Tonight’s Friday Night SmackDown showcases a different setup due to the rigorous Japan tour spanning over three days. Despite being a pre-taped show, the excitement quotient remains the same, nonetheless. Before we could even process the lingering thrill of the jam-packed Raw last week, featuring a few crucial builds up to the road to SummerSlam, the second last blue brand show knocks on the door. The CMI Health Center Omaha bears up a psyched-up crowd counting the hours when the signature then, now, forever intro resonated through the arena.

Sneak peek from SmackDown 7/26: 

Video package:

Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens got manhandled for the second time by Bloodline last week following Rhodes’ open confrontation in favor of Randy Orton. A glimpse of the high-voltage segment aired through the video package in a quick call-up of the bitter Bloodline rivalry of the babyface trio, setting up the ideal ground for Cody Rhodes’ sit-down interview loading letter.

Backstage segment:

Following the package, we headed straight to the Bloodline troops (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa) standing backstage with the SmackDown GM, sending a chilling threat to them to relinquish their Gauntlet match spot. Sikoa and Tonga passed it over with printed sarcasm. Sikoa then hyped Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga up to grab the gold at any cost.

LA Knight vs Santos Escober:

Winner: LA Knight

We got a piece of LA Knight’s sass next. The Megastar cuts a ruthless promo, noting how he will vandalize Escober. The Mexican terror quickly threw it back to Knight while he was making his way to the ring. The crowd burst into a loud pop. The scheduled bout started off on quite an exciting note, with LA Knight getting the initial control over it. Timely assistance from Elektra Lopez worked as a confidence booster, bringing Escober back to the match next. Knight started getting cornered by the opponent but tried to fight back.

The 41-year-old’s swinging neckbreaker has been successfully pushed back by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Escober. However, the game took an abrupt shift after Knight bore with an utterly disrespectful slam. Knight threw Escober in the corner and hit a DDT for a near fall. Despite getting resistance from the likes of Elektra and Logan Paul, Knight picked up the win via pinfall.

However, the most notable thing here is that The Maverick turned an ally to Knight despite starting off on a different note, showing all signs of a new alliance brewing.

Backstage segment:

The immediate next was a furious Naomi venting out her frustration over Bianca Belair’s assault last week in a backstage interview. She name-called her as a ‘newbie’ and promised to give her back the taste of her own medicine. The segment fired up, with Cargill and Blair showing up and joining the drama before the final confrontation.

We headed back to Paul’s psyche, who had been caught backstage for the closure. Ditching the fake alliance signs, he made a monkey out of Knight and hyped himself up, building the heat ahead of their SummerSlam feud.

Next, Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair provoked the Unholy Union to show up with a mic in their hands. The duo of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn accepted the challenge and jumped on the women from behind. However, soon they were taken out of the ring by the formidable Belair-Cargill duo.

Following that, we got to see the intense drama brewing between Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton, with some light teases. WWE capitalized on it further, showing a recap of the history between Bayley, Nia Jax, Michin, and Tiffany Stratton.

Gauntlet Match Part 1: Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin vs. Angel & Berto

Winner: Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin

Now, here comes the layered Gauntlet match, featuring the crucial faces of the roster vying to challenge DIY for the tag team title. First, the promising duo of Baron Corbin and the Apollo Crews brought their mojo out against Breto and Angel. Despite initially showing a strong grasp over the match, the Legado lacked the skill to sustain through the repeated blows from Corbin and Crews. After quite a lot of back and forth, Baron hits the End of Days to come out with the win.

The Street Profits vs. Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin

Winner: Street Profits

However, the glory proved to be short-lived with the Street Profits lurking behind. Through a hell of a showdown, Ford and Crews show their incredible athletics. But a huge botched suplex left Crews in the deep water. Although he successfully bounced back, Dawkins and Ford got away with the victory after a decisive revelation.

Pretty Deadly vs Street Profits

Winner: Street Profits

Pretty Deadly was seemingly waiting for the moment as they immediately opted for a series of pins, leaving no time to recover for the winning duo. However, Street Proft resisted the effort shrewdly. With the crowd getting behind Ford, they survived for the second time, eliminating Pretty Deadly by pinfall.

Bloodline vs The Street Profits

Winner: Bloodline

Next, the Street Profits ruled out the O.C. with the same vigor before Bloodline took over. Jacob Fatu showcased some ruthless antics by chewing Angelo’s fingers. After a lot of chaos inflicted by Tama Tonga and Fatu, the Samoan Werewolf tackled Ford with a brutal springboard moonsault. It’s time for a big Bloodline celebration, as they are on their way to rule over the tag team realm.

Cody Rhodes’ interview:

Next, Cody Rhodes appeared for the much-awaited interview. We saw A-Town-Down getting and Grayson Waller creating chaos, intervening the commentator in between. Rhodes turned anxious and noted this was the reason he was alone without his mates, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens.

Heading to the crux of the interview, we heard Rhodes looking back at his WrestleMania journey. He then addressed the new Bloodline, saying they were just in need of a lion to lead the pack. Then he pointed out Sikoa’s strength, saying he wants to look straight into his eyes to fix things out, challenging Sikoa for a segment next week before their grudge match at SummerSlam.

Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton vs Bayley and Michin

Winner: Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton

Next, we witnessed another stellar match from Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton, who stood tall in the face of a threat from Bayley and Michin. Thanks to the amazing maneuvers coming from Jax who wrapped it up with a Nia-Lator.

Video package:

Last but not least, Solo Sikoa accepted the Cody Rhodes Challenge and called out Roman Reigns via a video package.

The show went down with intense curiosity over what awaits next week in the GO-Home show.