WWE Friday Night Smackdown August Thread - 8/28/20 feat. Contract Signing with a Monster, a Dog, & Creepy Guy

[Emperor Smeat]

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_9_l/public/all/2020/08/20200805_SDMatchPreview_tunein_FC_bray--ff4ee5c1153960736683754790b4bb7b.jpg

Friday Night SmackDown preview, August 7, 2020: Bray Wyatt heads back to The Firefly Fun House after attack on Alexa Bliss

Bray Wyatt returns to The Firefly Funhouse, Sonya Deville joins "The Dirt Sheet," Matt Riddle battles Sheamus, Jeff Hardy takes on King Corbin and more as SmackDown airs on FOX at 8/7 C.

SmackDown Preview : Quick Hits

Bray Wyatt heads back to The Firefly Fun House after attack on Alexa Bliss
Matt Riddle set to put skills to the test against Sheamus
Jeff Hardy looks to continue redemption tour against King Corbin
“The Dirt Sheet” returns with special correspondent Sonya Deville



Preview and card for tonight's 205 Live:
The Most Exciting Hour of Television will once again be must-see TV this week, as Tony Nese throws down with Danny Burch, while Ever-Rise look to get back on the winning track.

Chase Parker and Matt Martel are mired in a bit of a slump, and they suffered another tough loss when they recently collided with returning NXT Tag Team Champions Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel of Imperium on the black-and-gold brand. Despite not getting the results in recent weeks, Ever-Rise have flashed quite the mean streak, often attacking their opponents after the bell or dishing out 2-on-1 beatdowns.

Can Ever-Rise use their newfound aggression to pick up a much-needed win when they return to tag team action on the purple brand?

Plus, Tony Nese will square off with Danny Burch of The Brit-Am Brawlers in what is sure to be a hard-hitting singles bout.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks for The Premier Athlete. He and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott were at each other’s throats during and after the eight-Superstar NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, but Nese has seemingly extended the olive branch to “Swerve,” watching his back and twice pairing up with him in tag team competition. After winning their first match as a tandem, however, Nese and Scott were defeated by Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza of Legado del Fantasma last week, and The Premier Athlete took the pinfall.

Burch, meanwhile, was on the receiving end of a Karrion Kross beatdown on Wednesday’s NXT, but The Brit-Am Brawlers simply don’t say “no” to a fight. Despite absorbing tremendous punishment from Kross just two days ago, will Burch be up to the task of tangling with the former Cruiserweight Champion?

Find out on 205 Live, streaming exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network tonight at 10/9 C!


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tune in to see your favorite Superstars in action...until <a href="https://twitter.com/VinceMcMahon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VinceMcMahon</a> loses interest in them <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/1291805659592359936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

That might be the first time WWE has put the FOX logo and start time on the main preview image for SD. Don't remember then ever doing that before for a SD show in the past nor for RAW either.

[Emperor Smeat]

In 1 week, WWE managed to turn a potential interesting idea of a Shorty G & King Corbin partnership and heel turn with Shorty G into a big pile of nothing.

Riddle vs. Sheamus was pretty good but suffered from WWE's recent fascination to have every main roster show contain at least one DQ or non-finish ending to a match.

[Emperor Smeat]

This current Miz Tv segment is on track to be the worst one ever and that's saying something since Miz TV has had a bunch of big duds before.

Like "quickly change the channel" tier bad in terms of quality. In the realm of "Bayley This Is Your Life" and "Old Day" for all-time bad.

Heavy Machinery showing up at the end to wreck Miz & Morrison was the only real good thing about that whole segment.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Braun's big return is him showing up via a video promo on the big tron.

Literally nothing about him changed except now his voice sounds deeper.

[Emperor Smeat]

DQ/non-finish tracker for the night is now at 2 after what Sheamus just did during the Hardy vs. Corbin match.

For some reference, there has only been 3 matches on the show so far.

Corbin getting the multi-feud and segment treatment recently for the blue brand has been dumb.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at even Sheamus vs. Corbin had a screwy finish tonight. At least Riddle didn't cause a DQ ending.

[Emperor Smeat]

:| Steph inserting herself again in the Sasha & Bayley "Double Champion" storyline.

Think I'm going to go crazy from watching tonight's show despite it actually being pretty good in terms of ring action.

Its not RAW level of weirdness or bad but the non-wrestling stuff has been very hit-or-miss tonight.

[Emperor Smeat]

Whelp its a lock someone from NXT is winning that Triple Brand Women's Battle Royale to be Bayley's challenger at SummerSlam.

Also shows how bad the SD women's division has become if it needs to have RAW and NXT talent involved to find a potential new challenger.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Steph vs. Sasha makes perfect sense within the confines of that company.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Miz & Morrison vs. Heavy Machinery ending in DQ solely because Mandy and Sonya ended up randomly beating up each other.

Short hair Mandy sort of looks like Renee.

[Emperor Smeat]

This Retribution faction "taking over" Smackdown ended up being just a lamer version of Nexus debut and take over of RAW.

[xrodmuc316]

This Retribution faction "taking over" Smackdown ended up being just a lamer version of Nexus debut and take over of RAW.

That was utterly pointless.

Nexus was all known characters thanks to NXT.

This is just stupid.

The only possible way this pays off is if it was all a swerve by Vince and Khan all along, and that is a bunch of AEW guys under those masks.

[Emperor Smeat]

This week's episode was mostly decent.

Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus, Cesaro vs. Lince Dorado, and Jeff Hardy vs. King Corbin matches are the only real stuff I'd recommend from this show since they all were pretty good despite two of them ending in DQs.

Everything else was either horrible or mostly skippable.

[Evil Vito]

The only possible way this pays off is if it was all a swerve by Vince and Khan all along, and that is a bunch of AEW guys under those masks.

lol funny you say that, I just watched it and the guy going into the camera yelling "THIS IS OUR HOUSE NOW!" legit sounds just like Sammy Guevara

[Triple A]

idk man

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QIdM5ZT_CFA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Triple A]

Not that this angle is "good" anyway but WWE's production really makes everything seem incredibly shitty and cheap looking

[Emperor Smeat]

The guy who went right up the cameraman is probably Joaquin Wilde since his face looks familiar and same for the voice.

The frizzy hair woman might be Vanessa Bourne since I don't recall anyone else that had that type of hair in NXT. Chelsea Green is probably the other woman considering she had been rumored to be getting a call-up for a while now.

[Volare]

I came in to say Mandy with shorter hair is still a fucking 11/10

[Triple A]

The guy who went right up the cameraman is probably Joaquin Wilde since his face looks familiar and same for the voice.

Isn't he already part of Fantasma's new stable

[Emperor Smeat]

Yeah but wouldn't be surprised if he ended up being put in this new faction since WWE makes odd decisions a lot of the time.

Also wouldn't be surprised if some of the masked people are just placeholders for other people meant for the group as a way to throw off some guessing. Like if recent speculation about Dominik Dijakovic being a potential member is true, none of the people shown on SD were his height.

[slik]

Everyone looks 4 ft tall

[slik]

is the chainsaw blade made out of paper


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RETRIBUTION IS TEARING THE PLACE APART!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SmackDown</a> <a href="https://t.co/d7UyDD4I6b">pic.twitter.com/d7UyDD4I6b</a></p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1291916952450072576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Mr. Nerfect]

Retribution is more Aces & Eights than Nexus. Bad gimmick. Don’t care.

[Fignuts]

In 1 week, WWE managed to turn a potential interesting idea of a Shorty G & King Corbin partnership and heel turn with Shorty G into a big pile of nothing.

Riddle vs. Sheamus was pretty good but suffered from WWE's recent fascination to have every main roster show contain at least one DQ or non-finish ending to a match.

I suspected the Gable turn was done more for Corbin than Gable. This pretty much confirmed that.

[erickman]

Retribution is more Aces & Eights than Nexus. Bad gimmick. Don’t care.

yeah i agree the people that came up aces & eights are working for wwe now. i am ready for devon to get demasked

[XL]

Retribution is more Aces & Eights than Nexus. Bad gimmick. Don’t care.

This is already a few rungs below Aces & Eights. I don’t remember anyone hitting the mat with a baseball bat or “lead” pipe during their run.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I dunno about worse. It's pretty bad though. So inauthentic. Feels like an AEW gimmick. That guy even sounds like Sammy Guevara.

[Emperor Smeat]

I suspected the Gable turn was done more for Corbin than Gable. This pretty much confirmed that.

Yeah. Seems like a big waste since that's like the 3nd interesting thing in a row they quickly yanked or deflated from him.

First was the rumor of him and Ali forming a new tag team, then him and/or Ali being the hacker, and now this potential heel turn resulting in him getting demolished a week later just so Corbin could have 2 feuds going on at once.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Gable shouldn’t be a heel. Dude’s a great babyface. Just use him. It’s not hard.

[Fignuts]

Dude is insanely shredded too. Great look despite his size.

[Droford]

the thing about the end of SD that bugged me was no one, not even some low level roster guys came out to defend SD. Usually in similar angles someone comes out if only to get beat up. Oh also the guys on the opposite side of the crowd didnt do anything when they were beating up the woman

[Mr. Nerfect]

Dude is insanely shredded too. Great look despite his size.

Could be really marketable. He's a guy they're really missing the boat on. It's him, Nakamura and either Kalisto or Gran Metalik, in my opinion. Depending on which one they'd rather push. Hopefully Bryan sorts that shit out on SmackDown.

[screech]

Watching this now. Bray Wyatt is so good.

Kicking off with Riddle vs Sheamus, nice.

[screech]

Irish Curse backbreaker always looks brutal

[screech]

Good match, liked that Gable got involved to keep that story going (though it seems that this turn may not do much for Gable). Always good to see a Brogue Kick too. I like that they mention the winner's purse on commentary. I don't know if that's true, but it's a nice touch.

Seems like we're heading to a Corbin/Sheamus feud or at least match. That...could be good?

[screech]

Skipped most of the Miz TV segment. That was not good.

[screech]

Love the Lucha House Party theme

[screech]

This may be a dumb thing to be miffed about, but I don't like that they say guys "won the gold" when the belts are not gold.

[screech]

Lince/Cesaro was good. Admittedly not super familiar with the Lucha House Party but I've enjoyed them these last few weeks.

[screech]

This Braun promo is dumb.

[screech]

Man I wish they would stop cutting to the audience for reaction shots.

[screech]

Didn't think this Corbin/Sheamus match would happen this fast. So Gable turning was for what then?

[screech]

(I have not read the thread before running my own commentary.)

[screech]

V excited about this Big E singles run

[screech]

I guess the tri-brand battle royal makes sense the way Steph framed it (via Bayley making enemies).

It's still kinda dumb, though. If the brands are supposed to be separate, why is anyone floating?

[screech]

So Retribution is lame Nexus? (I did not see any Aces & Eights stuff so I can't compare.)

Feel like they tried too hard to "act tough" and came off sounding dumb as shit - like Ortiz in AEW at the beginning. When you try to look "hard," you usually end up looking like a doofus.

[Emperor Smeat]

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_9_l/public/all/2020/08/20200812_SDMatchPreview_tunein_FC_bray_braun--0cc3adee2100f956b6a1a1d28498a3fb.jpg

Friday Night SmackDown preview, August 14, 2020: Braun Strowman promises a monstrous confrontation with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Braun Strowman vows to confront "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, a Triple Brand Battle Royal will be held to determine Bayley's SummerSlam challenger and much more.

SmackDown Preview : Quick Hits

Braun Strowman promises a monstrous confrontation with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Triple Brand Battle Royal announced to determine Bayley’s SummerSlam challenger
Big E looks for another win to build momentum with clash against John Morrison
Alexa Bliss will sit down for an interview to discuss her run-ins with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt



Preview and card for tonight's 205 Live show:
Tonight on a must-see edition of 205 Live, Jake Atlas and Ariya Daivari will slug it out in singles competition after a heated exchange on social media, and Ever-Rise will battle Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza of Legado del Fantasma.

Daivari Dinero has wasted no time making enemies since his return to the purple brand, arrogantly taunting his fellow Cruiserweights with a selfie video from his yacht several weeks ago and blindsiding Oney Lorcan with a savage assault last week.

Atlas, who is starting to make a name for himself on 205 Live and NXT, took exception with Daivari’s dastardly attack and called him out on Twitter, resulting in Daivari laying out a challenge and Atlas immediately accepting.

Will Daivari pick up a victory in his first match since March, or will Atlas claim an impressive win and silence the antagonistic Daivari Dinero?

Ever since aligning with NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, Wilde & Mendoza have carried themselves with an unmistakable new swagger that has propelled them to new heights. The wins just keep coming for Legado del Fantasma, but they’ll receive another challenge tonight in the form of Ever-Rise.

Chase Parker & Matt Martel broke out of a mini-slump with a much-needed tag team victory last week, which seemed to raise their spirits considerably, as they quickly labeled themselves “the best team in 205 Live history.” As a result, they issued a challenge to any tag team that was willing to accept, and Wilde & Mendoza have answered the call.

Check out these two can’t-miss matches tonight at 10/9 C, streaming on the award-winning WWE Network!


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We don't care if you like this week's episode of SmackDown or you hate it. All that matters is that <a href="https://twitter.com/VinceMcMahon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VinceMcMahon</a> can't make any more changes to 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/1294299691535028225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Guess the FOX logo is going to be in SD's main preview image for shows from now on. Wonder what was the reason for the sudden change.

[Emperor Smeat]

Guess WWE got bored of doing those cool show intro videos that ran down what was in store for the night's show.

[xrodmuc316]

Damnit, I was about to say Big E vs Morrison was gonna be a good match.

[Emperor Smeat]

Either Retribution suddenly grew in numbers or WWE still isn't sure who to put in the group since a few of them seemed to look different.

[xrodmuc316]

So Retribution is lame Nexus? (I did not see any Aces & Eights stuff so I can't compare.)

Feel like they tried too hard to "act tough" and came off sounding dumb as shit - like Ortiz in AEW at the beginning. When you try to look "hard," you usually end up looking like a doofus.

Honestly, they feel more like a lame version of Riot Squad, when they would just walk around backstage making a mess.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at the "foot clan from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" diss by Big E.

Way better for Retribution to be compared to them than the current online running gag of them being Aces & 5'8''

[Emperor Smeat]

Jericho and Scott Steiner were way better and funnier when it came to ridiculing people entering the ring as guest ring announcers.

[Emperor Smeat]

Asuka pulling off a Mandy Rumble save spot via Bayley & Banks was cool.

Asuka also winning it and getting two title matches at SummerSlam is very interesting.

Battle Royal itself was decent though.

[Emperor Smeat]

Mandy just busted out her best ever promo.

Also a hair vs. hair match between her and Sonya sounds interesting. Wonder if whoever loses that match stays bald for the rest of their WWE career like what happened with Big Show and Kurt Angle.

[erickman]

abyss his 1st wwe sighting

[xrodmuc316]

Holy Shit they just had Joseph Park on air lol

[Emperor Smeat]

Whatever potential there might have been in a Shorty G heel run, WWE decide to quickly wreck it in just 2 weeks.

[erickman]

let him keep the park name surprised

[Emperor Smeat]

What's with Hardy being in back to back feuds that involve piss in some form.

First it was the piss jar throw segment with Sheamus and now him interrupting Styles' new P.I.S.S. ranking system.

[Emperor Smeat]

Don't think Jeff Hardy knows how stats work since just writing your name on a board doesn't automatically make you #2 in the standings.

:lol: at Lucha House Party stealing the SD tag titles. Must have gotten that idea from Sasha.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Don't think Jeff Hardy knows how stats work since just writing your name on a board doesn't automatically make you #2 in the standings.

:lol: at Lucha House Party stealing the SD tag titles. Must have gotten that idea from Sasha.

That's how you get a title shot in AEW.

[Emperor Smeat]

Seems odd to not just wait an extra week to do Hardy vs. Styles for the IC belt at SummerSlam instead of at next week's go-home show.

2nd time that type of situation has happened with Styles for the belt.

[Emperor Smeat]

First it was Orton's punt to Flair and now Braun's toss of Alexa that got the blacked out treatment this week.

Also think Strowman just snapped now so all that's left is a submission move and his transformation as a badass submission machine will be complete.

This week's episode was mostly good overall. Asuka winning the Battle Royal and Mandy Rose's promo were the only really interesting stuff but the rest of the show was fine in general.

[Evil Vito]

lol watched the Retribution stuff. Santana Garrett definitely was one of the women this week but that doesn't really matter, like 20 people were running out.

Definitely going more and more towards Aces and Eights territory where you'll wind up with a handful of people getting unmasked that are the featured players with this overarching group of anonymous masked goons running in occasionally.

[Ruien]

Why isn't Big E with New Day anymore?

[Triple A]

Why isn't Big E with New Day anymore?

He still is with them but they're giving him a singles run. They are doing an injury angle with Kofi so he's out for a few weeks, and Xavier is legit injured

[Emperor Smeat]

Why isn't Big E with New Day anymore?

Both Kofi and Xavier are currently out with injuries.

[Gerard]

Bald Strowman....

[Jordan]

Seems odd to not just wait an extra week to do Hardy vs. Styles for the IC belt at SummerSlam instead of at next week's go-home show.

2nd time that type of situation has happened with Styles for the belt.

Smackdown on Fox likely draws far more viewers and has a lot more at stake than a WWE Network PPV. I don't see this a demotion.

Also, Abyss should play AJ's version of Heyman, as Slik said to me "a character that constantly is caught in lies" would be hilarious.

Also Who are these kids with baggy black clothes?

[Blonde Moment]

Mandy just busted out her best ever promo.

Also a hair vs. hair match between her and Sonya sounds interesting. Wonder if whoever loses that match stays bald for the rest of their WWE career like what happened with Big Show and Kurt Angle.

Think it would be interesting for Mandy to come out Bald for the match

[Droford]

let him keep the park name surprised

I'm rooting for him to become the Masked Chasm

[Droford]

lol watched the Retribution stuff. Santana Garrett definitely was one of the women this week but that doesn't really matter, like 20 people were running out.

Definitely going more and more towards Aces and Eights territory where you'll wind up with a handful of people getting unmasked that are the featured players with this overarching group of anonymous masked goons running in occasionally.

It kinda sounds like Dark Order in AEW too without the violence

[Emperor Smeat]

Smackdown on Fox likely draws far more viewers and has a lot more at stake than a WWE Network PPV. I don't see this a demotion.


True but just feels a bit odd to be taking away a high profile match from a PPV this close to it.

They did the same thing with the IC tournament with not having the Finals be on Backlash and instead did it a couple days earlier on SD's go-home show as a ratings pop move.

Assuming they don't do a quick rematch, that would be 3 straight PPVs where the IC belt didn't have a match on the card.

[screech]

Watching this now. Retribution angle still seems dumb as shit. Opening video did not help.

Really into this Big E singles run. I like when they have those little boxes in the corner during entrances for promos.

[screech]

Also Corey Graves is not very good.

[screech]

Fuckin hell the camera cuts during this Retribution run-in

[screech]

Tri-branded battle royal has been fun, as battle royals are.

Looks like we'll be seeing Peyton/Billie vs. Ruby/Liv. That'll be neat.

[screech]

Still kinda dumb/messy to have all three brands compete for the SD title.

[screech]

Final two are from RAW - for the right to compete for the SD Women's Title.

[screech]

Wait, Payback is one week after SummerSlam? I think the game is over.

[screech]

Asuka winning two belts in one night would be sick.

[screech]

Damn that was a good Mandy promo

[screech]

Chad Gable's theme is pretty sweet.

[screech]

lol so why did Gable kinda turn heel only to essentially get squashed by Sheamus twice?

[screech]

oh shit is that Abyss getting yelled at by AJ?

[screech]

haha P.I.S.S. - Heisenberg approved, I'm sure.

[screech]

Jeff/AJ for the IC title? Sign me up.

[screech]

:lol: Park's facial expressions while he was holding the board

[screech]

Had to do actual work [and watch animated Batman on my lunch break]. Big E vs. Morrison was good.

Sheamus just hitting every babyface with a Brogue Kick is a good little gimmick.

[screech]

I don't think I have ever liked a Braun promo.

[screech]

Textbook military press that we...didn't get to see? Weird.

[screech]

Braun laughing not helping

[ClockShot]

In a sick and twisted way, I'll probably watch the first few minutes just to see how this experiment turns out.

All it needs is someone to hold up a good sign in front of their web cam and it's all over.

[Emperor Smeat]

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_9_l/public/all/2020/08/20200814_SDMatchPreview_AJ_JeffHardyTuneIn_FC--c0f8fb086e9a5259ce3145d5f2a58936.jpg


Friday Night SmackDown preview, August 21, 2020: AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy set for championship clash in WWE ThunderDome

AJ Styles looks to defend the Intercontinental Championship against Jeff Hardy, Lucha House Party challenges Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles and more as the blue brand heads to WWE ThunderDome.

SmackDown Preview : Quick Hits
AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy set for championship clash in WWE ThunderDome
Braun Strowman out to deliver one final message before SummerSlam
Lucha House Party look to dethrone Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro in SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
Big E looks to pay back Sheamus in latest Singles challenge
Mr. McMahon to kick off SmackDown from WWE ThunderDome


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QzQNbJ2RUFk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Come for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWEThunderDome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWEThunderDome</a>, stay for the...uh...um...<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/1296921218575196160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Preview and card for tonight's episode of 205 Live:


Tonight’s must-see edition of 205 Live will feature a pair of exciting singles battles, as Drake Maverick squares off with Tehuti Miles, while Jake Atlas tangles with Tony Nese.

Not long ago, a victorious Maverick looked directly into the camera on the purple brand and vowed to become the NXT Cruiserweight Champion, and after catching a beating at the hands of Undisputed ERA nine days ago, Maverick will be hungry to turn in a strong performance and work his way into title contention. A win over the acrobatic Miles would go a long way in bolstering Maverick’s chances to challenge Santos Escobar, but it won’t come easy.

Tehuti has taken 205 Live by storm, and even though he came up short in a pair of recent barnburners against Mansoor, Miles has proven to be a can’t-miss Superstar every time he steps into the squared circle.
205 Live

Atlas seemed to be on his way to a victory against the returning Ariya Daivari last week, but Daivari Dinero took down his newfound rival with nefarious methods, thumbing Atlas in the eye when the official was distracted to get the win. After the controversial loss, Atlas will look to bounce back against Nese, whose intentions remain open to speculation from the WWE Universe.

The Premier Athlete made an enemy of Isaiah “Swerve” Scott during the NXT Cruiserweight Title Tournament by costing him a chance to fight for the championship, but he subsequently aligned with “Swerve” and seemingly tried to bury the hatchet when they joined forces to battle some common enemies in tag team action. Nevertheless, Scott recently paired up with Breezango on NXT, so Nese is looking to refocus on singles competition.

Find out what will happen on what is sure to be a thrilling edition of 205 Live, streaming at 10/9 C on the award-winning WWE Network!

[xrodmuc316]

In a sick and twisted way, I'll probably watch the first few minutes just to see how this experiment turns out.

All it needs is someone to hold up a good sign in front of their web cam and it's all over.

100% this. I am looking forward to this Smackdown more than I have looked forward to Smackdown in at least a year.

I'm sure the actual show won't be great, but the preview of the setup looked pretty cool, and I'm thinking at least 2 virtual crowd members are gonna get booted for doing something inappropriate. It will be pure comedy.

[erickman]

so who will be master blaster

[ClockShot]

so who will be master blaster

Pfft. I want to know who's playing Tina Turner.

[Emperor Smeat]

WWE wasn't joking when they said the new ThunderDome was going to give a WrestleMania-like feel for entrances.

Still give it a month tops before it loses its luster like every other flashy production change or idea WWE has had to pop the ratings in recent years.

[ClockShot]

And, just a reminder of the Law of Thunderdome.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pmRAiUPdRjk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[ClockShot]

All this because Vince got a bad case of Cabin Fever.

[ClockShot]

CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2 CAMERA 1 CAMERA 2

[ClockShot]

About to have a seizure.

[screech]

I hate this already

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at the Miz showing up extra late for the big brawl.

Going to be lame or anti-climactic if it ends up he's the "higher power" of the group.

[ClockShot]

Webcam fans aren't really into this.

Just watching. Like regular folk.

[Blonde Moment]

Still, not a bad idea

[Emperor Smeat]

Did the crowd screens freeze or something, nobody in the virtual crowd seems to be moving or reacting.

[ClockShot]

Wouldn't be surprised if all these screens literally just popped a breaker at the arena and had to cut to commercial quick.

Gotta be using alot of juice right now.

[ClockShot]

OH SHIT! JEFF HARDY GOT NANCY KERRIGAN'D!

[Emperor Smeat]

About 30 minutes in and the crowd stuff for the ThunderDome feels like what I had for concerns going in.

Very mixed bag in terms of visuals since in some cam shots, the crowd looks great but in other cam shots, the crowd looks bad and especially during zoomed in action shots from the hard cam side.

Show itself so far doesn't really feel that special for all the hype WWE did going in.

[Emperor Smeat]

Ouch at Metalik splatting on the floor from that botched diving hurricanrana.

[Emperor Smeat]

Guess the party is about to end for the Lucha House Party.

[slik]

Visual of Thunderdome is good....but then I heard Michael Cole's voice doing his usual robotic, fake emotional shtick.

Haven't seen too much shakeycam so far, so that's good.

[Triple A]

This is fine I guess and the fake crowd noise makes it more lively, but already don't really feel like watching anymore

Michael Cole is unbearable... makes everything sound incredibly phony and rehearsed...

the Miz fucking sucks... most annoying shit... I hate him

[Triple A]

They really should use crowd noise from the actual crowd...

[Triple A]

Can't watch this... all the dialogue is insane...

[Triple A]

How can anyone think WWE is better than AEW...

[Triple A]

Fuck Michael Cole...................

[Emperor Smeat]

Wonder if WWE sends like a "please wait" message or just a blank screen to their virtual fan viewers whenever they switch over to entrance visuals for the crowd side screens. Feels that could get annoying to deal with as a virtual viewer after a while.

This interview segment with Bayley and Banks is pretty bad so far.

[slik]

Still feels like a show booked for 10 year olds when the majority of viewers are adults....

[screech]

Fuck Michael Cole...................

He really is awful.

[Emperor Smeat]

Wonder who Bayley pissed off backstage recently since she really has become the punching bag of the Banks & Bayley team in recent weeks.

[slik]

Michael Cole is a robot that repeats a series of buzzwords and marketing phrases

[Emperor Smeat]

:| at WWE turning a real life traumatizing stalking incident into a cheap storyline heat plug for Sonya.

That was one hell of a slap by Sonya though.

[Triple A]

Sonya Deville is pretty good on the mic... never really heard her "cut a promo" before... seems better than basically every member of the roster

[erickman]

loser goes to aew

[slik]

Sonya way better on the mic than the other women

[slik]

loser goes to aew

Sonya is probably leaving to focus on her acting career, she's been studying (which is probably why her promos are good) and signed w/ a big agency to get her work.

[Triple A]

Sonya leaving to pursue acting?

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Holy shit somebody is sleeping in Thunder Dome <a href="https://t.co/lw5xulIh4d">pic.twitter.com/lw5xulIh4d</a></p>&mdash; FAMOUS ARTIST ����█������█������ (@ilyassWillDraw) <a href="https://twitter.com/ilyassWillDraw/status/1296966812152868866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

:lol:

[erickman]

Sonya is probably leaving to focus on her acting career, she's been studying (which is probably why her promos are good) and signed w/ a big agency to get her work.

does she need short hair for the acting part, that would be the only reason for hair vs hair

[screech]

does she need short hair for the acting part, that would be the only reason for hair vs hair

Apparently it's better for some actors to have short hair in case they need to wear wigs.

[Emperor Smeat]

Either WWE fibbed regarding the massive demand for invites or have gutted the pool of fans for tonight's show since others online have noticed fans are being repeated on multiple screens.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They have the same person on multiple screens at once. <a href="https://t.co/AFhf8PG8NF">pic.twitter.com/AFhf8PG8NF</a></p>&mdash; Gravy Vampire (@babyhippoDan) <a href="https://twitter.com/babyhippoDan/status/1296968266108239873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Hardy winning the IC belt via shenanigans.

Styles IC reign ended up being somewhat of a dud overall.

Match itself was pretty good though.

[screech]

Seems like a lot of the fans are just waving to the camera like people did when they saw themselves on the tron.

So it is almost like normal!

[Emperor Smeat]

Kayla Braxton and The Miz are the hosts for Talking Smack's revival?

No wonder Renee Young decided to suddenly bail on WWE.

[screech]

Love Kayla, but I don't like The Miz in that spot. Seems like he will just be super annoying.

[screech]

Triple A can't wait though, I'm sure.

[Emperor Smeat]

Love Kayla, but I don't like The Miz in that spot. Seems like he will just be super annoying.

Yeah Kayla is a good choice but doubt Miz is going to be able to recreate the same magic Bryan had that helped make Talking Smack feel really special and not just another typical WWE style show.

The rumor of Xavier Woods being the male host would have been a much better choice.

[Emperor Smeat]

Bray came way too close to having his butt crack show on tv during that brawl with Bray.

If his pants went an inch lower or bent his back a bit lower, would have had a plumber's crack incident.

[screech]

The rumor of Xavier Woods being the male host would have been a much better choice.

That's because Xavier Woods is awesome.

[screech]

Who is that bald guy who was banging on the ambulance door? He is always backstage doing things.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at the lame ending to the show.

Firefly Fun House segment and brawl were decent but that ending was way too comical for the Fiend's character.

This week's episode was average at best but nothing really special considering all the hype surrounding the ThunderDome. Better go-home show than RAW's was but that's not really saying much since they were both pretty weak in terms of entertainment.

[Emperor Smeat]

Who is that bald guy who was banging on the ambulance door? He is always backstage doing things.

Adam Pearce. One of Triple H's guys in management and current co-lead creative of 205 Live.

[Emperor Smeat]

Yeah Kayla is a good choice but doubt Miz is going to be able to recreate the same magic Bryan had that helped make Talking Smack feel really special and not just another typical WWE style show.

The rumor of Xavier Woods being the male host would have been a much better choice.

Nevermind Cole screwed up when he mentioned the Miz as the co-host.

Xavier Woods is the actual co-host. Didn't notice they made the official announcement earlier in the day.

[screech]

Well that's a good thing.

[Triple A]

Apparently Rose vs. Deville is no longer hair vs. hair... the no dq loser leaves WWE stipulations replaced the hair vs. hair match

[Fignuts]

Too bad. Deville had a unique offense and could talk on the mic. She's still a bit green, but you caould see her steadily improving over the years.

Can't blame her though. All that time and they did fuck all with her outside of being Mandy's sidekick.

[slik]

This Reddit post accurate describes how I feel about WWE commentary

https://i.postimg.cc/ncCJyqG1/Screenshot-2020-08-21-at-11-54-58-PM.png

[Droford]

Miz last week acting funny on commentary after Retribution left plus him showing up late tonight has me worried he's involved somehow

[Droford]

Mandy loses and Otis loses his shit and turns heel on Tucker and cashes in mitb on someone since Ive no idea whether Bray or Braun is supposed to be the face.

[Droford]

I'm concerned the 'you'll never see it coming" tag line is literal in that something WWE thinks would be shocking is going to happen.

[ClockShot]

Yeah. I went to bed just around 9. Was getting a headache watching this.

I was keeping an eye open for hot chicks on the webcams so I can just randomly say "SHOW YOUR TITS"! Or a sign that says "I'd rather watch AEW." And, since Smeat was kind enough post the tweets of people sleeping and fans on duplicate screens, they might have to go back to the drawing board.

Simple solution. Chop the screens. Zero reason to have them stretch from one side of the arena to the other. Put them in the center of the main ring camera frame, go a few extra feet on each side. Make them larger so you can see the fans, but also to put 1 fan in each and not duplicate.

[Emperor Smeat]

Nevermind Cole screwed up when he mentioned the Miz as the co-host.

Xavier Woods is the actual co-host. Didn't notice they made the official announcement earlier in the day.

Turns out Cole was actually right in the end and didn't flub his lines since The Miz was the co-host of the revival's debut episode despite WWE announcing Woods earlier.

The amount of times in recent years where WWE announced something online and then did something entirely different or forgot about it afterwards has been a bit ridiculous.

[Emperor Smeat]

https://www.wwe.com/f/styles/wwe_16_9_l/public/all/2020/08/20200824_SD_BraunRomanBray_2_tunein--1e4309b068f478120a074032141b98e5.jpg

Friday Night SmackDown preview, August 28, 2020: Roman Reigns, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman set to sign title contract

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman will set the stage for their No Holds Barred Triple Threat Universal Title Match, and Big E joins "Miz TV" after a contentious exchange on "Talking Smack" with The Miz.

SmackDown Preview : Quick Hits
Roman Reigns, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman set to sign title contract
Big E to join “Miz TV” after explosive “Talking Smack” standoff with The Miz


Card and preview for tonight's 205 Live show:
Tonight’s 205 Live features a trio of must-see matches, as Tehuti Miles has demanded some competition, Tony Nese is in action following last week’s post-match ambush of Jake Atlas, and Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch are set to throw down with Ever-Rise.

One of the toughest tandems in 205 Live history will collide with one of the brashest, as Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch face Ever-Rise in what is sure to be a thrilling main event. Chase Parker and Matt Martel have even started calling themselves “the greatest tag team ever on 205 Live,” but that theory will be put to the test when they slug it out with the no-nonsense Brit-Am Brawlers, who have been on a roll on the purple brand.

Prior to tonight’s edition of 205 Live, Miles, who has been mired in a bit of a slump, blamed his losing streak on a supposed lack of quality opponents, and he stated his desire to face an experienced Cruiserweight who can push him. Will Tehuti get his wish?

Last week’s 205 Live concluded with a shocking transformation of Nese, as The Premier Athlete was defeated by Jake Atlas in a surprising purple brand conclusion. After the bout, Nese took out his frustrations on the relative newcomer, raining down savage punches and blasting Atlas with a Running Nese before making his way to the announce desk and claiming that the purple brand is “garbage without Tony Nese.” After last week’s jaw-dropping attack, Nese is looking to get back in the win column tonight.

Don’t miss what is sure to be an incredible night of action on 205 Live, streaming at 10/9 C on the award-winning WWE Network!


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Get the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWEThunderDome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWEThunderDome</a> playset: now you can recreate what it's like to be in the most interactive arena in the world (Klan outfit &amp; Benoit photos not included) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Merch?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Merch</a></p>&mdash; WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECreative_ish/status/1298741432551964673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

Two talkie segments to start off the show and neither one was that interesting. On the bright side at least both of them were short.

Vince's was probably the oddest based on how he was acting and his delivery.

[Emperor Smeat]

This buzz going on with the crowd audio sounds like if you were to put your hands to your ears and move it back and forth in quick motions.

Like if a bunch of bees had a distorted hum going on or vuvuzelas being blared at a very low noise level.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: Hardy retaining the IC title via cheating.

Hardy and his knee brace being used as an unintentional weapon is just like when D'Lo used his chest protector to help wins matches back in the day. Main difference was D'Lo was a heel when he had the unfair advantage for matches.

:D Sami's back.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Matt Riddle's AR graphics being two giant flip flops.

[Emperor Smeat]

Don't think WWE and Baron Corbin realize what the word "king's ransom" means considering that's not what Corbin placed on Riddle's head.

[Emperor Smeat]

Not sure Otis pulling out a big sausage from his MitB lunchbox and waving it around like he did was PG.

Also knew exactly what Big E was talking about when he thought Otis had bootleg Lunchables in his lunchbox since I had those as a kid more often than the real ones for bag lunch at school.

[Emperor Smeat]

That Women's tag title promo segment was not good.

Bayley managed to make the awkwardness of the situation feel natural but can't really say the same for everyone else involved.

Banks somehow has developed a Baron Corbin style delivery for her promos these day.

[Emperor Smeat]

Poor Sami, Ceasro and Nakamura no longer are his buddies.

Also poor Drew Gulak, he's about to get destroyed by Braun. Wonder if he regrets signing a new deal with WWE since I don't think he even got a raise with his new one and its not like his career's direction has improves since then.

[Emperor Smeat]

Yikes at Braun still having that big welt on his head from SummerSlam.

Smackdown has been pretty skippable so far. Outside of Corbin vs. Riddle, nothing new for Payback has been built up tonight. Doubt that card is going to just be 6 matches.

[Emperor Smeat]

Vince's solution to get a stubborn Reigns to sign a title match contract apparently involves potentially killing Adam Pearce to make it happen.

Also why would Reigns pass the opportunity to beat up Bray and Bruan and also get a title shot since that was pretty much the reason why he showed up at SummerSlam.

[Emperor Smeat]

Tamina is somehow a face now I think.

Alexa starting to show some fondness for The Fiend is interesting. Also poor Nikki's favorite cup, brutally destroyed by Alexa's bout of rage.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at more shenanigans by the virtual crowd tonight. At least its not as bad as what was pulled off during RAW.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kenny Omega is watching Smackdown you gotta love it <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Smackdown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Smackdown</a> <a href="https://t.co/pP3wmZAxaD">pic.twitter.com/pP3wmZAxaD</a></p>&mdash; TheDarkDragon (@TheDarkNight388) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDarkNight388/status/1299519051455234050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Emperor Smeat]

Holy shit at how extra bright Sheamus already bright spotlight-like entrance is with the new ThunderDome setup.

Almost like looking right at the sun with how bright everything was.

[Emperor Smeat]

This 6-man tag match quickly turned into a mess due to some really dumb booking

Match itself ended up being pretty good besides that part.

[Emperor Smeat]

:eek: at Reigns being a Paul Heyman guy.

That swerve was amazing.

Smackdown itself was mostly skippable. Outside of that Heyman moment, Sami's return and Bliss hinting a fondness for the Fiend were the only really interesting stuff from tonight's show.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Read the recap. It seems like they're doing a disputed IC Champion thing with Sami and Jeff? That would be a good reason to do a Ladder Match between the two.