 John Cena and AJ Styles Challenged Solo Sikoa and Jimmy UsoCena choosing Styles as his partner to fight The Bloodline (even though Jimmy's not technically a part of the group at the moment even if he thinks he is) was expected coming off the ending of SmackDown last week. Jimmy and Sikoa stood on the apron but never entered the ring. It was a solid start to the show that also set the stage for what happened later on in the night. Cena didn't wrestle in the main event as promised, but he did wrestle in the post-show dark match apparently, so the crowd got what they wanted. The LWO (United States Champion Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar) def. The Street ProfitsWhat's been bothering me about this Profits "heel turn" is that they're still coming out to the same music, basically same attire, and same attitude. They've been slightly more aggressive at times (such as when they attacked The LWO last week), but they're still pandering to the audience. I have to imagine that's by design and is part of the story WWE is telling with them considering they lost here and Bobby Lashley wasn't happy. It was an enjoyable outing. Mysterio will defend the United States Championship against Escobar on next week's show. WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY def. AsukaLike most people, I was surprised this wasn't saved for Fastlane considering this marked their first-ever one-on-one encounter on pay-per-view, especially since it had a clean finish. I had my guard up for a disqualification with Charlotte Flair and the rest of Damage CTRL at ringside, but I was pleasantly surprised SKY won by pinfall. This was a great match given plenty of time, almost 20 minutes. I had lofty expectations and they delivered. Bianca Belair being out for now means Flair is apparently back in the title mix, which is a bummer. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller def. The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland and Butch)Theory and Waller have developed strong chemistry as partners in such a short span of time. Theory needs some serious rebuilding and this team with Waller might help him more than anything right now. This was quite the competitive contest and a very good one at that. Theory and Waller continue to build momentum. On a side note, Michael Cole made the comment a few weeks ago that Sheamus is currently injured, so that's why he's been missing as of note. Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso Attacked AJ Styles and John CenaEveryone was supposed to sign the contract for the tag team match at Fastlane, but Styles didn't because Jimmy and Sikoa attacked him backstage. You'd think Cena would have gotten some backup when Sikoa and Jimmy targeted him in the ring, but apparently not. Reportedly, LA Knight was slated for that spot before being pulled from the show due to testing positive for COVID-19. Fingers crossed he'll be well in time for next week so they can set up the match for Fastlane. This segment was effective in putting more heat on Sikoa and Jimmy. We better still be getting Styles vs. Roman Reigns at some point. Overall ShowAll in all, this was an easy thumbs-up edition of SmackDown. The storyline development with Cena, Styles, Sikoa and Jimmy was well done and now we have a big match on tap for Fastlane with Knight possibly replacing Styles. But what about the rest of the card? The pay-per-view is in two weeks and they need to confirm most of the matches on next week's shows. But I did appreciate the emphasis on the in-ring action this week as all three matches we got were very entertaining. Bonus points for the Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn video package that implied they were responsible for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship being "cursed."
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