Overview
WWE picked a good week to have to rush production of SmackDown due to COVID-19 outbreaks in the performance center. Fresh off the heels of the final episode of “Undertaker: The Last Ride”, WWE was able to dedicate a good chunk of programing to a tribute to the deadman.
Other than a replay of The Boneyard Match from this most recent Wrestlemania, we saw three matches in this relatively self-contained episode of SmackDown. A fatal 4-way to determine who will challenge Bayley at Extreme Rules, an 8-man tag match, and a Jeff Hardy and King Corbin main event match.
With about half of tonight’s episode being dedicated to the tribute, there wasn’t all that much new to talk about.
That being said let’s look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of WWE Friday Night SmackDown 6/26/20
The Good
- The Undertaker video package at the top of the show was fantastic. Not quite as emotional as the final episode of The Last Ride but definitely a great look back at an amazing career!
- The boneyard match! Yeah, it had commercial breaks but hey they aired one of the best cinematic matches ever for free, I’m all for that!
- Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss squaring up over who will challenge Bayley. This could’ve been done much worse. I was a fan of the respect these two showed each other, it wasn’t played up for drama, it was to give us a really good sequence of wrestling between two stars that we rarely see against each other.
- Nikki winning the 4-way and securing a title match. She deserves it!
- Big E rolling down the ramp
- Big E did a splash on the apron on Miz that made me pop
- Lucha House Party is mad underrated and they play off of Ceaaro surprisingly well.
The Bad
- King Corbin “calls out” The Undertaker. I had this as ugly if it didn’t seem to get wrapped up in this episode. Look it was cheap heat that is below The Undertaker, so hopefully it doesn’t lead to a final match for taker at the SummerSlam
- Braun is still a very boring champion. Bray is 100% the best part of the feud. Somehow Braun makes what should be a huge title match feel like a mid card feud. It’s not that Braun isn’t given a good story to work off of, his promos are just lacking.
- Corbin and Jeff Hardy’s main event match. Feels bad to say it’s bad because this was likely a quick fix due to covid outbreaks this week. But this match was just pretty boring for a main event, give me that women’s fatal 4 way as the main event instead. Plus all of the faces joining ringside during a commercial break?
- Look I’m here for a fun show, but all of the faces teeing off on Corbin cause he dissed The Undertaker felt like a kids show.
The Ugly
- I forgot Braun had nipple piercings but it’s all I can look at during his promo.
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