Over the past few weeks, the towering Cass has harassed Bryan at any given opportunity, attacking him during an episode of SmackDown weeks ago and eliminating him from The Greatest Royal Rumble.
When Cass returned to mock Bryan during the beginning of SmackDown Live this week, Bryan decided he’d had enough. As soon as Cass entered the ring, Bryan delivered an all-out assault against Cass, eventually taking down the bully with what looked like an excruciating heel hook submission hold. This one looked personal, too. Bryan even refused to comply with Cass’s tap out, forcing a number of referees to intervene. It appears the little guy has finally triumphed over the Goliath—for now, at least.
This week also marked the continuation of the Money in the Bank qualifying matches in the lead-up to the event next month. The first one of the night featured a unique setup: It was a tag-team match between The New Day and The Bar, but only one member of the winning team would be allowed in the prestigious Money in the Bank ladder match.
Cesaro and Sheamus showed off their trademark technical prowess, but Xavier Woods nabbed a pin on Cesaro while Sheamus and Big E were outside of the ring. A member of The New Day will definitely be in the ladder match, but right now the jury’s still out on who it will be.
The women’s qualifier featured fan-favorite Becky Lynch against former “Absolution” members Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. While Rose and Deville had a temporary alliance in an attempt to stop Lynch, it didn’t last, and “The Irish Lass-Kicker” succeeded in getting Rose to tap out.
Of course, no SmackDown episode would be complete with a bout between The Blue Brand’s two dynamos: AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. The rivals faced off once again to determine who would get to choose the stipulation for Money in the Bank. Styles and Nakamura put on an impressive show of strength and finesse, but ultimately the match was decided thanks to a dirty tactic: Nakamura feigned getting hit with a low blow from Styles (which would be unsurprising, considering their previous history). Nakamura’s mock-pain distracted Styles, leading to a suplex and the Kinshasa.
What will Nakamura’s stipulation be? Steel Cage? Ladder match? We’ll find out next week.
