premiere began with the lineup at the level while Triple H and Stephanie were in the ring, promoting the segments planned for the show.
It took two minutes for the total list to start fighting. The match spread to the ring after Stephanie and The Game temporarily escaped. He ended up with Jeff Hardy hitting Lars Sullivan with a Twist of Fate.
His game after half-time. The charismatic Enigma tried to regain the lead, but Sullivan knocked him down like a shocker.
The Freak threw him through the ring and hit a sliding clothesline for a quick count of two. Hardy moved towards a massive splash of the upper rope and unloaded with a flurry of direct hands.
Hardy knocked him down with a Twist of Fate, but Sullivan backed down before he could hit a Swanton. He hit Hardy and hit The Freak Accident for the win.
Grade: C
An analysis
Needless to say, Sullivan is problematic. We’re going to get into everything here, but if you want to know why, a quick Google search will tell you everything you want to know.
Apart from controversy, nothing separates it from all the other powers on the list, has no discernible personality beyond galvanizing destruction and too generic a look to stand out.
That game is good. Hardy’s right about the promotion and can do anyone good. This one just didn’t stand out as something special.
Kingston, Woods and Big E went out and delivered a poignant promotion on how they will no longer form a trio after the band’s split.
Cesaro, Sheamus and Shinsuke Nakamura gave a behind-the-scenes interview about how eager they are to ruin The New Day’s farewell game.
We came back from a break to see Woods and Nakamura already in the ring. Kingston came in and hit a double trampl to almost fall.
The next few minutes were a series of labels and double groups through the heel team. They kept Kingston remote until he was able to let go and make the beacon in Big E.
Cesaro controlled to defeat the great man, but a tag for Woods allowed The New Day to hit a double team for a two-man account. The next few minutes saw the two exchange great moves back and forth.
Woods and E hit Midnight Hour for pin and victory. They kissed in the ring to celebrate their victory.
Quality: A-
An analysis
The promotion before this fit genuinely and originally when entering the professional fight. These are 3 guys who were failing when they shaped an organization six years ago and became the most sensitive in the team division.
They are unlikely to separate forever, but the emotion was genuine when they talked about their love for each other. As for the attack that followed, it was a popular six-man bout designed to give The New Day a wonderful start. .
Cesaro, Sheamus and Nakamura are all perfect at what they do, so they had to play the role of heels that put the smart as well as anyone else.
Many enthusiasts are disappointed that WWE is breaking the group, but by giving them one last game in combination, a great gesture, hopefully this will bring a lot of good luck to everyone involved.
Bryan made his triumphant return to SmackDown and explained how much he had missed the WWE universe and how much he had enjoyed the Thunderdome. He greeted Brie and Birdie on one of the screens before saying how excited he was to be back.
He said he was looking ahead to return to the ring with some of the new faces before Seth Rollins took the stage. He said it was smart to see Bryan back, but he did it the same old and unpleasant way.
They exchanged some insults and Bryan taunted Rollins until the SmackDown Savior attacked him, the Yes Man returned the favor with a clothesline and a flurry of Yes Kicks.
Rey and Dominik Mysterio were handed over when Rollins tried to escape. Rolins foolishly thought he could get Bryan to fight alongside him, but left the Messiah alone. Murphy ran into the ring to stand next to Rollins but attacked him to officially break his Alliance.
Category B
An analysis
The dispute between Rollins and Mysterio dragged on a little too long, however, it was satisfying to see Murphy nevertheless eliminate the guy who abused him for weeks.
The Mysterio were unwilling to settle for Murphy’s handshake, but it’s only a matter of time before they form an alliance.
It’s great to see Bryan and meeting him on SmackDown will open up a lot of odds for other fights.
Ziggler and Angelo Dawkins started for their groups with a quick exchange. They circled fast to score and take Dawkins to the canvas before hitting a charming vertical suplex for a two-man account.
The Glorious One brought back The Showoff for a double-team play, but Montez Ford broke the pin. The referee nevertheless called the bell when everyone refused to avoid fighting and getting out of the ring.
The challengers beat Dawkins a little before Ford knocked them down with a huge shoulder bag on either of them. Ric Flair is shown hunting on one of the screens with a huge smile on his face.
Quality: C-
An analysis
This fit incredibly short and ended in disqualification. It is clear that WWE will continue this dispute, but it did not have to dedicate themselves to anyone getting a win immediately.
If the game had had at least a few more minutes to be exciting, it wouldn’t have mattered if it ended dirty because they would have given us more than waiting in long-term matches.
The blue mark doesn’t have a lot of tag groups right now, so those two groups will have several opportunities to fight in the coming weeks.
Bayley and Sasha Banks were absent after a break to signal their Hell in a Cell contract. Adam Pearce oversaw the procedures.
It didn’t take long for the banks to sign the contract, however Bayley spoke a bit about how The Boss was a piece of luggage that he settled for emptying.
The style said Banks was simply angry because she didn’t turn against Bayley first, but the boss reminded him how many times he got it back.
Quality: B
An analysis
One of the most productive main points in this segment is how uncomfortable Bayley felt when Banks told her the harsh fact of why she has been the champion for so long. He’s a fair acting character of the champion.
Refusing to point out the contract is something we rarely see in those segments. This made Bayley look scared and shake hands with the banks.
It wasn’t revolutionary, but it was a fantastic display of two characters that will be linked throughout its multi-year history.
They locked themselves up and fought until Reigns threw Strowman out of the ring. When the monster among the men tried to return, the tribal leader pierced him with a Superman Punch.
Reigns maintained his hold on the big man for some time. The former champion grabbed him out of the air and slammed him into the ring post before throwing him on the pronouncement table.
We returned from a break to see Strowman still in the driver’s seat. He hit a boot in the corner before The Big Dog surrounded him on the ring pole. He temporarily recovered and strangled Reigns for a two-way recount.
When the champion was ejected, he took a low blow, just as he did with Jey Uso in his match. He hit the spear, but Strowman ejected two. He left for a moment, but when Strowman caught him, Reigns attempted a guillotine submission. Touched.
Uso reached the level to see Reigns hit Strowguy with a spear. Reigns told him to go to the ring, but he waited with a metal chair. He told Uso he didn’t need to hurt him like Strowguy did before hitting the big guy with the chair several times.
Reigns left the chair and turned to give Uso the chance to hit him. His cousin refused but when Reigns turned around, he reduced it and gave him a superkick. He took the chair and crushed Reigns in the back several times. holding it, Reigns gave the impression and struck a Superman Punch.
Category B
An analysis
Ending the attack with a submission is an attractive decision. Reigns is not known to use catches and Strowman rarely loses in this way, so this has made the tribal leader even more dominant.
The script between Uso and Reigns is still entertaining, however at some point Jey will have to appear in order to beat his cousin and so far we haven’t noticed that.
The physical adjustment between Reigns and Strowman like all their past encounters, but having an already programmed HIAC setting made the result predictable.