Amid WWE’s latest European tour ahead of their trip to France for the Clash in Paris PLE, WWE headed to Dublin, Ireland for the August 22 edition of Friday Night SmackDown in what is the first ever live-televised WWE event in the country. On the road to Clash in Paris, several storylines continued, there was plenty of action on offer, and some big stars were in attendance, providing several things that fans loved from the show. There were some notable standouts and talking points coming out-of-the-blue brand this week, including Becky Lynch arriving in her hometown, John Cena going head-to-head with Logan Paul, and more.
|
WWE SmackDown August 22 Results |
|---|
|
Melo Don’t Miz defeated Motor City Machine Guns |
|
Piper Niven defeated Charlotte Flair |
|
The Street Profits defeated The MFTs |
|
Jade Cargill & Tiffany Stratton defeated Becky Lynch & Nia Jax |
The Dublin, Ireland Crowd Was Electric
- WWE’s international crowds are superb.
- European audiences carry a special atmosphere.
- The Irish fans helped to make SmackDown extra strong.
Like most of WWE’s international crowds, those in Dublin, Ireland showed up for a good time, delivering a raucous atmosphere. They opened the show with a wall of noise, so much so that Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore couldn’t hear themselves speak. Becky Lynch also received a major ovation to kick off the show, even though she did very quickly turn on the crowd.
Throughout the night, the likes of The Miz, Tiffany Stratton, and John Cena were some of the favorites for the crowd. They definitely helped to elevate the night, making every match mean something and everyone felt like a star. Whether it be the biggest stars of the night going at it or those with less momentum battling, the Irish crowd delivered on every metric throughout the night.
- Becky Lynch has longed for an Irish WWE event.
- She opened SmackDown with a heel promo against her own country.
- Tiffany Stratton, Nia Jax, and Jade Cargill appeared.
Friday Night SmackDown opened with Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch emerging in front of her hometown fans, at first soaking in the adoration. However, she quickly turned against the crowd, stating that they didn’t deserve having a show in the country. She ran down Irish culture, famous Irish figures (even shooting on Oscar Wilde for not having a New York Times bestseller), and bragged about now being in America (not to mention her “hot American husband”).
Everything about this promo was fantastic, and Lynch had the audience in the palm of her hand. It can be somewhat forced sometimes when an audience cuts a heel promo on her hometown, but this worked perfectly. Things broke down as Tiffany Stratton, Nia Jax, and Jade Cargill all got involved, setting up a tag team main event for later in the night.
Damian Priest & Aleister Black Go To War
- Aleister Black was scheduled to face R-Truth.
- Truth accidentally didn’t make the show by going to Dublin, Georgia.
- Damian Priest came out to take it to Black in a brutal fight.
Aleister Black was advertised to go one-on-one with R-Truth on SmackDown. However, R-Truth ended up in Dublin, Georgia by accident, so he instead sent out his friend Damian Priest to fight Aleister Black. These two rivals brawled, with Priest throwing Black over to the floor in a brutal spot. They fought both inside and outside the ring, until security tried (and failed) to separate them.
Priest and Black made the most of their minutes, adding to the intensity and animosity in the rivalry. This has been one of the more unsung rivalries on SmackDown in the last month.
Logan Paul & John Cena Face-To-Face
- John Cena received a major ovation from the crowd.
- Logan Paul cut a great heel promo.
- Cena tore Down Paul down on the mic before delivering an AA.
Prior to their Clash in Paris match, John Cena and Logan Paul came face-to-face for a promo on SmackDown. Logan Paul spoke first, issuing a fantastic heel speech, playing off the crowd perfectly and taking their hijacking of his promo in his stride. Paul may have his detractors, but his promo work was top quality here.
John Cena then hit back, giving Paul his props before shredding him down in classic Cena fashion. He told Paul that he doesn’t understand loyalty or respect, and even though he has talent, he just used WWE for sponsorship, wrestling just 23 times in four years – whereas Cena has been doing it for 23 years. The segment ended with Cena delivering an AA to Paul.
