WWE Smackdown 8/5/20 | A Coherent Review.

This show went from being consistently mediocre to consistently good to consistently mediocre again and this week's episode showed me that it's heading the direction of consistently good once more. Damn, wrestling fans are fickle, aren't they? 

Side note, the official theme song for Backlash is the main song from the "Greatest Showman" soundtrack and you know what? As a fan of the movie, I absolutely love it *sings that line "this is the greatest show"*. 

For those curious, this is not the movie version but rather the Panic At The Disco version of the song "The Greatest Show". 

The Dirt Sheet. Special Guest, Their Disdain For Otis As Money In The Bank Match Winner. 

The Miz and John Morrison stated that Otis as the Money In The Bank briefcase holder is nothing more than a disgrace and how Braun Strowman teaming up with Otis makes no sense. 

They then proceeded to further make fun of Otis with a series of skits like a sock or a Mandy Rose doll. Speaking of Strowman, he rushed to the ring with a big "ROAR" and Morrison on behalf of his friend, wanted Miz to challenge Braun to a good old fashioned one on one match and Braun with no hesitation, said that he accepts. 

This was a quick one. Strowman defeated The Miz with the running powerslam. After the match, Morrison along with Miz challenged Strowman to a 2 on 1 handicap match at Backlash and the big man said yes. 

Another match has been added for the Backlash PPV and talk about filler, am I right? Probably the weakest part of the show but it was fine for it was. 

AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura. Intercontinental Championship Tournament. 

Their history together in WWE and in the industry in general (a lot of ins) is well-documented and the WWE part is the most disappointing out of the bunch. 

Luckily, the latest chapter in their series of matches is actually quite entertaining. Shame that there's no crowd to witness it in person though.  

AJ countered Nakamura's triangle into a Styles Clash to a near fall. The match concluded when AJ hit the phenomenal forearm to advance in the semi-finals of the intercontinental championship tournament. 

That is the best I've seen Shinsuke Nakamura look and honestly, him being a solo guy again if that's the direction they're talking, is the right direction to walk on. 

By the way, AJ Styles is now permanently in the house that he built aka Smackdown and will see if the trade paid off or not. 

Charlotte Flair vs Bayley. 

During the match, Bayley used the ropes to nail a roll-up pin on Charlotte but the ref saw it and immediately broke up the pin.

Charlotte took Micheal Cole's headset for some reason and I gotta ask, why are some superstars out here picking on Cole as of late?  

Forget about storyline inconsistencies, these are the questions we should be asking. Bayley used the ropes for the pin again and it worked. 

They gave these women time and none was wasted in my opinion. A very entertaining encounter. 

Mandy Rose And Otis vs Sonya Deville And Dolph Ziggler. 

A tag team match that should've happened at Backlash. Nevertheless, I actually like this match. It isn't a Dave Meltzer 5 star classic but it did its job on telling a story of jealously especially when it comes to Deville and Rose in a unique way. That's what pro wrestling matches are made for. 

Deville led her partner to victory with the shining wizard on the back of the head of Mandy Rose. The Forgotten Sons' Steve Cutler said in a backstage promo that "your blood" talking to the tag teams, is in The Forgotten Sons' hands. 

The Miz and John Morrison made fun of Braun Strowman's record in handicap matches (I mean, take a look at the handicap match that Braun lost the intercontinental championship from) and as a unit, they will take the Universal championship away from the big man. A decent promo. 

Jeff Hardy vs Sheamus. Intercontinental Championship Tournament. 

Jeff's backstage promo before this match took about the start of his singles run as the intercontinental and the bittersweetness of it, was great. This match? Not so much but not in a bad way. It's just okay. 

The Celtic Warrior was looking for the white noise but Hardy turned it into a roll-up and Hardy will face Daniel Bryan in the tournament's semi-finals. Don't be surprised if Sheamus costs Jeff the tournament by interfering in the semi-finals match. 

So, to recap for all of you slow mofos. 

Like: Charlotte Flair vs Bayley, Mandy Rose and Otis vs Sonya Deville and Dolph Ziggler, Jeff Hardy backstage promo, Styles vs Nakamura. 

Didn't like: A good show with no negatives which means, I got nothing to say anything bad about the episode (no sh*t, Omar). 

There will be no 5 News weeks tomorrow as I'm about to review Double Or Nothing instead so it should be a fun PPV to watch. Click here to read my brief predictions on Double Or Nothing 2020. 

Sound off in the comments below on what do you think about this week's episode of Friday Night Smackdown? Follow the blog for honest pro wrestling opinions as well my twitter @omartheplayaguy. Anywho, stay safe smarks.