WWE SmackDown results, grades: Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox and Toni Storm have big debuts after Bayley injury

Nox and Shotzi picked up a huge win (Photo: WWE)

WWE SmackDown has something of a reshuffle with Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox making their debuts on Friday night.

Hours before the blue brand hit the air, the company confirmed Bayley has suffered a training injury at the Performance Center which could rule her out for the next nine months,

It’s a devastating blow for the Role Model, but it could spell opportunity for some women on the roster as the show had to undergo something of a reshuffle to try and plug the gap left by the former women’s champion.

Part of the potential change in direction came as Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina chatted about the notion of a new duo challenging them, which led to the debut of two NXT stalwarts.

Seemingly going by Shotzi and Nox – hopefully they both get to keep their surname – the pair came out in Blackheart’s tank and made convincing work of the titleholders.

They more than held their own and more, as they looked like they belonged on the main roster en route to a brilliant win during their maiden match on the brand.

Elsewhere, Sonya Deville came out to officially announced Bayley’s injury and confirm her replacement for Money In The Bank.

In the company’s defence, they had to do some quick thinking and it turns out that next Friday night Bianca Belair will defend her title against Carmella.

With the latter out of the Money In The Bank Ladder Match, Liv Morgan came down to call out favouritism on the brand, leading to Deville putting her into the titular bout on July 18.

In other news for the women’s division, a promo package aired hyping up the impending arrival of Toni Storm.

The Mysterios help Edge attack the Bloodline

The show kicked off with Roman Reigns, first of all hitting back at Edge and his claim that he’s in the Tribal Chief’s head.

Soon, the Head of the Table turned his attention to his family, with Jimmy Uso coming out and asking why the Universal Champion was on vacation last week.
Roman insisted he was busy, leading to Jey Uso making his return and insisting he was there for all of them, vowing to always have his twin’s back.

The trio embraced, suggesting a united front as they appeared to put their family issues behind them and look to the future.

The Tribal Chief and his cousins are all on the same page (Photo: WWE)

The first match of the night was a Money In The Bank qualifier, with Shinsuke Nakamura beating Baron Corbin to earn his spot.

We’ve seen this pair face off so many times lately, but one bright spark was seeing the former king continue his downward spiral.

Despite some flack from the fans, it’s actually somewhat baffling that such a well-placed villain Corbin is yet to win a world championship, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes next.

The SmackDown Saviour picked up a big win (Photo: WWE)

Later in the night, another MITB qualifier – and yet another rematch – saw Seth Rollins hit the stomp to beat Cesaro and book his ticket for the pay-per-view.

The duo were never going to have anything less than a great match, but the baffling note is the result with the Swiss Cyborg surely in line to benefit more from this.

Hopefully this doesn’t signal the end of his stint in the title picture, particularly as Cesaro has done everything asked of him and delivered in a fantastic way.

The Rated R Superstar had some backup (Photo: WWE)

Elsewhere, Chad Gable and the new look Otis cut a fine promo, with the Alpha Academy building on recent attacks at the hands of the former Heavy Machinery man.

Finally, Edge came out in the main event to call out Roman Reigns, as the Rated R Superstar yet again insisted the Tribal Chief feared him.

Eventually, the champ had heard enough as he ordered his cousins to stay backstage – an order they ignored as he stepped into the ThunderDome.

More: US TV news

Reigns entered without his family, only for the returning Mysterious to take out the Usos at ringside and make their presence felt.

The Iconoclast was able to hit Roman with an Impaler, although the twins were able to halt the spear attempt before Rey and Dominik yet again made the save.

Roman escape, leaving Edge with his pals as he hit the chair-assisted crossface on Jey with Reigns having to simply watch on.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : WWE star Bayley out for nine months after suffering training injury

MORE : Wannabe WWE wrestlers can now use TikTok to directly apply to be the next top superstar