{"id":103099,"date":"2020-08-21T11:18:40","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T16:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=103099"},"modified":"2020-08-21T11:32:21","modified_gmt":"2020-08-21T16:32:21","slug":"wwe-friday-night-smackdown-primer-8-21-final-summerslam-hype-behold-the-thunderdome-a-j-defends-against-jeff-brauns-final-message-lucha-lucha-lucha-challenge-cesaro-nakamura-big","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/08\/21\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown-primer-8-21-final-summerslam-hype-behold-the-thunderdome-a-j-defends-against-jeff-brauns-final-message-lucha-lucha-lucha-challenge-cesaro-nakamura-big\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER 8\/21: Final Summerslam Hype, Thunderdome, Styles-Hardy for IC Title, Braun\u2019s Final Message, LHP challenge Cesaro &#038; Nakamura"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-285411235\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER<br \/>\nAUGUST 21, 2020<br \/>\nORLANDO, FL. AT THE AMWAY CENTER<br \/>\nAIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM SPECIALIST<\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Michael Cole and Corey Graves<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Thunderdome<\/h4>\n<p>Last week\u2019s edition of Smackdown had several developments regarding SummerSlam and the fan viewing experience. Announcers Michael Cole and Corey Graves discussed fans being involved in the show going forward, which led to WWE\u2019s announcement about the Thunderdome which makes its debut tonight at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL. The tapings for Raw, Smackdown, and PPVs will take place here for the foreseeable future with the fan interactive Thunderdome being a part of the show. Here\u2019s a link to Wade Keller\u2019s article featuring WWE EVP Kevin Dunn talking about the experience:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/08\/17\/kevin-dunn-reveals-more-details-on-new-wwe-tv-set-debuting-friday-thanks-for-sticking-around-during-below-par-production-in-recent-months\/\">https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/08\/17\/kevin-dunn-reveals-more-details-on-new-wwe-tv-set-debuting-friday-thanks-for-sticking-around-during-below-par-production-in-recent-months\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This morning, WWE announced that Vince McMahon will kick off Smackdown and introduce the Thunderdome concept:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VinceMcMahon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@VinceMcMahon<\/a> will kick off Friday Night <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SmackDown<\/a> LIVE TONIGHT from the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WWEThunderDome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WWEThunderDome<\/a> at 8\/7c on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FOXTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FOXTV<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1296806656588877830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 21, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Top Three Developments from Last Week<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Jeff Hardy challenged A.J. Styles to an Intercontinental Championship match. That match is advertised for tonight as a \u201cchampionship clash\u201d in the Thunderdome.<\/li>\n<li>Alexa Bliss confronted her long-time friend Universal Champion Braun Strowman regarding recent developments.\u00a0 WWE is advertising that Braun will deliver on final message before SummerSlam.<\/li>\n<li>Asuka won a tri-branded Royal Rumble to earn the right to challenge Bayley for the Smackdown Women\u2019s Championship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Items Advertised by WWE<\/h4>\n<p>In addition to what I mentioned in the top three developments, here\u2019s what else is advertised for the show:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lucha House Party look to dethrone Cesaro &amp; Shisuke Nakamura in Smackdown Tag Team Title match<\/li>\n<li>Big E looks to pay back Sheamus in latest singles clash.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Intercontinental Championship: A.J. Styles (champ) vs. Jeff Hardy<\/h4>\n<p>Last week, Intercontinental Champion A.J. Styles along with a somewhat reluctant Joseph Park (formerly known as Abyss in Impact Wrestling), statistically revealed that there were no worthwhile challengers to him for his title. They revealed this on a whiteboard in the ring before Jeff Hardy made his way out to interrupt the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff talked about the Intercontinental title being the first singles\u2019 title he won on his own and how much it meant to him. He discussed his respect for A.J. and how he wanted to face him for the title, citing how Sheamus took him out of his chance to wrestle for the title in the tournament which took place several months ago. A.J. acknowledged his respect for Jeff not just for his single\u2019s work but the Hardy Boys. Regarding giving him a title shot though, he said hell no. Jeff attacked A.J., who then fled from the ring, and signed his name to the whiteboard.<\/p>\n<p>Later, the announcers said the match was official for next week (tonight) as A.J. will defend the Intercontinental Championship against Jeff. They have history from their time in TNA Wrestling (now Impact). Here\u2019s match between them from Slammiversary in 2004:<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2294651369\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/lScPvBHZNak<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I don\u2019t have a ton to add as this is a feud that I\u2019ll be happy to watch develop. Here\u2019s hoping WWE doesn\u2019t try to dress this up with ridiculous stipulation matches and goofy storylines.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Braun Strowman Final Massage Before SummerSlam<\/h4>\n<p>As we head towards SummerSlam, Braun Strowman will once again defend the Universal Championship against Bray Wyatt. This time around, he will face Bray in his \u201cFiend\u201d character.<\/p>\n<p>The latest chapter in their story unfolded last week as Alexa Bliss was interviewed about her recent interaction with the Fiend. Several weeks ago, the Fiend gave her a mandible claw to close out the show. She admitted being captivated by the Fiend and understanding what a \u201cmoth to a flame\u201d means. She reaffirmed her friendship with Braun and said it could potentially be more. When asked about Braun\u2019s comment saying he doesn\u2019t care about Alexa, she couldn\u2019t answer, and the interview ended.<\/p>\n<p>Later, Alexa confronted Braun in the ring. Braun couldn\u2019t look at her face to face, but said she used him and led him around by his beard. He wanted nothing to do with her and wanted the Fiend. Alexa demanded Braun look at her and slapped him repeatedly, saying this wasn\u2019t him. He then pressed her over his head when the lights started dimming. When the lights came on, Alexa was on the mat in pain with the Fiend standing over her. Braun was on the big screen laughing maniacally, and Fiend laughed back.<\/p>\n<p>Braun will have a final message ahead of their championship match tonight. He\u2019s put up several cryptic tweets. Here\u2019s a sample:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Before you pulled me into that swamp, I might have been a little naughty, but after i crawled out, I became something much, much worse. The stuff nightmares are made of!!!!!!<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Monster of all Monsters (@Adamscherr99) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Adamscherr99\/status\/1294704559894519811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 15, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">They will provoke you until they bring out your ugly side. Then play victim when you go there.   <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FaceYourFears?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FaceYourFears<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Monster of all Monsters (@Adamscherr99) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Adamscherr99\/status\/1295708123265728513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 18, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I embrace the Insomnia&#8230;.. I will not rest till I end you!!!!!  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/YouDidThisNowYouMustDealWithIt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#YouDidThisNowYouMustDealWithIt<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EviscerateThefiend?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#EviscerateThefiend<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Monster of all Monsters (@Adamscherr99) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Adamscherr99\/status\/1296342177551994883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I have no idea what Braun\u2019s message will be nor what\u2019s going to happen in this feud and frankly, I don\u2019t care. There\u2019s way too much to think about in terms of the characters involved and none of it has to do with professional wrestling. It\u2019s tiresome, bad, and annoying. If you\u2019re captivated by this feud, more power to you. The one takeaway is I think Braun is turning heel, but if that doesn\u2019t happen then so be it. I think I miss Roman Reigns.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Smackdown Tag Team Championship: Cesaro &amp; Shinsuke Nakamura (champs) vs. Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik &amp; Lince Dorado)<\/h4>\n<p>The Smackdown Tag Team Championship will be on the line tonight as Cesaro &amp; Shinsuke Nakamura will defend their titles against Lucha House Party. Last week, Gran Metalik got a win against Nakamura following a week where Lince Dorado took a loss to Cesaro. Things might be in favor of Lucha House Party as Kalisto made his return to television last week. Their theme music hit as Nakamura was setting up the Kinshasa, causing the distraction and allowing Metalik to hit a diving elbow for the win.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-575478249\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Before the match, Lucha House Party snuck up on Cesaro &amp; Nakamura and took the title belts before scurrying away. Tonight, they look to win the championship. Cesaro &amp; Nakamura look to retain the titles they won from New Day at Extreme Rules: The Horror Show.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I\u2019ve given up on teams earning title matches the right way. They 50\/50 booked singles matches over the past two weeks, which doesn\u2019t exactly cut it. That said, Lucha House Party is the top babyface team now, and I suppose a win over Nakamura is better than nothing. They are a talented team, and if you leave the nonsense out of their act, they are fun to watch. By the way does anyone remember when Nakamura won the 2018 Royal Rumble and challenged A.J. Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania? I\u2019m being sarcastic but it is crazy how he went from that to essentially being a mid-card act.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Big E vs. Sheamus<\/h4>\n<p>Last week, Big E was set to take on John Morrison in the opening segment when Retribution made their presence known. The match was interrupted and when they came back from commercial, both me were in the back surrounded by other Smackdown talent. Eventually, Sheamus confronted Big E. He said Retribution wouldn\u2019t dare interfere in one his matches. Later in the show, Sheamus defeated Shorty G and to his point, Retribution did not interfere.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually they had the match with Big E and Morrison with Miz on commentary. The lights flickered at one point, and the cameras went backstage where they were fortunate to catch Retribution destroying things, locking someone in the bathroom, and spray-painting. Smackdown wrestlers surrounded the ring as a measure of security. Big E hit a Stretch Muffler submission for the win. After the match, Sheamus attacked Big E with a Brogue Kick.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, Big E continues his singles push as he takes on Sheamus. There is history with these men as they feuded over the Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Championships at different times with Big E as part of New Day and Sheamus pairing with Cesaro as The Bar. Here\u2019s a little Twitter trash talk from Sheamus:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Don\u2019t fear RETRIBUTION&#8230; Fear The Fella. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SmackDown<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TP1RM2oC0e\">pic.twitter.com\/TP1RM2oC0e<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sheamus (@WWESheamus) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWESheamus\/status\/1294474963366313985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 15, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I have a headache recapping the events of last week as it\u2019s just another example of the scheduled match between two wrestlers and the outcome being secondary to the \u201cchaos\u201d WWE likes to cause on TV. I\u2019m not against storytelling of this nature, but it must be done in doses. Give me the matches and trust that I\u2019ll enjoy the competition and decision of who goes over.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Other Match Results and Segments from Last Week<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Mandy Rose challenged Sonya Deville to a Hair vs. Hair match at SummerSlam. Sonya accepted.<\/li>\n<li>Shorty G attempted to apologize to Matt Riddle backstage before King Corbin attacked Riddle from behind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Final Thoughts<\/h4>\n<p>The last two WWE shows have felt chaotic with the wrestling and the outcomes feeling secondary if not unimportant. Watching wrestling, I accept a level of storytelling and twists and turns. I don\u2019t need to see it every two seconds. It makes me want to change the channel and not want to invest in the product. I don\u2019t anticipate anything different soon. It\u2019s anybody\u2019s guess if things will change with the introduction of the Thunderdome.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-4048652087\"><div id=\"pwtor-1938373046\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER AUGUST 21, 2020 ORLANDO, FL. AT THE AMWAY CENTER AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM SPECIALIST Announcers: Michael Cole and Corey Graves Thunderdome Last <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/08\/21\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown-primer-8-21-final-summerslam-hype-behold-the-thunderdome-a-j-defends-against-jeff-brauns-final-message-lucha-lucha-lucha-challenge-cesaro-nakamura-big\/\" title=\"WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER 8\/21: Final Summerslam Hype, Thunderdome, Styles-Hardy for IC Title, Braun\u2019s Final Message, LHP challenge Cesaro &#038; Nakamura\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":102984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4403,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-smackdown-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-19-at-6.09.28-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103099"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103110,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103099\/revisions\/103110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}