Smackdown Synopsis for 7/10/20 (Shinsuke, Get the Tables)

By
Ian Abugov

Tonight, Miz TV, as opposed to The Dirt Sheet, will feature an interview with none other than Jeff Hardy. Last week Hardy had the last laugh on a scheming Sheamus. As he tried to tempt the Charismatic Enigma with an array of spirits. The Fella’s toast to his arch-rival turned into a fiasco when Hardy spilled the flute of champagne, broke the bottle over the young bartender’s head before executing a Swanton Bomb on the poor lad in question. This is the WWE Smackdown Synopsis for 7/10/20.

Things could take an interesting twist tonight. Will it be a Twist of Fate or a Twist of Lime? Expect Sheamus to be present and up to no good. In-ring interviews attract unwelcome guests as supermarket samples draw throngs of customers. Oh, the many aisles and miles I’ve walked for a spoonful of tepid taramasalata. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro will get their chance tonight to compete for tag team gold against the eight-time champions The New Day. It’s now or never for the challengers. A title switch would be anything but a surprise. Especially intriguing would be a controversial or tainted victory.

Ending this feud tonight would make little sense given that there are currently two heel tag-teams on SD. There seems little to be gained by recycling a feud. It was a few months back when The Miz and Morrison vs The New Day which was played out. Sasha Banks and Bayley are more than earning their paycheques. They regularly compete on all WWE shows and PPV events. Tonight, their tag-team supremacy, bragging rights, and momentum will be on the line against Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss. At the Horror Show: Extreme Rules, Bayley’s SD singles title will be defended against Nikki Cross.

Smackdown Synopsis for 7/10/20

Initially, Bayley regaled at the prospect of facing Cross. With a successful track record against her, the champion’s attitude was like that of the hare vs the tortoise. On Raw though, a distraction instigated by Cross allowed Asuka to pin the SD champion in a non-title clash. Lightning could very well strike twice given that this match is not for the tag team belts. By pulling another rabbit out of her tam-o-shanter, Cross could make her PPV match up of next weekend all the more intriguing.

We will also collect some compound interest from MITB when we re-visit the Braun Strowman vs Bray Wyatt encounter. Strowman won that match convincingly by out-thinking his spellbinding opponent. That might be a hard act to follow for the Horror Show swamp duo. Smackdown, of course, emanating from Orlando, Florida. The sports and sports entertainment capital of the world. Electricity in the air to accompany the trinity of masks, merch, and social distancing. All bask in the Performance Center’s unique appeal.

Miz TV with Jeffy Hardy

Miz TV is our very first segment. Thank goodness for Jeff Hardy’s thick skin. Both The Miz and Morrison attempt to berate their guest and rub in his defeat to Sheamus at Backlash. They goad Hardy into a rematch against the Celtic Warrior but in a setting Hardy is most familiar with – a Bar Match. The North Carolinian proudly accepts holding himself up as an example for all to follow. “I am going to be a beacon of light…hope is freedom”.

A very motivated Hardy throws down an immediate challenge to The Miz and Morrison. It’s the A-Lister who is the chosen one for this unscheduled match.

Smackdown Synopsis for 7/10/20

Jeff Hardy vs The Miz

Notwithstanding being grounded and neutralized early on, Hardy did score a quick two count. As he completed a Twist of Fate and was setting up for a Swanton Bomb, Hardy was tripped up by John Morrison but managed to plunge on to Morrison and The Miz outside the ring.

Only double-teaming could stop Hardy’s momentum. He was subsequently thrown on to the announce table and hurled into the barricade. He was hit with a pair of high knees and a clothesline in the corner. As if that wasn’t enough, try ten Yes kicks, borrowed of course from Daniel Bryan, and a count of two.

A jawbreaker by Hardy turned the momentum in his favor. An inverted Atomic Drop and a pair of basement dropkicks gave Hardy a near victory. Oh, that dreaded count of two.

Sheamus then graced us with his presence on the Titantron. Drink in hand taunting Jeff Hardy yet again. The latter made the apparent mistake of turning his back on The Miz and fell victim to a quick roll-up but only for a count of two. Hardy turned the tables, rolled up The Miz, and procured himself a very gratifying victory.

Winner: The Miz

With the bar fight to be held at an undetermined later date, my guess being Summerslam, this well-crafted Hardy-Sheamus feud is shaping up to be one of the year’s most prominent storylines.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro are interviewed backstage and take offense to the question as to whether they can pull off another “upset” tonight.

Smackdown Synopsis for 7/10/20

Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss vs Sasha Banks and Bayley

Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss are set to clash with tag team champions Sasha Banks and Bayley. At the outset of this encounter, Nikki Cross is being roughed up by the champions. An adrenaline rush saw Cross place Bayley between the ring skirt and the mat before tossing her into the squared circle for a count of two.

Alexa Bliss was then tagged in as was Sasha Banks. The latter had her left arm worked over by Bliss. Nikki Cross though had a world of fun outside the ring. She ribbed Bayley by strutting around with her championship belt and dove on Bayley as well.

After being tagged in, Bayley was the recipient of a pâir of two counts from Alexa Bliss.

When the tables were to turn on Bliss she desperately sought to tag herself out and did so. The champions remained very much in control notwithstanding a Running Bulldog by Cross. Sasha Banks got involved in some extra-curricular activities by throwing Alexa Bliss outside the ring. This distracted Nikki Cross who turned her back on Bayley and was rolled up for the count of three. Bayley making the best of the situation by giving herself a bit of leverage by draping her leg over the middle rope. All roads, sometimes crooked ones and shortcuts lead to the winner’s circle.

Winners: Sasha Banks and Bayley

We then traveled back in time to May to see the MITB match between Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. It was in that short but hard-hitting affair that Strowman out connived Wyatt by donning the Black Sheep mask pretending to return like the prodigal son before showing his true intentions and taking Wyatt out with a powerslam.

While the two will square off at the Horror Show in a Wyatt Swamp match, the building up of that match up is made all the more difficult without fresh material to open up new elements or twists.

We caught up with The New Day backstage. The champions assuring us all that they are not taking their opposition lightly.

Karaoke Among Friends?

Friday nights are great for Karaoke, especially amongst friends and colleagues. Tonight though in Orlando, things were done just a little differently. We actually a Karaoke competition between four SD Superstars, Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke, Tamina, and Naomi. Evans broke the ice by doing a credible job on “With My Baby Tonight”, the Road Dogg’s opus. Dana Brooke followed with the Honky Tonk Man’s signature tune which was bad but not necessarily cool nor cocky.

Tamina took the mic and struggled with HHH’s “It’s Time To Play The Game” theme. Her forty-five seconds of fame coming to a screeching halt. Rounding out the field was Naomi who regaled us with a version of the Dusty Rhodes entrance tune American Dream. We can be sure the TNT champion was just delighted with this choice of themes. No sloppy shops here tonight.

Naomi was proclaimed the winner of this competition which riled Lacey Evans to no end. She snapped and threw her shoes at Naomi. We then were treated to our second impromptu match of the show between Evans and Naomi which broke down into an anarchistic four-way bout before being summarily tossed out by the official.

Emerging out of this gong show was an apparent heel turn for Lacey Evans and an attempt to stir things up in the middle ranks of the Women’s division.

Backstage once again, AJ Styles took the “Too Sweet” greeting out of storage while stating that he has no competition worthy of a chance to challenge him for his I-C title. When told by Sarah Schreiber that Matt Riddle would get a title shot in seven nights, Mr. Styles was beside himself. Not every surprise is a phenomenal one!

Smackdown Synopsis for 7/10/20

New Day vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro

The tag team championship main event was to follow. The New Day vs Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura delivered on its promises. Early on, Kofi Kingston was the victim of fluid tagging from the challengers. Cesaro broke the ice with the first of several two counts.

Big E. was tagged in and hit a series of Unicorn Stomps which undoubtedly brought a smile to Ronnie Garvin’s face. When Big E projected Kingston outside the ring to take out Cesaro, Kingston was greeted by a stiff Forearm blow.

Inside the ring, Nakamura was roughing up Kingston but the latter fired back with a modified or somewhat missed SOS. Big E and Cesaro were both tagged in. Cesaro was tagged with a pair of Suplexes. In the following minute or so we saw a sequence of four rapid two counts.

After the last near pin, the parties took their hostilities outside the ring and the referee threw the contest out. That only served to stir things up further. Cesaro, without even calling out to Devon grabbed a table conveniently left under the ring. Big E was laid out across the table while Kofi Kingston was powerbombed off the second rope by Cesaro onto Big E as the table shattered to pieces.

Winners: Double Disqualification

Overlooked no more! All eyes were on Nakamura and Cesaro as they stood over their fallen prey. We left the air after an entertaining two hours but with a surfeit of unfinished business. The Horror Show: Extreme Rules is next weekend. All the while, the shuffling of the deck already starting for SummerSlam. This was the Smackdown Synopsis for 7/10/20.

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