SmackDown came to us with live crowds for the first time in over a year as fans were treated to a great 2 hours of wrestling with a loud and pumped crowd that truly made the night special as we saw a great fatal-4-way match between Big E, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura and Seth Rollins, as well as Edge and Roman, Reigns coming face to face one last time before there Universal Championship match at Money In The Bank this Sunday. So as we get ready for Money In The Bank and start to enjoy having live crowds back let’s look at the top 5 moments from this truly special edition of SmackDown

5. Live crowds return to SmackDown for the first time in over a year  

While this wasn’t a specific moment, the return of live crowds to WWE programming was truly an amazing sight to see. Even though it was great to see live crowds return at WrestleMania 37 earlier in the year it did not quite feel the same mainly because it was a one-time thing. However, now that WWE has returned to the road once again, things are hopefully back to being as relatively normal as they could possibly be.

The excitement of fans was truly great to see with the crowd hanging off every move during some amazing matches and making huge pops from the start of the show, where Vince McMahon made a short but brief appearance asking the crowd “Where the hell have you been” with Vince getting a great pop as the crowd remained pumped throughout the night never faltering for a second, giving SmackDown a truly special atmosphere this week and almost giving it the feel of a big Pay-Per-View.

Hopefully, the live crowd at Money In The Bank has this same energy, because it could be a very special night if we see some great in-ring action to match the energy of the crowd. Of course, as things get back to normal and we get used to seeing live crowds again the novelty will wear off and live crowds will become more silent as fans get used to attending shows again there is no denying it is still great to see live crowds again.

4. Carmella takes on Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Woman’s Championship  

This match exceeded a lot of expectations, while a lot of people were not happy about Carmella being named to take on Bianca Belair after Bayley, unfortunately, got injured a week ago while training, Carmella and Bianca put on a great match that made both women look strong with Binaca being over with the crowd. Belair would get the upper hand early in the match, using her power and strength against Carmella, however, the crafty Carmella would quickly get the upper hand over the SmackDown Woman’s Champion, working over Bianca and sending her into the barricade outside the ring as boo reigned over.

Despite Belair getting some offence in during the match, Carmella would dominate the match and would seem to have the match in hand as she locked a Guillotine on the SmackDown Women’s Champion, but Bianca would power through and hit a big vertical suplex for a close 2 count. Outside the ring Belair would try to whip Carmella with her air only for Carmella to dodge it and hit a superkick on Belair, rolling the Champion in for a close 2 count to Carmella’s shock. A furious Carmella grabbed the hair on Belair and tried to superkick the Champion once again, only for Belair to dodge it and pick Carmella up, hitting her with the Kiss Of Death to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a great match that defined expectations.

There is no understating how much Bianca Belair was over with the live crowd. With the SmackDown’s women’s division suffering due to Bayley’s injury there does not seem to be any major threats for Bianca Belair’s Championship. Hopefully, WWE can push stars such as Liv Morgan quickly or have names such as Charlotte go to SmackDown or even have Sasha Banks return for a rematch because defeating poorly booked mid-card talent will do nothing for Belair’s title reign and she can easily end up getting overlooked with Asuka’s reign as RAW Women’s Champion in 2020 being a major example of this.

3. Finn Balor returns to SmackDown and takes out Sami Zayn 

Just like AEW, WWE would capitalize on the return of crowds and would create a great moment when Finn Balor returned to take out Sami Zayn. Things would start with Sami Zayn, cutting a promo in front of the live crowd, talking about the conspiracy that was against him. Sami tried appealing to the crowd, begging them for their support and asking for a “Justice for Sami” chant only to be met with nothing. This would then cause Sami to berate the Texas crowd before asking for the Money In The Bank briefcase to be automatically lowered to him causing Finn Balor’s music to hit for a great pop.

Finn Balor would then make his entrance in front of a live crowd with the crowd finally being able to join in on Balor’s interactive entrance in a great little moment. Balor then wasted no time in making a big impact on his return, hitting Sami Zayn with a dropkick sending Sami into the corner with Balor following it up with a Coup De Grace with Balor posing afterwards and never saying a word.

Hopefully, Balor’s attitude from his recent run in NXT is carried to SmackDown. While Balor is an amazing talent and has put on some great matches in his time in WWE, there was only so much he could do in his time on the main roster where it felt at times he had no character whatsoever.

2. Edge and Rey and Dominik Mysterio take on Jey and Jimmy Uso and Roman Reigns  

After having Vince McMahon come out and address the return of the live crowds to WWE, WWE would waste no time in delivering to fans, having Edge and Rey and Dominik Mysterio take on Roman Reigns and Jey and Jimmy Uso in an exciting 6-person tag team match that was a great way to open SmackDown. The Usos would try to get the upper hand over Edge to start the match by having Jimmy pretend to start the match only for Jey to attack Edge from behind, but the Rated-R-Superstar would prove to be one step ahead taking down Jey Uso whilst staring at Reigns.

Both teams would go back and forth in a fantastic match that was assisted by the electric crowd as they hung off every move both teams did. Late in the match, Rey Mysterio put Jey in position for a 619 and tried to hit it only for Roman Reigns to intercept Rey outside the ring but Edge would quickly make the save hitting Roman with a huge spear. Rey and Jey would then trade roll-ups inside the ring but Jey would be victorious after Jimmy Uso hit Rey with a forearm from outside the ring, allowing Jey to roll up Rey for the win.

All 6 men would then brawl after the match with Edge getting the upper hand. Edge would then lock in the crossface with the chair leg on Roman for a huge pop, with Edge sending one last message by holding the Universal Title for a huge pop in a great match to open SmackDown in front of a live crowd.

1. Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Big E main event SmackDown 

After Edge, Roman Reigns, The Usos and the Mysterios did a great job in opening the show, it was time for Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Big E to close the show as all four men fought for momentum ahead of the Money In The Bank match this Sunday. The match would start in complete chaos as Seth Rollins tried to leave the ring only for Big E to hit his suicide dive spear on Rollins, Owens would then hit a suicide dive outside the ring on Big E, with Shinsuke finishing things off by hitting the running knee on Owens.

All four men would go back and forth in a fun chaotic match that was fun to watch and was a great way to finish SmackDown. Late in the match, Owens would dive off a ladder sending himself and Shinsuke Nakamura through the commentary table. This would allow Rollins to pin Big E by hitting a stomp on Big E on a ladder for the win in a great main event.

While it could be hopeful thinking I would not be surprised if this is a sign of Big E winning the Money In The Bank match this Sunday. Even though on paper Big E is getting buried, this could easily be a case of reverse booking in making someone look weak, while actually having a long term plan for them down the line.

These were my top 5 moments from the go-home edition of SmackDown. What were your top 5 moments from the blue brand this week and how much did you enjoy having crowds back on WWE programming. Let us know your thoughts and comments and the comment section down below.