Edge Returns, Money in the Bank Qualifiers and More WWE SmackDown Fallout

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Credit: WWE.com

No matter how good Friday’s episode of SmackDown was going to be, the episode was always going to have a feeling of sadness following the 13 releases we learned about earlier in the day.

Sean Ross Sapp and Jeremy Lambert on Fightful detailed the departures. Nobody from the blue brand was let go, but the announcements were spread out over several hours, so the day was dominated by the news of several people losing their jobs.

The locker room pressed on and managed to put on a good show featuring some fun in-ring action and one huge surprise at the end of the night.

Cesaro and Bianca Belair teamed up to take on Seth Rollins and Bayley in a mixed tag bout to continue both feuds from Hell in a Cell and possibly set up rematches at Money in the Bank.

Shinsuke Nakamura had his coronation after beating Baron Corbin on the previous episode, Big E faced Apollo Crews for a spot in the men’s Money in the Bank match and Liv Morgan qualified for the women’s MITB by beating Carmella.

However, all of that was dwarfed by Edge’s return at the end of the night. He attacked Roman Reigns and immediately set himself up for a future universal title match in the process.

Let’s take a look at the biggest moments from Friday’s show.

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Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view saw Rollins defeat Cesaro and Belair defeat Bayley. Six days later, The Swiss Superman and The EST teamed up to face The Messiah and The Role Model in tag team action.

While it’s still uncertain who WWE wants to come out on top in either feud, one thing that is clear is that WWE wants these storylines to continue. This is not surprising, especially when it comes to the SmackDown women’s title program. The blue brand is short on performers, so options for challengers are limited until WWE builds up somebody new.

Where Cesaro and Rollins are concerned, WWE knows these two will keep producing show-stealing performances every time they work together. Fans aren’t tired of this combo yet, so management is going to keep it going until it loses momentum.

With a little help from Rollins, Bayley was able to get the pin over Belair, which she is going to use as ammunition when she requests another title shot.

The pairing of Bayley and Rollins was well-received the previous week, and it was great to see that partnership continue. They play off of each other perfectly.

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After losing his crown to Nakamura the previous week, Corbin gave a brief interview to Kayla Braxton as the new king celebrated with a ceremony in the ring.

The Lone Wolf looked as dejected and depressed as we have ever seen him. He didn’t even seem angry. He just looked sad. This is a surprising reaction from a man who is usually quick to get angry and easily provoked into a fight. It almost seemed like WWE wanted us to feel sorry for him.

If that is the case, this could be the start of a slow babyface turn for the man who used to be king. He has never worked as a good guy on WWE television, so it would be a huge transition for both him and the WWE Universe.

Frankly, this is the one thing WWE might be able to do to freshen up his character. Corbin is a solid worker with a lot of great attributes. If he can convince fans to give him a chance, he could win them over.

Then again, this could just be speculation. Corbin could return to his usual boastful self within a week, but it would be a lot more interesting to see him try to get over as a face.

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Big E may not have been able to win back the Intercontinental Championship from Crews, but he did beat him to win a spot in this year’s men’s Money in the Bank match.

Later in the show, Sonya Deville revealed Carmella would be SmackDown’s first entrant into the women’s bout. This did not sit well with the woman who beat her the previous week, Liv Morgan.

She came out and pleaded her case to Deville. Mella laughed, and Morgan responded with a huge right hand to the side of the head. Deville was impressed with her passion and booked the two in a match with the stipulation that if Morgan won, she would be added to the MITB bout. Mella’s spot was safe regardless of the outcome.

Even though WWE had Morgan acknowledge the unfairness of Carmella automatically being granted a spot, she still had to prove herself by beating Mella a second time. No matter how you look at it, this makes no sense. Thankfully, Morgan won.

This leaves open two spots in the women’s match and three in the men’s bout. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will fight for one of those spots next week.

With the way things are shaping up, WWE has several great options in play for both matches. It just needs to make sure it doesn’t make the mistake it made last year by giving the briefcase to Otis before getting buyer’s remorse.

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Reigns came out with Paul Heyman by his side to close out Friday’s show with a promo. Little did he know, this segment would also see the return of Edge.

Heyman bragged on Reigns’ behalf about beating Rey Mysterio inside Hell in a Cell before saying he had vanquished everyone who could provide him with a decent challenge. That’s when Edge’s music hit.

The Rated-R Superstar came out looking fired up and went right after The Head of the Table. Reigns hit a Superman Punch to momentarily stall his attacker, but Edge didn’t stay down for long. He speared Reigns out of his boots as he came at him with a chair.

Jimmy Uso ran down to defend The Tribal Chief, but Edge put him through the barricade with another spear. The Ultimate Opportunist ended the show looking directly into the camera and declaring “I’m right here.”

This all points to a showdown at SummerSlam for the Universal Championship. Rollins expressed his desire for a title shot to Adam Pearce and Deville earlier in the show, so a Triple Threat is also a strong possibility.

Edge could not have come back at a better time. WWE is about to get back on the road, and fans will be stoked to see him. It’s almost surprising WWE didn’t wait until the first SmackDown with a live crowd to bring back the Hall of Famer. The pop from the WWE Universe would have been deafening.

If Edge makes another appearance, we should get some kind of statement and official challenge from him.