Jey Uso laid down the gauntlet for Roman Reigns as SmackDown went off the air.
The wrestling giant returned to Madison Square Garden for an electric, fast paced show on Friday night with the evening bookended as the family feud has been taken to another level.
At the start of the night, Jimmy and Jey Uso came out for the Tribal Court trial of Roman, showing a video recapping his years of manipulation and abuse directed at the twins.
The Head of the Table fought back tears as he spoke about the pressure he’s been under supporting his family as well as his own five children, and insisted he didn’t want the responsibility anymore as he got down on his knees.
However, it was all a ruse to sucker Jey in as he hit him with a low blow, sparking a brawl between The Usos, Roman and Solo Sikoa which led to Jimmy getting sent through a table.
The star was , but his brother came back for revenge at the end of the show.
In front of an electric crowd, Jey rushed out and took the fight to Roman and Solo, battering the latter with a steel chair before issuing a firm challenge to the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
It seems the pair are on a collision course for SummerSlam, and it should be noted that despite taking up around 45 minutes of tonight’s show, The Bloodline saga is still on fire.
Grayson Waller battles Edge in huge ‘sink or swim’ SmackDown debut
Midway through the show, Edge made his return as a guest on the Grayson Waller Effect as kept hinting at a big announcement from the Hall of Famer.
Despite the retirement teases, the Rated R Superstar – who has hinted he could be approaching the end of his in-ring career – insisted he’s not going anywhere, and revealed he would be facing Waller in the main event.
One week after , the rising star shone here as he delivered a fantastic back with a bona fide legend, looking like he belongs and taking him to the limit.
Realistically, Edge was always going to win, but Waller more than held his own and looked strong even in defeat, while getting to make his main roster in-ring debut at Madison Square Garden.
After the bell, the former world champion sent a clear message of respect as he simply said: ‘Hey, Waller… you swam.’
Earlier in the night, Sheamus was screwed out of his United States Title match against champion Austin Theory when to get involved, leading to a scrap with the Brawling Brutes.
The match was strong albeit slightly rushed, with the frantic pace a bit of a trend with the show after The Bloodline’s opening segment took up almost 40 minutes at the start of the evening.
AJ Styles got a win over Karrion Kross with Michin and Scarlett getting into it at ringside, and it’s a shame that the NXT Champion still can’t find any momentum on the blue brand.
Asuka didn’t get a chance to really address the crowd when she was quickly interrupted by Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair with a wild brawl kicking off before Bayley Iyo Sky rushed down and as the latter looked to cash in her Money In The Bank briefcase on the Empress of Tomorrow.
However, Bianca and Charlotte put a stop to that before anything was made official, meaning Asuka is still WWE Women’s Champion and Iyo still has the coveted contract.
WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.
WWE SmackDown results and grades - July 7, 2023
- United States Title: Austin Theory (c) beat Sheamus (B)
- AJ Styles pinned Karrion Kross (C+)
- Edge defeated Grayson Waller (A-)
