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WWE Smackdown – Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, Sitting in a Tree…

The end of an eight-day wrestling marathon is almost at an end. WWE Payback is in less than two days. And this is the third and final part of our Smackdown report.

The official logo for WWE Friday Night Smackdown.
The official logo for WWE Friday Night Smackdown.

WWE Smackdown Report for August 28th, 2020 Part 3

Drew Gulak is in the ring. Braun Strowman comes out to murder him. But first, in case you missed it earlier in the show when they replayed the end of SummerSlam, they play it again now.

Drew Gulak vs. Braun Strowman – Smackdown Murder Match

  • Strowman murders him, of course.

Adam Pearce meets him at the top of the ramp to get the contract signed for Payback. Strowman signs it. That just leaves Roman Reigns.

Lucha House Party are talking backstage. Kalisto is still a dick. He makes fun of  Lince Dorado for being a furry and tells him to stay backstage and watch how it's done when he faces Cesaro. Is the angle here that Kalisto is taking roids or something? Why is he so aggro? After he leaves, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura attack Dorado and Gran Metalik from behind and Smackdown goes to commercials.

Before the match gets started, we see a recap of what happened last week. Kalisto is in the ring. Cesaro comes out with Nakamura.

Kalisto vs. Cesaro

  • Kalisto bewitches Cesaro with his flippy offense at the start, but Cesaro eventually takes control.
  • Kalisto bumps his ass off in this match.
  • Kalisto starts a comeback with a DDT where he jumps up and stands on Cesaro's chest first.
  • Nakamura tries to interfere. Lucha House party run up and attack him. Cesaro rolls up Kalisto and gets the win.

Kalisto is upset with his friends after the match. He gets in Lince Dorado's face. He hugs them both and then leaves the ring—definitely roids.

Someone pounds on Vince McMahon's office door. It's his lackey, Adam Pearce. He has Braun and Bray's signatures on the contract, but Roman Reigns won't answer his dressing room. He wonders if two signatures are enough. Vince reminds Pearce that he rewards failure by having his cronies join a very special club. Pearce goes back out to try again. Bruce Pritchard runs out and begs Vince to let him join the club. Smackdown goes to commercials.

Big E, Sami Zayn, and Matt Riddle will be on Talking Smack tomorrow morning. Miz is co-hosting again with Kayla Braxton. Michael Cole shills the Thunderdome.

Nikki Cross is backstage with the coffee mug Alexa Bliss gave her at the start of their friendship. Tamina walks up and asks Nikki how Alexa is doing. Alexa shows up and hugs them both. She's in a very good mood. Nikki complements Alexa's hair, which is in pigtails. Then she notices Alexa has a dreadlock. Alexa says she was considering doing half and half. Nikki doesn't think that's a good idea. It reminds her of The Fiend. Alexa's eyes go blank for a second. Then she says that's ridiculous and she's disappointed Nikki doesn't have her back as a friend. Alexa smashes Nikki's mug and walks off.

Miz and John Morrison are bullshitting backstage when Sheamus asks them what they've got planned for the match. They break it down. Keep Big E out of the ring. He's too strong. Tucker is tall and strong, so they gotta keep him out of the ring too. And Otis is crazy. They can't let him tag in either. Sheamus points out that means none of their opponents can be in the ring. They don't see the problem. Sheamus longs for the good old days when he was doing a watersports angle with Jeff Hardy. Sheamus tells them just to follow his lead.

Heavy Machinery comes out to the stage. Then Big E. They walk to the ring together. Big E rolls around in the ring and gyrates his hips. Smackdown goes to commercials.

Adam Pearce knocks on Roman Reigns' dressing room door again. He opens the door and goes in. Roman is there. Pearce gives him the contract. Roman says he'll have to take a look at it first. Miz and Morrison's entrance is in-progress. Sheamus comes out.

Big E and Heavy Machinery vs. Sheamus and Miz and Morrison

  • So who on the face team does WWE care about least? Care to wager a guess?
  • It's Tucker. Tucker gets his ass kicked by the heels for a while.
  • The only question is whether WWE cares less about Miz or Morrison, and therefore who will eat the pin here.
  • Tucker starts a comeback, but Sheamus rings the bell, prompting just enough confusion for Smackdown to take another commercial break.
  • Tucker is still taking a beating after the break.
  • In case we've forgotten about Roman Reigns, Michael Cole assures us Adam Pearce is still in Roman's dressing room trying to convince him to sign the contract. By blowing him. At least, that's what Cole would do.
  • After some confusion after Otis breaks up a in attempt, Sheamus decides to leave the match, angry that he hasn't been tagged in enough.
  • That leaves Miz and Morrison alone. Big E gets a hot tag and kick's Miz's ass, but Morrison hits a springboard stomp.
  • Otis attacks Morrison and then goes for a double caterpillar, but Miz rolls out of the way.
  • Miz hits Skull Crushing Finale on Otis, but Big E hits the Big Ending on Miz for the win. Sorry, Miz.

John Morrison is only six months younger than me. Why don't I have abs like that? Don't answer that.

Roman Reigns tells Adam Pearce that he'll sign the contract after a few changes are made. He says he'll win back the championship he never lost at Payback on Sunday. And that's not a prediction. It's a spoiler. The camera pans over to show Paul Heyman is sitting with Roman. Holy crap!

Well, that was a twist! I'm glad to see Paul E back. And what does this mean for Roman's character? Many would probably insist this is a heel turn, but I can't imagine any self-respecting wrestling fans out there who wouldn't be absolutely delighted with the prospect of Heyman and Reigns together. Whatever the case, this is at least a new direction of some sort for him.

Smackdown overall was pretty good tonight. Nothing went on too long, and the segments flowed together pretty well. One thing I really like that I think has gone unnoticed about Raw and Smackdown in the Amway Center. WWE is able to set up an actual backstage area now since they've set up shop in the arena for the next few months. Not the vague curtained-off areas that they have when touring or the two rooms and parking lot available at the Performance Center, but a full-fledge backstage arena environment.

And that right there ends what has been a marathon of professional wrestling. Starting with Smackdown last week, there hasn't been a single night without wrestling on TV. Tomorrow, I get my first break in eight days, so I'd just like to say… f**k you all. See you on Sunday.


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Jude TerrorAbout Jude Terror

A prophecy once said that in the comic book industry's darkest days, a hero would come to lead the people through a plague of overpriced floppies, incentive variant covers, #1 issue reboots, and super-mega-crossover events. Sadly, that prophecy was wrong. Oh, Jude Terror was right. For ten years. About everything. But nobody listened. And so, Jude Terror has moved on to a more important mission: turning Bleeding Cool into a pro wrestling dirt sheet!
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