{"id":64143,"date":"2018-08-07T12:28:36","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T17:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=64143"},"modified":"2018-08-07T14:47:14","modified_gmt":"2018-08-07T19:47:14","slug":"wwe-smackdown-primer-8-7-a-j-responds-to-joe-the-bar-vs-new-day-orton-hardy-nakamura-situation-becky-charlotte-vs-the-iiconics-miz-gives-his-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/07\/wwe-smackdown-primer-8-7-a-j-responds-to-joe-the-bar-vs-new-day-orton-hardy-nakamura-situation-becky-charlotte-vs-the-iiconics-miz-gives-his-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 8\/7: A.J. responds to Joe, The Bar vs. New Day, Orton-Hardy-Nakamura situation, Becky &#038; Charlotte vs. The IIconics, Miz gives his answer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3071851735\" 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 SMACKDOWN PRIMER<br \/>\nAUGUST 7, 2018<br \/>\nORLANDO, FL. AT THE AMWAY CENTER<br \/>\nAIRS ON USA NETWORK 8:00PM EDT<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR<\/h3>\n<h3>Arena\/Opening Thoughts<\/h3>\n<p>WWE continues to stay in the sunny state of Florida tonight as they will roll out their Smackdown brand for us in the Amway Center in Orlando, FL.\u00a0 They return to this arena for the second time this year as their first appearance was the day after New Year\u2019s Day.\u00a0 A lot has changed since then mostly due to the superstar (wrestler) shakeup which took place following WrestleMania and of course the return of Daniel Bryan to active competition.\u00a0 We\u2019ll continue to get ready for SummerSlam as the pieces continue to fall into place from the Smackdown side of WWE.<\/p>\n<p>Last week Samoa Joe declared his mission to be WWE Champion.\u00a0 Charlotte inserted herself into the Smackdown Women\u2019s Championship picture.\u00a0 Things continued to get sticky between Rusev, Lana, and Aiden English.\u00a0 Randy Orton continued his torture of Jeff Hardy.\u00a0 We got closer to finding out who will challenge the Bludgeon Brothers for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship, and Daniel Bryan challenged the Miz to a match at SummerSlam.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at the follow-up to these and other items as we look at what\u2019s on the menu for tonight.<\/p>\n<h3>A.J. Styles Responds to Samoa Joe<\/h3>\n<p>Last week Samoa Joe discussed his opportunity for the WWE Championship as he will challenge A.J. Styles at SummerSlam for the top prize on Smackdown.\u00a0 Things got quite personal as Joe called out A.J. for not being a good father to his children nor a husband to his wife.\u00a0 He accused him of preferring to be on the road and putting the championship ahead of his own family.\u00a0 He went so far as to say his family is rooting against him at SummerSlam, so they could have him while Joe becomes WWE Champion.\u00a0 Tonight, A.J. responds.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what he said on Twitter in runup to tonight:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019ve heard the words. <br \/>I know what he said. <br \/>And now I make my return to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SDLive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SDLive<\/a> THIS Tuesday in Orlando, FL.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve made my presence known there before &#8230; this time won\u2019t be any different. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zpLSS7Li5P\">pic.twitter.com\/zpLSS7Li5P<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AJStylesOrg\/status\/1026159828501245954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 If there was a clinic for how to be a heel, Samoa Joe would be in charge.\u00a0 That promo made me feel like he means business and wants to be WWE Champion.\u00a0 These are the types of promos that got me into wrestling in the 1980s.\u00a0 He might have gotten a little too personal, but that was my issue.\u00a0 As an airline pilot, I am frequently away from home and have multiple small children myself.\u00a0 The more I thought about, him getting under my skin was what made that promo more effective.\u00a0 I\u2019m certain A.J. will have a strong response perhaps tapping into a more dark, serious side of himself.\u00a0 Kudos to WWE for purposely announcing A.J. will be here this week.\u00a0 It makes the champion and A.J. particularly feel important and a big deal, something Wade Keller has frequently alluded to over the past year in many of his podcasts here at PWTorch.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Finals of Tag Team Tournament: The New Day vs. The Bar<\/h3>\n<p>The New Day will take on The Bar in finals of the four-team tournament to determine the no. 1 contenders for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.\u00a0 The winners face the champions, The Bludgeon Brothers at SummerSlam.\u00a0 With New Day at ringside, sitting at a table full of pancakes, The Bar defeated The Usos to advance to this week.\u00a0 New Day faces the team that ended their 484-day tag team championship (then of Raw) in December of 2016.<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 I was a bit surprised to see The Bar go over The Usos, who continue their losing ways in recent times.\u00a0 Looking at the big picture it\u2019s possible WWE actually a) to avoid New Day vs. The Usos as that rivalry stretched out quite a bit over 2017 and b) wants to start conflict within the New Day.\u00a0 They can either have them lose tonight and start \u201cdissention in the ranks\u201d as Jesse Ventura used to say, or possibly win and go to SummerSlam only to lose there and start their issues at that point.\u00a0 New Day has been together for quite some time and their act could certainly use a change.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Orton-Nakamura-Hardy Situation<\/h3>\n<p>Last week Jeff Hardy called out Randy Orton for his heinous acts against him a few weeks ago on Smackdown.\u00a0 As Randy started coming out to his music, U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura attacked Hardy from behind.\u00a0 As Nakamura was going for the Kinshasa, Orton stopped him only to encourage Nakamura to finish his mission.\u00a0 He did, and what followed was another series of torturous acts by Randy, tapping into his sadistic side.\u00a0 He would get Hardy out to the announce table, and eventually pour a bottle of water on his face as if he were waterboarding him.\u00a0 He then wiped the makeup off of his face.\u00a0 WWE announced this on their SummerSlam Twitter handle:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/USTitle?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#USTitle<\/a> will be ON THE LINE at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SummerSlam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SummerSlam<\/a> when <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShinsukeN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ShinsukeN<\/a> defends against former champion <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JEFFHARDYBRAND?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JEFFHARDYBRAND<\/a>! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2Al6aXlFRG\">https:\/\/t.co\/2Al6aXlFRG<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0AMd17xsMm\">pic.twitter.com\/0AMd17xsMm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE SummerSlam (@SummerSlam) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SummerSlam\/status\/1025469556696010753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 On Sunday night I joined Greg Parks on his signature Wrestling Night in America podcast here at PWTorch and we discussed this.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t make heads or tails out of this situation as the feud is currently between Hardy and Nakamura over the U.S. Championship, with Hardy and Orton being secondary.\u00a0 The only problem is the Hardy-Orton has been framed as the primary conflict and Hardy-Nakamura has felt secondary and almost non-existent.\u00a0 As far as SummerSlam goes why wouldn\u2019t WWE insert Randy into this match and make it a triple threat?\u00a0 The only thing I could come up with is perhaps Randy can\u2019t go yet but they wanted to bring him back the way they brought Steve Austin back in 1997 following his injury during the match with the late Owen Hart at that SummerSlam.\u00a0 That was to keep him on TV because everyone was crazy about Austin at the time and WWE couldn\u2019t risk keeping him off considering they were in the midst of the Monday Night Wars.\u00a0 They\u2019re certainly not in the same situation here, but it could be to have Randy do the dirty work for Nakamura while not taking any bumps.\u00a0 Nakamura can then retain the championship at SummerSlam, Randy can take the blame for weakening Hardy.\u00a0 Either way, Randy gets the heat re-establishing himself as a top end heel.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4230631598\" 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<h3>Charlotte &amp; Becky Lynch vs. The IIconics<\/h3>\n<p>Last week Charlotte returned to help her best friend Becky Lynch as she got ambushed by Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Carmella.\u00a0 Carmella cut another heartfelt promo opposite Becky only to betray her at the end.\u00a0 We then learned if Charlotte won her match with Carmella, she would he added to the championship match at SummerSlam which at the time featured Carmella and Becky making it a triple threat.\u00a0 Charlotte would win the match, much to the chagrin of her best friend Becky.\u00a0 Becky claimed she wasn\u2019t rooting against her best friend, but you could tell she genuinely wanted the match at SummerSlam to remain one-on-one.\u00a0 Tonight, the best friends put their \u201cdifferences\u201d aside and team up to face the IIconics.\u00a0 Here\u2019s Paige, as well as Charlotte and Becky, and the IIconics on Twitter:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/BeckyLynchWWE\/status\/1026309581574684672<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealPaigeWWE\/status\/1026524300805922817<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/PeytonRoyceWWE\/status\/1025849752863354881<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts: Looking at the big picture, Evolution has to be driving the booking decision here.\u00a0 I would imagine a Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch for the championship has to be penciled in for the event, considering these are two of the foundational members of the women\u2019s \u201crevolution\u201d which started in 2015.\u00a0 I could see Charlotte winning the championship at SummerSlam, and perhaps doing the favor for her best friend at the Evolution event set to take place in October of this year.\u00a0 This is risky on a level, as Becky would be continuing her chase of the championship for another two months which could create frustration for her many fans.\u00a0 Judging though by what is taking place on Raw over the Universal Championship, I don\u2019t think fan frustration is a concern for WWE.\u00a0 Becky could also win the title and retain over Charlotte which would go a long way to making her championship run feel important.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Miz Gives His Answer<\/h3>\n<p>Last week Daniel Bryan called out the Miz.\u00a0 The Miz responded on the titantron saying he was on the set of his reality show, Miz and Mrs. which was to follow Smackdown.\u00a0 The two long-time rivals went back and forth discussing their history which included Miz being Bryan\u2019s pro in NXT back in 2010 and their confrontation on Talking Smack back in 2016.\u00a0 Bryan would eventually challenge the Miz to a match at SummerSlam.\u00a0 Miz responded by calling out the fact that Bryan\u2019s contract was soon to expire, and his emotional moments in recent years.\u00a0 Then, he put pictures of crying babies on the titantron claiming that when the fans look at Bryan they see a crybaby.\u00a0 Yes, that happened.<\/p>\n<p>During this past week, Miz responded no to Bryan on Twitter, and WWE.comhas acknowledged it.\u00a0 Here are some of Miz\u2019s tweets:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/mikethemiz\/status\/1025774494349225984<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1610484271\" 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>https:\/\/twitter.com\/mikethemiz\/status\/1026149826055036931<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, the Miz will give his answer on \u201chis terms\u201d as he states here on Twitter.\u00a0 Take a look:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/mikethemiz\/status\/1026544750696886272<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 Did we need the crying babies?\u00a0 Did we need the skit two weeks ago when Miz pretended to come out with his daughter?\u00a0 Did we need the funeral for Team Hell No a week before that?\u00a0 There\u2019s enough history between these two that you don\u2019t need elaborate skits to build heat between them.\u00a0 This is just WWE trying to entertain themselves although I\u2019m certain management would tell you it\u2019s to entertain the fans.\u00a0 I watched, and I think you could have heard a pin drop during the babies being put on the screen, or perhaps a real crying baby.\u00a0 Stuff like this historically doesn\u2019t work and sometimes works against the storyline as it puts forth an unnecessary negative connotation.\u00a0 I advocate for telling a simple but realistic story, such as the one between Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano in NXT over the past year and a half.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Other Items<\/h3>\n<p>Zelina Vega defeated Lana.\u00a0 Aiden English attempted to help Lana as Vega\u2019s client Andrade \u201cCien\u201d Almas attempted to interfere, only to cost Lana.\u00a0 Friction continued to develop between Lana, her husband Rusev, and English himself.\u00a0 This is a different sort of story than what we\u2019ve seen, but if I were to compare it to anything the one that comes to mind that has any similarity is Damien Sandow as Miz\u2019s sidekick about four years ago.\u00a0 Granted Miz\u2019s wife wasn\u2019t involved, but it has sort of the same issues.\u00a0 It could come to the point where English breaks off on his own.\u00a0 The only problem with that is how satisfying would the payoff be, since it\u2019s not clear where WWE views English in the long term.\u00a0 There\u2019s no evidence it\u2019s all that high on the card, although involvement with Rusev can\u2019t be a bad thing.\u00a0 Then again, it\u2019s been known that Rusev and Lana have been in and out of the doghouse through the years.\u00a0 Looking at Sandow\u2019s alignment with the Miz, it certainly didn\u2019t do him any favors after they split up.<\/p>\n<p>We didn\u2019t hear from Asuka last week.\u00a0 I would be interested to see if she factors into the championship match at SummerSlam or if there are any plans for her.\u00a0 The same holds true for Naomi, who has been a bit quiet on Smackdown lately.\u00a0 Since WWE likes to get everyone on the card for SummerSlam, a tag match against the IIconics can\u2019t be a far-fetched idea.<\/p>\n<h3>Start Time and 205 Live<\/h3>\n<p>The arena website shows a start time of 7:45 p.m. but doesn\u2019t specify when doors will open.\u00a0 They advertise just about what every arena has been advertising lately and that\u2019s a match between Carmella and Asuka, as well as a six-man tag of Daniel Bryan &amp; Jeff Hardy &amp; A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe &amp; Miz &amp; Shinsuke Nakamura.\u00a0 Of course, you have the ever-present \u201cCard Subject to Change\u201d disclaimer.\u00a0 Somebody needs to bring this up to whomever owns this responsibility in WWE as far as advertising matches.<\/p>\n<p>205 Live will follow Smackdown.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Drew Gulak and Cedric Alexander had a contract signing for their Cruiserweight Championship match set to take place at SummerSlam.\u00a0 The signing was overseen by G.M. Drake Maverick.\u00a0 It got intense to the point where Gulak called Alexander the \u201cBrock Lesnar\u201d of 205Live.<\/p>\n<p>Kalisto won his match with Tony Nese.\u00a0 Following the match, Buddy Murphy came out to confront Kalisto only to have Lince Dorado assist his Lucha House Party stablemate.\u00a0 The rivalry between Murphy and the Lucha House Party continues.<\/p>\n<p>Lio Rush came out for his match with Ricky Martinez and said he had no time for Akira Tozawa, answering fans\u2019 gripe over why he wouldn\u2019t grant Tozawa a rematch.\u00a0 Rush proceeded to beat Martinez, only to have Tozawa come out to the ring to confront Rush.\u00a0 Rush left the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander defeated The Brian Kendrick in a non-title match in the main event.\u00a0 Drew Gulak and Jack Gallagher came out to attack Alexander following the match.<\/p>\n<p>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani.\u00a0 Thank you for reading!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NOW CATCH UP ON LAST WEEK&#8217;S EPISODE:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/01\/7-31-elders-wwe-smackdown-report-alt-perspective-report-on-charlotte-vs-carmella-the-bar-vs-the-usos-randy-orton-samoa-joe-make-statements-and-more\/\">7\/31 ELDER\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: Alt-perspective report on Charlotte vs. Carmella, The Bar vs. The Usos, Randy Orton &amp; Samoa Joe make statements, and more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2687707329\"><div id=\"pwtor-3348626880\"><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 SMACKDOWN PRIMER AUGUST 7, 2018 ORLANDO, FL. AT THE AMWAY CENTER AIRS ON USA NETWORK 8:00PM EDT BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR Arena\/Opening Thoughts WWE continues to stay in the sunny state of Florida <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/07\/wwe-smackdown-primer-8-7-a-j-responds-to-joe-the-bar-vs-new-day-orton-hardy-nakamura-situation-becky-charlotte-vs-the-iiconics-miz-gives-his-answer\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 8\/7: A.J. responds to Joe, The Bar vs. New Day, Orton-Hardy-Nakamura situation, Becky &#038; Charlotte vs. The IIconics, Miz gives his answer\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19516,"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":[52,4403,27,5893],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-smackdown-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Mizropes_3x2Lunn.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64143","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64143"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64167,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64143\/revisions\/64167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}