Huh.
So, when I saw that John Cena was coming back to be in the Universal championship match, I was really excited about it.
Cena getting to go all out with this version of Reigns, not the heavily scripted to his eyeballs Reigns from 2017, was a major selling point for me.
We’re still going to get that, and I’m excited for that.
... just less so now.
Last week, Finn Balor surprised us and came out to challenge Reigns for a match for the Universal championship and a bunch of ideas popped into my head of how this would happen. The big question - how would Cena fit in?
Well, after this show, the real question I should have been asking is, how could I be stupid enough to fall for this?
WWE’s Twitter announced that there would be a contract signing for Balor and Reigns for SummerSlam a few hours before the show. I was immediately intrigued thinking that Cena had to get involved somehow.
So Cena started the show and more penis stuff was flung around, and all of a sudden Baron Corbin came out begging for money. Cena gave him a few bucks and wasn’t keen on making Corbin a stunt double, and Corbin whined and pouted.
So Cena gave him an Attitude Adjustment. Standard stuff.
Reigns and Balor entered the ring for their contract signing, and Reigns made an excellent point that I did not think would come to fruition the way it did.
Reigns said that Cena thinks Balor is a lesser man than him, but Reigns doesn’t think that at all. He actually put Balor over really nicely, saying he thinks he’s worthy to challenge for the Universal championship. But if he did sign the contract, he’s going to smash him and send him right back to NXT.
And right as Balor was about to sign the contract, Corbin surprised us and took Balor out. And then Cena came back out and took Corbin out and signed the contract where it said “Finn Balor” on the dotted line.
Paul Heyman went to Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to rightfully complain, and they just said that they see a signature there so the match with Cena is official.
Um... huh?
What was the point of bringing Balor into this? It was a bait and switch, and the fact that they’re making a “legally binding contract” with the wrong signature a legitimate thing is just... come on, man.
I didn’t need that. Finn didn’t need that. The crowd wanting Corbin to sign the contract was phenomenal, by the way. This is Corbin finally getting over organically.
So now it looks like Balor will be feuding with Corbin. Sorry, Finn. Welcome back to the main roster! Maybe you’ll get a title shot after SummerSlam.
Let’s get to the rest of the show. For a full rundown of SmackDown, check out the live blog by Claire Elizabeth!
The Boss is back!
Welp.
Sasha Banks returned to make the save for Bianca Belair on a two on one beatdown by Zelina Vega and Carmella.
Carmella wanted a another title shot and Vega told her to hit the bricks. Belair accepted Vega’s challenge and then they both just beat up on her. Out came Banks and a tag team match was made for the main event.
We ALL knew what was coming.
But for some reason, Belair happily accepted Banks back into her life. To her credit, she did look confused at first. I just don’t get why that confusion turned into immediate trust for the match.
After said match, Belair and Banks celebrated their win and all was seemingly going well for the champion.
The champion forgot who she was in the ring with.
The crowd was electric for Banks’ return and followed swiftly with a shower of boos as she hit the Bank Statement on an unsuspecting Belair.
Man did she solidify that turn holding onto Belair’s head in that crossface. The boos were great.
I feel weird that Bianca was made to just forget everything about Sasha and look silly not thinking that Sasha would turn on her in a heartbeat. But this is going to be a great match at SummerSlam.
The Rest
Rollins is a mad man
Well that escalated quickly. Edge came out to talk to us and during the commercial break, Seth Rollins attacked him. Rollins was incensed at Edge taking the opportunity away from him. I love that this is has made Rollins so incredibly upset that he isn’t even wanting to fight Edge, he just wants to murder him, like Randy Orton last year. I have been digging this version of Rollins’ character. The transition out of the “Messiah” gimmick has worked very well for him. I am very much looking forward to this SummerSlam bout.
Rey Mysterio defeated Jimmy Uso
Mysterio’s flying moves are still a delight to see after all these years. Jimmy looked vicious with that neck spot into the top turnbuckle. Mysterio countered the superplex and man did he pick up the pace with the senton flying off the ropes. Very smart finish with Dominik holding his father in place away from the referee’s eyes, mirroring what the Usos did to them. Yes we have champions losing here (not surprising anymore) but it fit with the story. So more than likely I see this rematch at SummerSlam.
Big E, Cesaro, and Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Apollo Crews and the Dirty Dawgs
Cesaro had a really great 10 swing to Dolph Ziggler but Ziggler was able to halt King Nakamura’s momentum with a zig zag. It was so interesting to see all these people who have had history together in the ring at once. Big E and Ziggler, Cesaro and Nakamura, brought me back to the past. Nakamura pinning the Intercontinental champion gives me a title match vibe between them, but where does Big E go if they do that?
Reggie defeated Chad Gable via disqualification
This is the first time that the 24/7 title made an appearance on SmackDown since the blue brand moved to FOX. Reggie (formerly Reginald) had himself a nice outing with Chad Gable. They did a nice tease to make us think that Otis would be the challenger. But Otis was the reason why the disqualification happened. A disqualification in a 24/7 title match seems odd, but I can forgive it since it was an actual match, and not a bunch of roll ups.
Hey Joey Gallo - I know you had that contract for the Yankees but HAHA looks like MY NAME is on the contract now. SUCKER!
Grade: B-
What were your thoughts, Cagesiders?