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Roman Reigns Reclaims His Place on SmackDown

A surprise return and new challenger for Cody Rhodes were also highlights of the show

Tyler Reed

The SmackDown after SummerSlam was a time to close the book on a few stories while heating up others.

After the biggest party of the summer, the WWE roster now has its sights set on Bash in Berlin.

Let’s take a look at some of the seeds being planted for Berlin:

Cody knows what he wants to talk about

After successfully defending the WWE Championship at SummerSlam, Cody Rhodes announced that he is no longer thinking about the past but rather what lies ahead.

Before he could delve into his future plans, his SummerSlam opponent, Solo Sikoa, entered the arena flanked by Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa of The Bloodline. Sikoa told Rhodes he deserved another shot at the title, and the group planned on making an example out of Rhodes. That was until Kevin Owens joined Rhodes with two steel chairs.

After the threat from The Bloodline was gone, Rhodes made his future plans clear. He wanted to face Kevin Owens at Bash in Berlin, an opportunity that Owens said he hadn’t earned. However, Owens was the only one to feel that way, as later in the show, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis made the match official between Owens and Rhodes. Could an Owens heel turn be in our future?

Tag team qualifiers

To determine the next challengers for The Bloodline’s tag team titles, a tag team qualification tournament was underway.

The first match saw the Street Profits taking on A-Town Down Under. The match was a solid opener for the show– and another opportunity for the Street Profits to showcase their work, as the team took home the victory after landing a Super Blockbuster for a pin fall.

Meeting the Street Profits next Friday for a shot at the tag titles will be former WWE Tag Team Champions, #DIY.

#DIY earned the opportunity after taking care of Pretty Deadly in the main event on Friday night. Fans should be extremely excited for what is sure to be a great tag match next week between the Street Profits and #DIY.

WrestleMania reunion

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair were ready to put the Women’s Tag Team Champions, The Unholy Union, in their place. Cargill defeated one-half of the champions, Alba Fyre, in dominating fashion. However, after the bout, Blair Davenport attacked Cargill from behind, and with help from the Unholy Union, the beatdown was on for Cargill and Belair.

That changed when an old friend in Naomi came to even the odds. The WrestleMania partners cleared the ring of Davenport and the champs as they stood tall in the middle of the ring. 

LA Knight finds next challenge

LA Knight returned from SummerSlam with some gold around his waist, and he is ready for his first challenger as the United States champion–and already has a target on his back.

Santos Escobar believes the time is now for him to grab WWE gold. However, he had one challenge in his way, beating Andrade. 

In what was, for me, the match of the evening, Andrade and Escobar went to battle for the right to face LA Knight for the US gold. Unfortunately for Andrade, his plans of obtaining gold would be foiled when Carmelo Hayes intervened in the match, causing Escobar to steal the victory with a roll-up after grabbing Andrade when the ref was distracted.

Based off the finish, it appears Knight against Escobar is penciled in for Bash in Berlin.

Return of the OTC

It took a decade and of the greatest heel turns in company history, but the WWE has finally made Roman Reigns the monster babyface they always believed he could be. That was evident when the crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma came unglued when Reigns appeared.

Reigns made quick work of Tonga and Loa before focusing his attention on Sikoa. Soon after, the beatdown was on. Just before Reigns could finish the new Tribal Chief with a spear, he was pulled to safety.

Make no mistake, Reigns is back and in a massive way.

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Tyler Reed

TYLER REED

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