It was made abundantly clear last Sunday at the conclusion of Extreme Rules and the Wyatt Swamp Fight that The Fiend would be next up for universal champion Braun Strowman, likely come SummerSlam next month. Friday night on SmackDown, it was all but confirmed that Strowman's future is about to get a little bit darker.
During an episode of "Firefly Fun House," Bray Wyatt let everyone know that The Fiend is about to be unleashed after being absent for the last few months. After losing the universal championship to Goldberg earlier this year in Saudi Arabia, it seems Wyatt is set on taking back his spot on the top of the food chain in his darkest form of The Fiend. In addition to Wyatt's chilling message on Friday night, No. 1 contenders for the SmackDown women's and intercontinental championships emerged, while a wild Bar Fight between two bitter rivals closed the show in a unique setting.
Below you can have a look at everything that went down on Friday night's edition of SmackDown, complete with grades, analysis and highlights.
WWE SmackDown recap, grades
Bayley and Sasha Banks were out to open SmackDown: The women's tag team champions began by showing everyone the definition of "greatness," which was a picture of them on the Titantron holding all four titles at Extreme Rules last Sunday. Banks said that the Women's Evolution is over because it began with her and Bayley and it now ends with them. They were then interrupted by Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss. Cross vented her frustrations over what went down at Extreme Rules before demanding a SmackDown women's title shot -- tonight. Bayley told Cross that she'd be willing to give her another shot at the title, as long as she could defeat her best friend Alexa Bliss; the winner gets to face Bayley next week on SmackDown. Bliss seemed reluctant, but Cross is so obsessed with getting another shot at the title that she shoved Bliss to the floor before charging to the ring.
Nikki Cross def. Alexa Bliss via pinfall: Cross feigned an injury near the end of the match, which drew Bliss into a small package for the victory to earn another shot at the SmackDown women's title next week. Good setup and subsequent match here, and the finish really highlighted how Cross was willing to do whatever it took to earn another opportunity at Bayley. Backstage after commercial, Bliss met up with Cross where she admits that she got one over on her. Bliss congratulated Cross and told her to now focus on becoming the new champion. Grade: B
Bray Wyatt ready to unleash The Fiend: This week's "Firefly Fun House" began by taking a look back at highlights from the Swamp Fight at Extreme Rules last Sunday. Bray Wyatt then appeared in the "Firefly Fun House" segment alongside his severed-head lantern. The head, which symbolizes the old version of Wyatt, who began to hear whispers in his head from the lantern. The current iteration of Wyatt angrily told his old form that he's not letting him out again and that he had his chance. Wyatt finished by saying that it's "his" turn now, clearly referencing The Fiend, whom we saw emerge from the swamp at the end of Extreme Rules, setting his sights on Braun Strowman and the universal title. Grade: B-
Matt Riddle def. Tony Nese via pinfall: Fairly quick match with Riddle picking up the win after the Bro Derek. Post-match, Riddle called out King Corbin, who said that Riddle isn't allowed to be in his kingdom. Corbin said that he's so confident that Riddle doesn't belong that he's putting out a "king's ransom" on him. Riddle then informed Corbin that he's the next guest on the "Bro Show." Nese tried to immediately collect on that ransom but ate a kick to the head for his efforts. Riddle celebrated to close the segment. Grade: C
Naomi appeared as a guest on "Miz TV": After #NaomiDeservesBetter began to trend on Twitter last week in support of Naomi following her loss to Lacey Evans, WWE decided to weave real life into television. Naomi began by thanking the people for the support because they're what keeps her going. The Miz and John Morrison pointed out how it doesn't make sense that she garnered all the attention for losing, but Naomi said they need to ask themselves why Lacey Evans attacked her instead. Miz and Morrison, the antagonists that they are, brought out Evans as a surprise "guest." Evans was able to get in one verbal jab about Naomi not advancing despite being around for a decade before Naomi forced her from the ring and danced with her hat. Grade: C-
Big E singles push time?: Backstage, on the heels of their tag title loss at Extreme Rules, Kofi Kingston informed Big E that he'll likely be out for six weeks with injury. Big E was down about the news, but with a smile on his face, Kingston told Big E that it's now his time to shine as a singles star with both he and Xavier Woods on the shelf. Reluctant at first, Big E finished the segment by embracing Kingston for the gesture and the opportunity. Don't normally grade backstage segments, but if it is time for Big E to run on his own, I'll make an exception here. Grade: A+
Gran Metalik def. Shorty G (via pinfall), Drew Gulak and Lince Dorado to become the No. 1 contender to the intercontinental championship: The wildly-talented Gran Metalik picked up the surprise win here after nailing Shorty G with an elbow drop after walking the top rope. Following the match, intercontinental champion AJ Styles, who was on commentary awaiting his next challenger, entered the ring. He offered Metalik a handshake, but when the No. 1 contender didn't accept, he slapped him in the face. As Styles set his sights on attacking Dorado, Metalik put the champ down with a Tornado DDT. Kudos for WWE and thinking outside the box here. Next week, Styles vs. Metalik will assuredly steal the show. Grade: A-
The new SmackDown tag champs cut a promo backstage: Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro met up with Kayla Braxton backstage where they trolled New Day over the loss at Extreme Rules while making fun of Kofi Kingston's injury. Cesaro said that it's not Big E's time to shine while Nakamura concluded the interview by saying that every tag team will go "splat."
Jeff Hardy def. Sheamus in a Bar Fight via pinfall: Sheamus and Hardy met at Irish Shannon's pub in Orlando and chatted a bit at the bar before the melee broke out after Hardy threw a beer in Sheamus' face. After battling all over the establishment with Sheamus in control for most of the fight, Hardy emerged victorious after hitting Sheamus with a Swanton off a ladder. The finish came after Sheamus had believed he put Hardy away for good with a chair shot to the back and placing his hat over Hardy's face before walking behind the bar for a quick drink. When he returned and removed the hat, however, Hardy's face was painted and the fight reached its conclusion not long after.
This program has received its fair share of criticism in recent weeks, and while this was mostly cheesy, it was actually a pretty fun brawl for television. Hopefully, though, they've finally put this all to bed and the two can move forward in different directions. Grade: B-
