WWE Friday Night Smackdown Thread: Blissfully Released by The Fiend Edition

Huge news for WWE... and a big morale boost to wrestling fans all over seeking a return to normalcy... WWE is reportedly leaving the Performance Center. It's being reported that starting with SummerSlam, all WWE shows will take place at the Amway Center in Orlando, the arena that is the home of the Orlando Magic. Part of the move to the Amway Center could be the inclusion of virtual fans. I assume it means something like what either the NBA or MLB on Fox is doing, getting fans to sit at their computers and do live reactions. We'll see how that all plays out, esp. since AEW has started letting in actual fans to their shows (more on that later).

Big day tomorrow if you like independent wrestling and have the WWE Network. Tomorrow is the day WWE adds programming from WXW, EVOLVE, Progress, & (Scottish promotion) Insane Championship Wrestling to the Network... let's see if WWE edits over Madonna's "Like A Prayer" which served as GRADO's ICW entrance theme during his big babyface push to the ICW Championship which he took from Drew Galloway/McIntyre with a little assistance from Mick Foley.

A pretty significant spoiler may have leaked about next Saturday night's episode of AEW Dynamite (remember... Dynamite is pushed back to Saturday next week due to the NBA, and thus going head-to-head with NXT TakeOver XXX) thanks to one of those actual fans in attendance... with the alleged spoiler containing a title change, a shock debut by another former WWE wrestler who had been released on Black Wednesday, and a separate debut that could help AEW's women's division

For the first time in company history... AEW has fired/released on air talent. Jimmy Havoc, Bea Priestly, & Sadie Gibbs have all been let go. Havoc is obviously the biggest name on that list as he had been on Dynamite in a tag team with Kip Sabian and was getting a push before he got entangled in June's #SpeakingOut claims. AEW has apparently finished looking into those claims and decided to cut ties with Havoc. Bea Priestly also came into AEW with a bunch of fanfare over her potential... but she never got a chance to connect with the crowd before COVID shut down travel and she's been gone ever since.

With Wednesday all to itself next week... NXT better put on a good show. But that show was pre-taped, and apparently included a "scary" botch that saw Johnny Gargano land on his head and cause the match to be stopped so trainers could look at him. The incident was apparently bad enough to cause HHH & HBK to come out from the back themselves to check on Gargano. Johnny Wrestling did get to finish the match... and hopefully he is ok b/c you know what happens when you get hurt and then there's an adrenaline dump that follows... you REALLY start to feel the pain then that the adrenaline had been masking.

And now for tonight's Friday Night Smackdown preview... perhaps the second to last Smackdown from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla.

Alexa Bliss will have a sit down interview to discuss her time as captive of The Fiend... and whether she's started to experience some form of Stockholm Syndrome

And speaking of The Fiend... Braun Strowman promises a "monstrous" confrontation with "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

Big E faces off against John Morrison... and let's be real... Big E will probably squash John Morrison

Triple Brand Women's Battle Royal to determine who will challenge Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship at SummerSlam. I hope Asuka wins so she gets to challenge for both belts. Maybe even a Lynch/Rousey/Flair winner-take-all type match.

SWAMP BLISS!!


vs.

TRAILER PARK MANDY!!


BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!