WWE Friday Night Smackdown June Thread - 6/26/20 feat. Taker Tribute and CoronaMania Runnin Wild in WWE

[Emperor Smeat]

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_9_l/public/all/2020/06/20200529_SD_BlissCrossSashaBayley_FC--4fcf0a2d7eeee8c352931afd43bcedf8.jpg

Friday Night SmackDown preview, June 5, 2020: Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross to battle Bayley & Sasha Banks with Women’s Tag Team Titles at stake

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross defend the Women's Tag Team Titles against Bayley & Sasha Banks, Jeff Hardy tells his side of the story, Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles come face-to-face.


SmackDown Preview : Quick Hits

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross to battle Bayley & Sasha Banks with Women’s Tag Team Titles at stake
Jeff Hardy set to share his side of the story after last week’s accident
Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles to come face-to-face ahead of Intercontinental Championship clash
What do The Miz & John Morrison have planned for Braun Strowman ahead of WWE Backlash?



Two matches have been announced for tonight’s WWE 205 Live episode on the WWE Network – Jack Gallagher vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Oney Lorcan vs. Tehuti Miles. Tonight’s show at 10pm ET will also feature an encore of Wednesday’s WWE NXT match that saw El Hijo del Fantasma defeat Drake Maverick to become the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Come on, you kinda wanna see what we do with Jaxson Ryker. Admit it.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReasonsToWatchSmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ReasonsToWatchSmackDown</a></p>&mdash; WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECreative_ish/status/1269039361334685696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

The awkward dead air whenever Jeff takes a pause in a promo and the delayed clapping reaction by the crowd is a bit hilarious.

[Emperor Smeat]

Otis vs. King Corbin was decent.

Feels like WWE's current streak with at least one match per week ending in either a DQ or no contest hasn't been this long since maybe the Attitude Era.

[Emperor Smeat]

Guess Miz & Morrison's new gimmick is them being just pranksters to Strowman.

:eek: Mojo getting some quality tv time despite his golden goose no longer being around.

[Emperor Smeat]

Can't tell if some of the people in the crowd managed to smuggle in some chairs or WWE somehow managed to pluck a lot of small people from NXT and PC to be in the crowd.

WTF just went on with this women's match. Either the ref is legit injured or another match's flow got dragged down by some really shitty booking decisions.

[erickman]

yeah i never saw a ref do that

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: another distraction spot for this Lacey vs. Sonya match, assuming the one with the ref wasn't a legit injury.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SLIME TIME LIVE IS BACK <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SmackDown</a> <a href="https://t.co/HORSRDUmwy">pic.twitter.com/HORSRDUmwy</a></p>&mdash; Jessi Davin (@jessithebuckeye) <a href="https://twitter.com/jessithebuckeye/status/1269071723015614464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: Gulak beating Styles via roll up.

Tonight's show has been weird when it comes to match finishes.

[Emperor Smeat]

6-man tag match was pretty good overall. That match and Bryan's promo earlier were the only really good stuff from tonight's show so far.

[Emperor Smeat]

Whelp that Women's title match ended in a very meh and messy way for a title change.

Whoever booked the matches for tonight's show did an abysmal job. 1 DQ finish, 1 distraction finish, 2 roll-ups finishes, and just 1 match that ended clean with no shenanigans.

This week's episode was one of the most throw-away episodes in a while.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Ehh, still happy for Sasha and Bayley being 2x Women's Tag Team Champions, even if they'll probably lose them in like a month to a month and a half to set-up the obvious and boring feud that I'm guessing will see Sasha take the title at SummerSlam.

Also, judging by the way the original ref for Evans v. DeVille was acting after he got bumped, I'm guessing the injury was unfortunately real but I hope to be proven wrong.

[Emperor Smeat]

A number of readers have written PWInsider.com asking about the injury on last night's Friday Night Smackdown that led to Danilo Anfibio being replaced by Jessika Carr during Lacey Evans vs.Sonya Deville and whether there was any update.

The update is this - there was no injury. It was a worked deal designed to add a different, unique cliffhanger leading into a commercial break, nothing more. Anfibio is not really injured.

Not only was it very awkward when it happened, that confirms that for some odd reason SD Creative thought it would be a great idea for a Sonya vs. Lacey match to have a completely random distraction spot on top of the Mandy distraction spot at the end.

[Emperor Smeat]

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_9_l/public/all/2020/06/20200529_SD_AJBryan_FC--0c065d1de9a30cfb1bb213e341a7ef7a.jpg

Friday Night SmackDown preview, June 5, 2020: Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles meet in the Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals

Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles meet in the Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals, Jeff Hardy and Sheamus will sign their WWE Backlash match contract, and Heavy Machinery reunites alongside Braun Strowman against Dolp Ziggler, The Miz & John Morrison.

SmackDown Preview : Quick Hits

Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles meet in the Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals
Jeff Hardy and Sheamus to converge for contract signing ahead of WWE Backlash
Heavy Machinery reunite alongside Braun Strowman to face Dolph Ziggler, The Miz & John Morrison



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tune in to see <a href="https://twitter.com/JEFFHARDYBRAND?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JEFFHARDYBRAND</a> take a drug test.<br>(And yet it's <a href="https://twitter.com/HeymanHustle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HeymanHustle</a> of RAW who was removed from creative duties)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReasonsToWatchSmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ReasonsToWatchSmackDown</a></p>&mdash; WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECreative_ish/status/1271457403633045505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at someone in the crowd shouting out "That's a lot of pee"

:| the Jeff Hardy throwing a jar at piss at Sheamus rumor ended up being true.

That whole contract signing segment was actually pretty decent up until that spot.

The doctor constantly touching the pee for some unknown reason might have actually been dumber than the piss throw spot.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jeff Hardy takes a urine test and then proceeds to throw a comically large jug of piss onto Sheamus.<br><br>It’s practically a repeat of the HBK/McMahon segment in ‘06<br><br>This was awful. This whole angle is awful. FOX paid $1 BILLION for piss.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Smackdown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Smackdown</a> <a href="https://t.co/BFW4CLU0nt">pic.twitter.com/BFW4CLU0nt</a></p>&mdash; WrestleNews365 (@365Wrestle) <a href="https://twitter.com/365Wrestle/status/1271596767679741952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

Hype video for the IC belt was great.

Surprised the Finals of the IC tournament is happening now and not as tonight's main event.

[Emperor Smeat]

Guess WWE really made sure the wrestlers acting as the crowd were well rehearsed on reactions since this is the most liveliest they've been since WWE brought them in for shows.

WWE supposedly did the same when they taped the Edge vs. Orton match for Backlash to make sure the crowd was active and reacted perfectly throughout the match.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

The two best American wrestlers of this generation wrestling for what used to be the best belt on a crowd free show with multiple commercial breaks.

This sucks man.

[Droford]

To be fair, that was an awesome match. On a PPV with no interruptions it might have been just a little bit better
At least they gave it like 40 min.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Definitely an excellent match. Just thinking of in normal times could’ve been an all time classic.

Just bummed about the corona hoax mostly.

[Emperor Smeat]

Bryan vs. Styles was great and arguably the best tv match from WWE since they started these empty arena shows.

Only real negative was the ending feeling a bit awkward as if Bryan was supposed to sell the Phenomenon Forearm better. Thought at first he was going to counter it or Styles pin attempt with a roll up to win.

Also :lol: at WWE really did bend their Brand-to-Brand Invitation rules because they wanted Styles to win the IC tournament this whole time.

[Emperor Smeat]

When did Braun get a smoke machine for his entrance?

Also not sure blasting a bunch of smoke right near the crowd is a wise idea.

[Emperor Smeat]

Not interested at all in a Corbin vs. Otis feud since WWE is probably going to have Corbin walk away with the MITB case in the end.

[Emperor Smeat]

6-man tag match was decent overall. Match did feel like it was just there for the sake of it especially post-Corbin involvement. Probably was another one of WWE's new dumb ideas to go to commercial break.

This week's episode was pretty good overall. Weak as a go-home show but was entertaining in general.

[rockman725]

I too was surprised that it wasn't on the PPV, but probably with the whole Edge/Orton promotional thing, it would have taken some shine off of that match. Also, didn't Vince want to trim down the length of PPVs until crowds are back? My guess, those are the two reasons why it wasn't saved for Sunday.

[XL]

So, Zayn is the one who framed Jeff, right?

[XL]

Prediction: Jeff hits the Twist of Fate and goes over to the corner to head up for the Swanton but before he climbs up the hacker appears on the tron, he presses play and it shows footage of either;

A) Sami Zayn being the guy behind the wheel of the car

B) We don’t see who was behind the wheel of the car but we do see footage that exonerates Sheamus.

Jeff turns around and eats a Brogue Kick for the 1-2-3.

[Mr. Nerfect]

What is really so bad about the piss spot? It's a babyface embarrassing the heel. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan sounds awesome. Thought Bryan would win. I think Styles is the only heel champion in WWE right now, but I guess he's not really a heel anymore. Kind of want Styles to be the first true Grand Slam Champion in modern WWE (Universal, WWE, IC, US and both Tag Titles). Styles vs. Riddle at Mania for the Uni Title would be a good way to make Riddle.

[xrodmuc316]

What is really so bad about the piss spot? It's a babyface embarrassing the heel. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan sounds awesome. Thought Bryan would win. I think Styles is the only heel champion in WWE right now, but I guess he's not really a heel anymore. Kind of want Styles to be the first true Grand Slam Champion in modern WWE (Universal, WWE, IC, US and both Tag Titles). Styles vs. Riddle at Mania for the Uni Title would be a good way to make Riddle.

It was, and as an added bonus, it was a better wrestled match than any match that has AEW has ever put on. :yes:

[Mr. Nerfect]

I might have to go and watch that match. :y:

Yeah, the best US wrestling is still WWE, which is insane to say. We're starved for promos, but should someone convince Vince McMahon to start handing out promo licenses to guys who can talk to reduce the workload of the writers or whatever, there wouldn't actually be a thing they do better.

[Emperor Smeat]

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_9_l/public/all/2020/06/20200604_SD_Bray_FC--65333d570d4bcd4b5914bce833fea669.jpg

Friday Night SmackDown preview, June 19, 2020: Bray Wyatt and “Firefly Fun House” to make ominous return

Bray Wyatt ends his silence, AJ Styles ushers in his Intercontinental Championship reign, and Mandy Rose joins "Miz TV."

SmackDown Preview : Quick Hits

Bray Wyatt and “Firefly Fun House” to make ominous return
AJ Styles rolling out red carpet for Intercontinental Championship presentation
Mandy Rose set to address broken relationship with Sonya Deville on “Miz TV”
Matt Riddle to make his SmackDown debut tonight



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hopefully tonight's episode doesn't &quot;piss&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FOXTV</a> off (it's funny because we had someone toss a cup of urine at his opponent on national television, something FOX paid us a billion dollars to do)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReasonsToWatchSmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ReasonsToWatchSmackDown</a></p>&mdash; WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECreative_ish/status/1273995260486696960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Evil Vito]

Renee Young so hot

[Emperor Smeat]

The way WWE adds in post-production commentary from Cole makes it sound like its straight from one of their video games with how awkward it comes off most of the time.

[Emperor Smeat]

On one hand, Riddle vs. Styles was very good.

On the other hand, :lol: at Styles losing his first match after winning the IC belt.

Also guess SD's newest creative plan is to just eat up a ton of time with Styles each week since that was almost 40 minutes between his opening segment and non-title match.

[erickman]

well thats a win wwe would like to take back

[Emperor Smeat]

That Miz TV segment with Mandy and Sonya might have been the best one since Miz started doing them with Morrison.

[erickman]

take the mics away from baily and sasha

[Mr. Nerfect]

I haven't watched the show this week, but I saw clips of Sasha and Bayley on SmackDown a few weeks ago with Alexa and Nikki, and it was HORRID.

Sasha is looking great, but her acting is not.

[Emperor Smeat]

Show pretty much went downhill after Styles vs. Riddle.

[Emperor Smeat]

Not sure if its simply just a lighting thing or pants design but Nikki Cross' thong outline is way too visible through her pants. Now that I think about it, that might have been the case these past few weeks as well or whenever she switched to tighter pants.

[Mr. Nerfect]

She gets what business she's in.

[Emperor Smeat]

Guess Strowman's new gimmick is he just randomly interrupts stuff with his entrance these days.

[Emperor Smeat]

Firefly Fun House segment was a bit boring.

Outside of Riddle's debut and match, this week's episode wasn't that good nor really worth watching overall.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I fucking hate Braun Strowman. Can I just say that? I didn't get the hype back in 2016/2017 when he was really ramping up. I didn't get the impression he was that over. I think he's shit in the ring. Just fucking no. I felt like saying that again.

Can they just turn him heel and make him an entitled "I made myself rich, you just need to work harder" gimmick with JBL as his manager already?

[Jordan]

I am enjoying the Bruce Springer product since Backlash. I thought this was s good 'sode. AJ and Riddle was awesome, one of the best WWE matches in a long time (aside from Orton/Edge), and The New Day/Lucha House Party was really good too. I love the Sheamus/Hardy angle, classic WWE, classic Bruce. I think Braun is such a shit WWE Champion though. Bray was good but Braun with the belt has been like 10x worse on the mic than ever.

[Gerard]

Great debut by riddle, on his first move he drops styles on the back of his head with a German suplex. :|

[Evil Vito]

With Bray switching back to his Wyatt Family gimmick, wonder if this is them giving The Fiend a mercy killing after a year, or if he's gonna be switching between three characters now.

Have him go full Foley and enter the Rumble three times.

[XL]

The later I’d suggest. Tries to dethrone Braun as Cult Wyatt but is unsuccessful. Then they do a match versus The Fiend.

I sort of like it. It’s allowed them to elongated the feud without having to job anyone or book a non-finish.

[Emperor Smeat]

I'd assume Bray's Wyatt Family persona is only coming back for this feud because of the past connection between Bray and Braun. It doesn't really have any lasting value unless Bray is forming a new Wyatt Family.

Do feel like its a mistake to bring back Bray's old gimmick if he's just going to quickly lose with it. That was the main problem with his original gimmick where he just became someone who was all talk and no bite when it came to his big matches and feuds.

[Jordan]

They have nothing else for Braun after Bray... Obviously Braun was never the plan.

[Emperor Smeat]

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_9_l/public/all/2020/06/20200625_SD_Undertaker_FC--32636ce0260b3ece854f6ad8e9426074.jpg

Friday Night SmackDown preview, June 26, 2020: A special “Tribute To The Undertaker” tonight on SmackDown

The special “Tribute To The Undertaker” will include the first television airing of the astonishing Boneyard Match between The Dead Man and AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36.

SmackDown Preview : Quick Hits

A special “Tribute To The Undertaker” this week on SmackDown



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tonight's SmackDown will be a tribute to The <a href="https://twitter.com/undertaker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@undertaker</a>. Since we only have 2 hours, that gives us just enough time to show three of his entrances in their entirety. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReasonsToWatchSmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ReasonsToWatchSmackDown</a></p>&mdash; WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECreative_ish/status/1276515091408498688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Supposedly around half of tonight's show is just going to be Taker Tribute stuff with half of that time likely spent on the re-airing of the Boneyard match. Only other people revealed to be getting notable stuff tonight is Jeff Hardy and Matt Riddle according to PWI.

205 Live seems like it might be pretty good tonight and maybe shorter than usual.

The feud between Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Tony Nese will continue on tonight’s WWE 205 Live episode. WWE just announced that Swerve vs. Nese will take place on tonight’s 205 Live show, which airs on the WWE Network after SmackDown on FOX goes off the air. It was previously reported that this week’s 205 Live episode will feature just one match. The episode was reportedly taped earlier this afternoon at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. WWE has not announced any other bouts for tonight.

[Emperor Smeat]

Opening tribute video for Undertaker was pretty great. If there is one area where WWE excels a lot in its with video packages.

Boneyard match is next which probably means nothing new or notable until like 8:45-9PM.

[Emperor Smeat]

Women's Fatal 4-way was decent.

Cross vs. Bayley for the SD Women's title at Extreme Rules should be good.

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LMAO at Cesaro/Nakamura they put no effort into this and couldn’t care less. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SmackDown</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SmackDownOnFox?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SmackDownOnFox</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThankYouTaker?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThankYouTaker</a> <a href="https://t.co/kO8TVQ8x1d">pic.twitter.com/kO8TVQ8x1d</a></p>&mdash; ��█♂️ (@ScottyStyles33) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottyStyles33/status/1276672148661133312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Mr. Nerfect]

Eh, I kind of hate this sort of stuff. Have babyfaces out there or people that Taker knows and gives a shit about. But it's just like, why have The Miz and Morrison out there clapping and shit? Who does that help? I mean, it doesn't *kill* anything, but it's just...fucking weird. Guys who put too much into it look shit, guys who don't put anything into it look shit. What does "respect" look like in this situation?

[slik]

no sheamus on sd it seems...interesting...

jeff hardy now feuding w Baron Corbin 'all of a sudden'...

[erickman]

no sheamus on sd it seems...interesting...

jeff hardy now feuding w Baron Corbin 'all of a sudden'...

yeah i bet sheamus has it

[Emperor Smeat]

Braun wanting a spooky Wyatt cinematic match against Bray explains the new tagline for Extreme Rules.

[erickman]

let jb produce the match it should be good like the boneyard

[Mr. Nerfect]

Braun wanting a spooky Wyatt cinematic match against Bray explains the new tagline for Extreme Rules.

What's the new tagline?

[Emperor Smeat]

"The Horror Show"

[Emperor Smeat]

This week's episode ended up being pretty enjoyable overall. Helped that like half of it was just the Boneyard match and Taker tribute stuff since it meant less time for the show to drag in quality.

Not really digging the Undertaker teases Corbin was doing since already dreading the idea of Taker deciding to change his mind and have another "one last match."

[Mr. Nerfect]

"The Horror Show"

That feels like a WCW tagline. Didn't they promote one of their Halloween Havocs (one of the infamously bad ones -- take your pick) as "Witness the horror" or something like that?

[slik]

Missing from SD

Sheamus
OTIS
Mandy
AJ Styles
DBry
Sonya Deville

hmmm

[slik]

Why non-title...


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Horror Show at WWE <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ExtremeRules?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ExtremeRules</a> will become even more terrifying when Universal Champion <a href="https://twitter.com/BraunStrowman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BraunStrowman</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/WWEBrayWyatt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWEBrayWyatt</a> meet in a non-title Wyatt Swamp Fight! <a href="https://t.co/1p18kZwNVV">https://t.co/1p18kZwNVV</a></p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1276699284642107392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Droford]

Johnny Mundo huh Cole

[Mr. Nerfect]

Lol, non-title. More WCW style stuff.