Karrion Kross Returns On August 5, 2022

Karrion Kross returned at the end of WWE SmackDown, attacking Drew McIntyre before Scarlett set an hourglass timer, signaling Roman Reigns’ days as WWE champion are numbered. This comes after reports that Kross could be on his way back to WWE.

Last time Kross was seen in WWE, it was during an embarrassing run where the previously undefeated former NXT champion took losses to both Jeff Hardy and Keith Lee, whom have both since been released by WWE. Kross joined them during a wave of mass releases in November 2021. Now, with a full head of hair and not a helmet in sight, Kross returned during the main event of SmackDown and now finds himself in the middle of the elusive world title picture.

Also coming out of a newsworthy SmackDown, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships are on their way back to WWE amid rumors of Sasha Banks and Naomi returning to company. Banks recently pulled out of a celebrity flag football game, further fueling speculation of a WWE reconciliation with Sasha and Naomi. Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE during a Raw broadcast amid creative differences.

Friday on SmackDown, Michel Cole announced a women’s tag team tournament for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships beginning this Monday on WWE Raw. This comes over two months after WWE announced a forthcoming women’s tag team tournament the week of Sasha and Naomis’ exit.

WWE SmackDown advertised a confrontation between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre, who will be competing for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle on September 3. SmackDown also advertised a rematch between Shinsuke Nakamura and Ludwig Kaiser in addition to a Gauntlet Match to determine who will challenge Liv Morgan at WWE Clash at the Castle.

Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown remained on fire with 2.193 million viewers for the SummerSlam go-home show. With both WWE Raw and WWE NXT ratings up big for the debut of the Triple H era on a clean slate, SmackDown figures to benefit as well.

WWE SmackDown Ratings

• July 29, 2022 | 2.193 million
• July 22, 2022 | 2.256 million
• July 15, 2022 | 2.129 million
• July 8, 2022 | 2.077 million
• July 1, 2022 | 2.142 million

• WWE SmackDown Venue: Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville, S.C.)
• WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 6,486
• Available Tickets: 1,489

WWE SmackDown Results | Friday, August 5, 2022

Ricochet def. Happy Corbin

Eve though WWE is in a new era, the first five minutes of this broadcast was dedicated to Happy Corbin’s balls.

Even though Pat McAfee was the most over man in this segment, with chants of “McAfee,” WWE really put over Ricochet. The spotlight returned right back to McAfee, who punted a bomb into the middle of South Carolina.

Ricochet winning this mach is more signaling from Triple H that this is a new regime willing to push smaller talent. Triple H is slowly, but surely, encroaching on AEW’s hardcore wrestling appeal.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Ludwig Kaiser

This match was done to set up a title match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Gunther, but WWE has done more to promote the potential match between Gunther vs. Ludwig Kaiser.

Shinsuke Nakamura has just 50/50’d his way to an Intercontinental title shot.

Liv Morgan Booed After Win over Ronda Rousey

Michael Cole mentioned Liv Morgan was the first woman in WWE history to beat Ronda Rousey on two separate occasions.

Liv Morgan was booed for tapping out, and even had to combat chants of “you tapped out.” She even went as far as to say “I appreciate y’all for calling me out on my shit.”

I thought this feud was going to to turn Ronda Rousey heel against an underdog like Liv Morgan (she did), but WWE seems to also be booking this angle to get fans to sympathize with Ronda.

Sonya Deville tried to get fans back into Liv Morgan’s corner, and all she received was “what” chants.

Shayna Baszler Wins Woman’s WWE Gauntlet Match

After Liv Morgan was booed, WWE immediately went into damage control on commentary, with McAfee and Cole suggesting fans were jealous of Liv Morgan because of her success. Fans must have overheard, because they immediately started to chant for Liv Morgan.

Nothing has changed for Aliyah, who wrestled a quick match that resulted in a loss to Sonya Deville.

The story of this match was Raquel Rodriguez running through the majority of this match. WWE protected Rodriguez with four consecutive wins over Deville, Shotzi, Xia Li and Natalya.

I cannot emphasize how much weaker Shayna Baszler’s new theme is compared to her old one.

Shayna Baszler makes sense as the next challenger for Live Morgan based on her relationship with Ronda Rousey.

The Viking Raiders def. Tommy Gibson and Jim Mulkey

The team of Tommy Gibson and Jim Mulkey were almost parodies of jobbers. In fact, Mulkey was a nod to famed jobbers the Mulkey Brothers.

Kofi Kingston cleared the ring of the Viking Raiders with a Kendo Stick and people went absolutely nuts for it.

The New Day continues to be a MASH unit with Xavier Woods out with injury, though Woods’ injury is storyline related

When SmackDown came from break, Kofi Kingston and Erik started a match, which Kofi Kingston won.

Karrion Kross Returns

WWE announced the return of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships and a tournament beginning Monday on WWE Raw. WWE’s push of women’s wresting continues, and Sasha and Naomi are almost guaranteed to debut between now and the end of this tournament.

Fans acknowledged the hell out of Roman Reigns with chants of “Tribal Chief.”

Drew McIntyre called Roman Reigns the “Tribal Queef” and it didn’t get nearly as much as it deserved.

Karrion Kross made his shocking return during this segment, laying out Drew McIntyre before teasing that he was coming for Roman Reigns.