WWE SmackDown: Jeff Hardy defeats Sheamus in bar fight

Jeff Hardy and Sheamus battled inside an empty bar

It its Friday night that means its time for another edition of WWE SmackDown. This evening’s show is coming off of the Extreme Rules PPV. Leaving that event there were storylines to advance and new angles to deliver.

The night started with the Golden Role Models flaunting all of the women’s titles in Raw and SmackDown. Their celebration was thwarted by Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss, but the tables were turned on them. Bayley announced that Cross and Bliss must face each other for a shot next week at her SmackDown women’s title. This led to an immediate match between the former tag team champions.

The match between teammates started out slowly but the intensity level picked up quickly. Banks and Bayley were on commentary, antagonizing their rivals at every step which led to Cross and Bliss laying them out. Bliss and Cross exchanged holds until Bliss went after Cross’s injured ribs. The near falls started to pile up for both women, but neither were able to maintain the upper hand. Cross would outsmart her partner to get the finish after missing a splash from the top rope. Bliss went over to check on her but was rolled up and pinned in the middle of the ring.

Matt Riddle was out next for action up against former cruiserweight champion, Tony Nese. Riddle went right to work on Nese, trying to put him away early. Nese found some offense, but was still overwhelmed by the former NXT tag team champion. Riddle would win via pin fall.

Gran Metalik earns a title shot

A fatal-four way followed with a shot on the line at AJ Styles Intercontinental title. Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik, Drew Gulak and Chad Gable were featured in this match. This was a fast-paced match from the very start as each man left their feet voluntarily or with the help of an opponent. Even though Dorado and Metalik are tag team partners, there seemed to be some alliances forming in this individual match. Gable took over hitting a variety of suplexes on every man involved. Gable’s momentum continued until the very end when he found himself on the receiving end of an elbow drop by Metalik which allowed him to earn the victory and the title shot.

Jeff Hardy and Sheamus continued their feud in a “bar fight.” As if this was something out of a bad movie, Sheamus and Hardy met at a bar, shared a drink and some lines of dialogue before getting down to their battle. For Sheamus this was home field advantage and he took it as such, getting over on Hardy early. They fought all around the bar, ending up in the bathroom where Sheamus ended up in the urinal. Hardy would not go out without a fight as he battled back multiple times against the multiple-time champion. It looked like Sheamus was going to walk out of the bar in once piece until Hardy’s face paint mysteriously appeared on his face, giving him the second wind to land a Swanton Bomb off of the ladder and make the pin on the bar floor.

July 24 SmackDown Results

• Nikki Cross defeated Alexa Bliss via pin fall
• Matt Riddle defeated Tony Nese via pin fall
• Gran Metalik defeated Chad Gable, Lince Dorado and Drew Gulak in a fatal-four way
• Jeff Hardy defeated Sheamus in a bar fight via pin fall