{"id":103952,"date":"2020-09-04T08:28:37","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T13:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=103952"},"modified":"2020-09-04T08:28:37","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T13:28:37","slug":"wwe-friday-night-smackdown-primer-9-4-payback-fallout-roman-empire-returns-universal-challenge-bayley-sasha-want-gold-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/09\/04\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown-primer-9-4-payback-fallout-roman-empire-returns-universal-challenge-bayley-sasha-want-gold-back\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER 9\/4: Payback Fallout, Roman Empire Returns, Universal Challenge, Bayley &amp; Sasha Want Gold Back"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2753504904\" 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 \/>\nSEPTEMBER 4, 2020<br \/>\nORLANDO, FL. AT THE THUNDERDOME IN 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>Payback Results Pertinent to Smackdown<\/h4>\n<p>This week, in lieu of the top three developments from last week, I give you the Payback results from this past Sunday pertinent to Smackdown:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Big E defeated Sheamus.<\/li>\n<li>Matt Riddle defeated King Corbin. Corbin attacked Riddle during a post-match backstage interview.<\/li>\n<li>Roman Reigns defeated \u201cThe Fiend\u201d Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match to win the Universal Championship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Items Advertised by WWE<\/h4>\n<p>We move past a crazy couple of weeks in WWE and head towards a more normal schedule as we get ready for Clash of Champions, slated for Sunday September 27. We know from Raw that Randy Orton will once again challenge Drew McIntyre for WWE Championship, and we\u2019ll start getting things put into place from Smackdown starting tonight. Here\u2019s what\u2019s on tap in WWE\u2019s preview:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Roman Reigns to address the WWE Universe (the fans) with Paul Heyman by his side<\/li>\n<li>Big E, Matt Riddle, King Corbin, and Sheamus will battle for Universal Title opportunity (match \u2026 God I hate the WWE-speak)<\/li>\n<li>Shayna Baszler &amp; Nia Jax set for championship rematch against Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Universal Champion Roman Reigns &amp; Paul Heyman to Speak<\/h4>\n<p>It\u2019s been a crazy couple of weeks on Smackdown, given Roman Reigns\u2019 return at SummerSlam and his alignment with Paul Heyman. Heyman had long been the advocate for Reigns\u2019 biggest adversary Brock Lesnar, who is no longer under contract to WWE. This past Sunday, he regained the Universal Championship by defeating incumbent champion \u201cThe Fiend\u201d Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a triple threat. Wyatt had just won the title from Braun at SummerSlam, and both men were attacked by a returning Roman to close out the show. It wasn\u2019t your ordinary triple threat, as Roman did not sign the contract until mid-match as he made his way out to the ring with Heyman and inserted himself into the match. The contract was to have been signed last Friday, and it was by both Wyatt and Strowman, but apparently not by Reigns. To be fair we did not see him physically sign it at the end of the show, where he revealed his alignment with Heyman. He just said he would be at Payback, would be in the triple threat match, and will regain the Universal title.<\/p>\n<p>Reigns begins his second run with the title he was forced to forfeit nearly two years ago where he revealed a relapse of leukemia. He does so in a much different way that what we have be accustomed, and thus we\u2019ll see what unfolds tonight as we\u2019ll hear from both the champion and his new advocate. Roman has been talking trash with some Twitter trolls:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Only reason I\u2019m down your throat, is because you keep your mouth open.  I\u2019m the best performer of this generation period and the title is finally in the right hands for it to hold true value. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/E7PzVUP20D\">https:\/\/t.co\/E7PzVUP20D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWERomanReigns\/status\/1300591007852105729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 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 know I\u2019m cynical by nature, but let\u2019s be honest. Lesnar is no longer under contract and they need something for Heyman to do. For me, this would have been a hell of a lot more impactful had they done it two to five years ago when Reigns was getting booed out of the building on a nightly basis. They could split up Heyman and Lesnar while Lesnar was still under contract and it would have been fine. That said, I still like this pairing (better late than never) and there are a ton of possibilities to which we can look forward in terms of stories and matches. I\u2019m not sold Reigns is a full-blown heel yet, as he looked reluctant to enter that match late. I\u2019m looking forward to an explanation of his actions, and he\u2019s sure got the right guy by his side.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Fatal Four-Way to Determine Challenger to Universal Championship: Big E vs. Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin vs. Sheamus<\/h4>\n<p>Roman Reigns needs a new challenger for the Universal Championship with Clash of Champions on the horizon.<\/p>\n<p>Big E recently defeated Sheamus on Smackdown and at Payback this past Sunday. Matt Riddle defeated King Corbin at Payback after being in a feud on TV recently, however, Corbin attacked Riddle after the match. Tonight, these four men go at it in a fatal four-way to determine Roman\u2019s next challenger. Sheamus is the only former world champion in this group having held the WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, and when the titles were combined in 2015. Ironically, he cashed in Money in the Bank on Roman when he first won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series. They feuded over the title through the end of the year. Matt Riddle\u2019s only gold in WWE is the NXT Tag Team Championship. Corbin has held the U.S. Championship. Big E is a former Intercontinental Champion as well as a multiple time tag team champion with New Day. Here\u2019s Big E in a WWE exclusive following Payback:<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3915831438\" 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><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Big E is uncontainable after beating Sheamus: WWE Network Exclusive, Aug. 30, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ESgKwxi8JVU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: Sheamus and Corbin did lose their matches, so I don\u2019t know how they deserve a chance to compete for the Universal Championship. I do understand though having your top guys on the show compete in a match to determine that challenger. I could see Big E getting the call here, which would be ironic considering how years ago Big E was Vince\u2019s choice to get a big push while Roman was Triple H\u2019s. I don\u2019t care what they do here, just no Corbin please. We\u2019ve seen enough of Corbin vs. Roman for a LONG time. I was wondering about A.J. Styles, but he tested positive for COVID-19 recently. For VIP members, Wade Keller covers this in his hotline today.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>WWE Women\u2019s Tag Team Championship: Shayna Baszler &amp; Nia Jax (champs) vs. Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks<\/h4>\n<p>This past Sunday at Payback, Shayna Baszler &amp; Nia Jax (Can I call them ShayJax? I think I will.) won their first WWE Women\u2019s Tag Team Championship by defeating two-time champions Sasha Banks &amp; Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Bayley. Tonight, Bayley &amp; Sasha get a rematch to win the titles for the third time.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, in advance of the title match Sunday, Bayley &amp; Sasha came out and discussed what happened at SummerSlam. Bayley retained her Smackdown Women\u2019s Championship over Asuka, but Sasha could not do the same with the Raw title. Bayley pointed out how Sasha has never retained a singles championship, causing Sasha to hang her head, but said they were in this together and stronger together. Shayna and Nia interrupted and showed their disdain for one another but said they would win the titles. This past Monday, they argued who was responsible for winning the titles on Sunday. Speaking of disarray, here\u2019s Bayley &amp; Sasha in a WWE exclusive and Shayna and Nia (ShayJax) in their photo shoot as champions (if you care about that sort of thing):<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks are in disarray: WWE Network Exclusive, Aug,. 30, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NAaVZyOgxc8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shayna &amp; Nia&#039;s first photo shoot as Women&#039;s Tag Team Champions: WWE Network Exclusive, Aug. 30, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fQpu7lThEHQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I don\u2019t what to say any more about Bayley &amp; Sasha. I\u2019m not against them, it\u2019s just we\u2019ve talked so much about them and their potential breakup that I\u2019m out of things to say. The only thing that\u2019s possibly clear to me is that the breakup could be sooner rather than later. That said, I don\u2019t see a switch back of the titles although (and I\u2019m even tired of saying this) stranger things have happened.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Other Match Results and Segments from Last Week<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Jeff Hardy defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the Intercontinental Championship with former champion A.J. Styles on commentary. Sami Zayn returned to lay claim to being the Intercontinental Champion considering he never lost the title. He looked to reunite with Nakamura &amp; Cesaro, the current Smackdown Tag Team Champions, but they wanted nothing to do with him.<\/li>\n<li>Matt Riddle defeated Chad Gable.<\/li>\n<li>Big E was to be a guest on MizTV, but instead paired with Heavy Machinery (Otis &amp; Tucker) to defeat Miz &amp; John Morrison &amp; Sheamus.<br \/>\nBraun Strowman defeated Drew Gulak.<\/li>\n<li>Cesaro defeated Kalitso of Lucha House Party. Dissension continued amongst Lucha House Party after the match.<\/li>\n<li>Tamina, Nikki Cross, and Alexa Bliss spoke backstage where Nikki pointed out how Bliss had a dreadlock resembling that of the \u201cFiend\u201d Bray Wyatt. Alexa smashed the coffee mug she gave Nikki last year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Final Thoughts<\/h4>\n<p>Given the situation with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, I must say I\u2019m looking forward to Smackdown. I\u2019m also into what may happen with Sami Zayn and Jeff Hardy. I\u2019m curious how they will handle Money in the Bank, considering Otis still holds the contract. They have time to have him cash in, but I don\u2019t see him getting involved in the Universal Championship picture. Perhaps he gets drafted to Raw next month or loses it? Who knows, but there are certainly interesting stories to be told on Friday night.<\/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-1174719493\"><div id=\"pwtor-3711576810\"><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 SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 ORLANDO, FL. AT THE THUNDERDOME IN THE AMWAY CENTER AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM SPECIALIST Announcers: Michael Cole and Corey <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/09\/04\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown-primer-9-4-payback-fallout-roman-empire-returns-universal-challenge-bayley-sasha-want-gold-back\/\" title=\"WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN PRIMER 9\/4: Payback Fallout, Roman Empire Returns, Universal Challenge, Bayley &amp; Sasha Want Gold Back\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":103956,"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-103952","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\/09\/20200902_SD_RomanHeyman_FC_Fridays-9668f6afef48cdb72a64109141688f2d-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103952","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=103952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103957,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103952\/revisions\/103957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}