Braun Strowman was challenged on SmackDown by John Morrison (WWE)
WWE SmackDown had one major coup to speak about on this week’s show
WWE Sma
ckDown had some incredible matches and progressed some storylines too. However, there were some big talking points from the show, especially with the Blue Brand catching hold of one major star.
We also got more information about Braun Strowman and who he will defend his Universal title, but that had a surprise too.
SmackDown certainly had a few surprises and here are the five talking points from the show:
The Intercontinental championship tournament saw one major surprise as AJ Styles was drafted to SmackDown.
He beat Shinsuke Nakamura to move into the next round but this speaks a lot about Styles. Styles saw Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson released and the Phenomenal One could be a huge draw on SmackDown.
He could also bring more eyeballs to the show, and he seems set for a run to the IC title at least.
Bayley vs Charlotte Flair should have seen Sasha Banks come out and help/distract for her friend. However, the Boss was told to stay back by Bayley as the SmackDown champion picked up the win.
Bayley used a lot of underhand tactics to get the win, and this is a huge W for her. The Role Model has been a heel since taking the title, and it is great to see her using such moves to get wins without having Banks to do some dirty work.
Sonya Deville cannot do much wrong these days. She has been incredible during the rivalry with Mandy Rose and got another W over her former best friend.
Deville helped her team with the mixed tag match and that also allowed Dolph Ziggler to take a cheap shot at Otis.
The Pride Fighter might have been in Mandy’s shadow for a while, but now, she is shining brighter than the Golden Goddess on SmackDown.
Braun Strowman will defend his WWE Universal title at Backlash. He beat Bray Wyatt recently but it was a surprise as to who he will face next.
The Miz and John Morrison will face Strowman for the title in a handicap match, which makes very little sense.
WWE could be trying to show that the Monster among men is a true behemoth by making him win at the PPV. However, they would be burying one of their best tag teams to do that.
It also raises questions about the lack of talent on SmackDown that WWE cannot build a rival for Strowman at the moment.
Jeff Hardy and Sheamus had both come off long injuries as they clashed in the IC championship. However, it was Hardy that got the win over Sheamus, which says a lot. WWE seems to be backing Hardy for this rivalry while Sheamus has been left to destroy jobbers.
Sheamus was back in action almost a month before Hardy, and it was a bit of a surprise how the Celtic Warrior ended up losing to the Charismatic Enigma.
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