WWE Smackdown preview and predictions for the main segments on episode airing August 21st.
WWE Smackdown Preview & Predictions
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, August 21, 2020
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
TV: FOX
WWE Smackdown 8/21 Show Preview
The Smackdown before Summerslam Sunday night is sure to be very newsworthy as it will be the first WWE show held in the the brand new WWE ThunderDome. The WWE ThunderDome is an innovated and immersive arena built to include virtual fans and create a new presentation for viewers to enjoy. This ThunderDome will be where all WWE television and events will be held until late October and is located in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NXT events will still be held at Full Sail University.
3 matches are being advertised for the first night of the ThunderDome. AJ Styles will defend his Intercontinental Championship against the enigmatic Jeff Hardy. The Smackdown Tag Team Champions, Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura, will also be defending their titles against Lucha House Party. Finally, Big E will go one on one with Sheamus. Fans should also be on the lookout for the group known as Retribution. They have made an impact on Smackdown in recent weeks so we should expect an appearance from them on this episode.
AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy – WWE Intercontinental Championship
Two of the most exciting superstars of all time will battle for the Intercontinental Championship Friday night. AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy have prior history with one another as the two wrestled numerous of times when they were a part on the TNA roster years ago. In fact, Jeff Hardy’s debut match in TNA was against Styles. While that was many years and both men are towards the back end of their careers, they both can still carry great matches so this should be a fun one.
AJ Styles has made the IC Title relevant again so I don’t think it is time to take the title off of him. Also, if it was going to happen, it would logically happen at Summerslam. Hopefully this match is given time to keep Hardy looking strong in defeat. I could also see some type of wacky finish to set up a rematch at next week’s WWE pay per view, Payback.
What Will Retribution Do Next?
I’m still trying to wrap my head around this new group called Retribution. It seems like a really good concept on paper but some of their antics make very little sense. When they attack the superstars or the crowd at shows, they look pretty cool. But when they are destroying stuff backstage or outside the arena, they celebrate like children pulling a prank which does not work. Stuff like that does not seem intimidating. They need to keep attacking superstars and officials and filling their ranks with people who ACTUALLY look formidable if this is going to work.
That is why I’m curious to see what they do on Smackdown and this weekend at Summerslam. Summerslam’s tag line is “You won’t see it coming” so I think that has to do with Retribution. It would be great if they start to reveal themselves slowly until we get the big reveal of who leads them. So I see this as a very big weekend for Retribution and hopefully WWE doesn’t drop the ball with them like they did with the Nexus exactly 10 years ago.
WWE Smackdown 8/21 Predictions
10 PT Pick = Show Will End With A PROMO
9 PT Pick = Show Will Have UNDER 5.5 Matches
8 PT Pick = AJ Styles OVER 2.5 Appearances
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