Friday Night SmackDown Review - July 9, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Universal Champion Roman Reigns and The Usos Reunited

This marked the first time we've seen Reigns and Usos together in at least a month and the first time they've all been on the same page. It was never explained where Jey was, but I think it was implied that he left on his own accord because he was done getting between Reigns and Jimmy. Speaking of Jimmy, the fact he was even on this show is embarrassing after news broke earlier in the week that he had a fourth DUI. There's a lot that be said about his situation, but the bottom line is that the dude needs helps and WWE continuing to feature him on TV without even addressing the issue does him no favors.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Baron Corbin to Qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Did you foolishly think we got the last of each other when Nakamura beat Corbin for the King of the Ring crown a few weeks ago? Well, so did I, but apparently not. Much like every other encounter they've ever had, this was mediocre; not terrible but not overly exciting, either. On the bright side, I'm digging what they're doing with Corbin. We've never seen this side of him before and he's playing the role well. It's a refreshing change of pace for him and I'm interested to see where it goes next.

Shotzi and Nox def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina (Non-Title)

I completely forgot that Natalya and Tamina were members of the SmackDown roster considering they haven't been on the show in weeks. With Bayley being out for the next nine months, they were needed (unfortunately), as were the NXT call-ups of Shotzi and Tegan Nox. Yes, I believe they're calling her Tegan Nox despite the team name being Shotzi and Nox, but I believe Shozi has dropped the Blackheart from her name, which is stupid. Nonetheless, they're two great additions to the depleted SmackDown women's division, along with Toni Storm who got the video package treatment later in the night. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Shotzi to be called up without her original partner Ember Moon, but maybe Moon wasn't ready to return to the main roster just yet. The match was decent while it lasted and Shotzi and Nox winning their debut was the right call.

Sonya Deville Announced Carmella as SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair's Opponent at Money in the Bank and Liv Morgan as Carmella's Replacement in the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

As previously noted, WWE announced earlier in the day that Bayley was injured while training and will be sidelined for at least nine months, which is just awful news. She was one of the MVPs of WWE's ThunderDome era and she gets hurt a week before they return to the road. That's terrible timing. She'll certainly be missed. They did a nice job of switching some stuff up here with Carmella challenging Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship on next week's first big SmackDown of 2021 in front of fans (despite doing nothing to deserve it but I believe that's the point) and then Morgan taking Carmella's spot in the women's Money in the Bank Ladder match. For those keeping track, that leaves two spots still open in the women's Ladder matchup on the SmackDown side of things. At this point, I assume those spots will be filled by Shotzi and Nox.

Seth Rollins def. Cesaro to Qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

These two always work well together and this outing was no exception. Hopefully this is it for a while, though, because they both need to move on to fresh opponents from this point forward. It was another entertaining encounter from them and considering they both have unfinished business with Reigns, the outcome felt unpredictable. That said, Rollins was the better choice to advance since Cesaro had his shot at Reigns recently and lost. Rollins shouldn't win Money in the Bank, mind you, but he should be racking up wins before he likely faces Edge at SummerSlam.

Edge and SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dominik and Rey Mysterio Attacked Universal Champion Roman Reigns and The Usos

I was curious how this was going to go down and my guess was that Reigns would turn on Jimmy, especially after he told them to stay in the back and they didn't. The Mysterios coming out to aid Edge was a total surprise as I honestly forgot about them, but it made sense given their established issues with Reigns and The Usos. This was a strong segment that successfully laid the groundwork for what should be a hell of a six-man tag team main event next week.

Overall Show

There was a lot happening on this edition of SmackDown and it made for an above-average, exciting and newsworthy show. SmackDown's women's division was in desperate need of new names, especially with Bayley being out hurt, so the call-ups of Shotzi, Nox and Storm are welcomed. We also found out who else will be competing in the men's and women's Money in the Bank Ladder matches in addition to multiple matches being set up for next week's big show back on the road. This was an easy thumbs-up episode and an absolute breeze to get through. Hopefully having fans back will make SmackDown even more fun to watch on a weekly basis.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews