Roman Reigns and Finn Balor were set to compete in a big Universal Championship match in the main event on this week’s WWE SmackDown. Meanwhile, Rick Boogs was scheduled to compete in a rematch against Dolph Ziggler on the show.
Becky Lynch showed up with the SmackDown Women’s Championship on the episode and addressed the WWE Universe. Happy Corbin was also set to appear on The Kevin Owens Show this week.
The Usos competed against The Street Profits on SmackDown after what went down last week. The two teams had a decent contest before the match ended in a disqualification.
Dominik Mysterio was also looking to prove himself on WWE SmackDown after picking up a loss against Sami Zayn during last week’s episode.
Take a look at the five things WWE got right on SmackDown this week.
#5. Dominik Mysterio picked up another loss; Rick Boogs continued to pick up victories on WWE SmackDown
Dominik Mysterio and Sami Zayn squared off once again on WWE SmackDown. Dominik had the upper hand in the contest for some time, and Zayn tried to escape from the arena.
However, Rey Mysterio showed up to prevent The Conspiracy Theorist from getting away. A little distraction allowed Zayn to take advantage and put Dominik away with the Helluva Kick.
After the match, it was evident that Dominik was once again not pleased with his father. It looks like SmackDown is rushing to build a rivalry between the two men. It’s only a matter of time before he turns heel and attacks his father. Dominik could soon become the only man in WWE to retire their own father.
Meanwhile, Rick Boogs and Dolph Ziggler went head to head once again on this week’s SmackDown after the former's victory over Ziggler at their previous showing.
The two exchanged a few good moves early in the contest. The action showed off the guitar player’s technical abilities in the ring. After The Show-Off grounded Boogs for a short while, he exploded with a series of power moves.
He hit The Boogs Cruise to pick up a quick victory over the former WWE Heavyweight Champion on SmackDown. WWE is giving Boogs a big push, and he could turn out to be a top mid-carder in the months to come.
#4. Logan Paul and Happy Corbin laid out Kevin Owens on WWE SmackDown
Kevin Owens introduced Happy Corbin on The KO Show this week on WWE SmackDown. Corbin came out to brag about his current fortune in front of the WWE Universe. He then called out his new friend, Logan Paul.
Paul was greeted with a chorus of boos by the fans in attendance. KO ran down both men and mocked them for some time. Paul offered Owens a hundred-dollar bill, which he refused.
Paul shoved The Prize Fighter, and a brawl nearly erupted between the two men. Corbin took a cheap shot at Owens with a microphone and dropped him with a chokeslam.
The two heels walked out of the arena as KO struggled to get back up in the ring. WWE seems to be building towards a contest between the two SmackDown Superstars for Extreme Rules.
The two men have been in a storyline for some time and have competed in a couple of matches on SmackDown. However, the introduction of Logan Paul to the rivalry could help tilt things in Corbin’s favor. WWE has done well to pair him and Paul together.
#3. Bianca Belair had a great segment with Becky Lynch on WWE SmackDown
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch came out to address fans this week. She wanted to discuss the events surrounding her return to WWE at SummerSlam and her appearance on the episode of SmackDown that followed.
Lynch mocked the WWE Universe and said that she won the title she deserved at SummerSlam. Soon after, Bianca Belair made her way out to the middle.
The EST introduced her catchphrase to The Man and explained what it meant for Lynch before challenging her for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. She took a shot at Lynch, saying that she should step up and defend her title later in the night like Roman Reigns.
The Man refused to fight Belair and left the arena to a chorus of boos. The segment did well to build Lynch as a heel while giving Belair the chance to work up her way to the top again. The EST was solid on the mic and managed well with Becky Lynch in the segment.
Backstage, Sonya Deville informed Lynch that she will have to defend her title against Belair at WWE Extreme Rules. The two women will likely have an explosive contract segment next week.
#2. Edge saves Cesaro from Seth Rollins on WWE SmackDown
Seth Rollins and Cesaro competed on this week’s WWE SmackDown. Rollins claimed he had learned from his loss to Edge at WWE SummerSlam and wasted little time targeting The Swiss Superman.
He used Edgecution and Edge-o-Matic early in the contest to prove his point. The Drip King kept attacking his old foe and stayed on top in the competition for some time.
Rollins went for a stomp, but Cesaro took him down with a powerbomb and mounted a comeback on SmackDown.
The Swiss Superman set up for a swing, but Rollins countered the move. He was successful the second time and took The Drip King for a ride before locking in the Sharpshooter. Rollins got hold of the rope to break the submission hold.
The former Universal Champion used a steel chair to take down Cesaro outside the ring, causing a disqualification. He used a piece of the steel chair to apply the crossface before calling out the Iconoclast.
He continued to punish Cesaro before Edge made his way out to save The Swiss Superman. The two men will meet in a match on next week’s show. WWE did well to continue the build between Rollins and Edge.
#1. WWE protected Finn Balor while putting over Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown
Finn Balor was all ready to win back the title he never lost on WWE SmackDown. The Usos came out and attacked The Prince before his match against Roman Reigns and weakened him.
Balor was at a disadvantage even before the bell rang, but he was determined to win the Universal Championship on SmackDown. Reigns attacked his challenger early and continued to beat him down and punish him.
Balor tried to make a comeback into the match and even hit a Pele Kick to stun the Universal Champion. A double stomp to Reigns’ chest allowed The Prince to make a comeback.
The former NXT Champion used his speed to stay over The Tribal Chief and tried to hit the Coup de Grace before Reigns rolled out of the ring.
Even a Superman Punch could not slow down the challenger for long as he hit the Coup de Grace soon after for a near-fall. During the kick-out, Reigns hit Balor with a low blow and then dominated his challenger.
He finished the match off with a guillotine choke as the referee had no choice but to stop the contest. Finn Balor came out looking like an absolute star in this contest. It also allowed Reigns to draw a lot of heat towards himself.
The loss on SmackDown did not hurt Balor’s credibility in any way. He will likely get a rematch at WWE Extreme Rules later this month. Will the Demon King return to defeat Roman Reigns?