The newEST episode of Talking Smack brings in some changes!

SmackDown is back on the road, and Talking Smack is along for the ride! Bianca Belair, Finn Balor, the Usos, and some new hosts, all at once!

Talking Smack looks back at the night!

What an exciting SmackDown, especially because the fans were finally back in the arena! And so was Vince McMahon! The Chairman came, jokingly asked, “Where the hell have you been?” and then promptly bowed and exited.

Kevin Patrick welcomes us back to the show!

Kevin introduces himself and his new cohost, The Bump’s Matt Camp, as they are in charge of Talking Smack now as it broadcasts from the WWE Control Center! Kevin saw Matt earlier, in attendance, and he saw some tears. Well, yeah, given the moment. But then Roman Reigns’ music hit, the Head of the Table, the Universal Champion, opened the show, and SmackDown got down to business. That’s right, Roman had his family, the Usos, and Jey would pin Rey Mysterio in their Six Man Tag involving the Bloodline, the Mysterios, and Edge! More on that in a bit, but they’ve got the Usos on this week’s episode as Kayla Braxton will be on location.

Then, the return of Finn Balor sent shockwaves through the WWE! Matt says it also sent a bit of shock into Sami Zayn. That look on Sami’s face was just like Matt’s. This return was great because Finn shuts Sami up! The WWE Universe, if you’re a Balor fan, and who isn’t? You’re definitely happy to see him back on SmackDown with that 10 pack. Plus, Bianca Belair retained her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Carmella, and she’ll also be a guest. Bianca won an Espy last weekend, she was supposed to face Bayley for the title but Bayley got hurt. Best wishes to her, but what happens? Bianca pivots against Mella and takes care of business in an impressive match. A lot of adversity in adjusting, we’ll hear from Bianca… Right now!

Kayla and Bianca are backstage at the Toyota Center!

Houston, Texas, finally back in front of fans, and the EST is still champion! Girl, what was it like being back out there with fans? It hasn’t been like that since WrestleMania 37, and Kayla could feel the energy from the fans reacting to her. Bianca says it was amazing being back out there, hearing the chants, and knowing the fans have been with her, even when they could only see her through their screens. It was like homecoming and the biggest party ever. She really wanted to celebrate with the fans, because they deserve to be a part of this. They’re the reason she does what she does, and they were with her in this party. Especially since she successfully defended the title against Carmella.

Speaking of Carmella, after the match, she went right on Twitter, which some people do when they’re angry, and she started making excuses. She said she only had a week to prepare, she thinks Bianca cheated, on and on. Mella claims this isn’t over, but what is Bianca’s response? Well, Mella really did only have six days to prepare. People go on Twitter and act like they’re not bothered when they are. Which is also fine. Mella got in the ring, and all Bianca can say is that she’s a fighting champion. If Mella wants a rematch, then why not next week? Bianca’s all good.

So she’s granting a rematch already, on next Friday Night SmackDown? Bianca is merely saying “Be careful what you ask for,” because Bianca is gonna bringing it to Carmella next week. Well breaking news on Talking Smack! Belair VS Mella 2 is happening! Good luck next week, Bianca, and back to the studio.

Kevin and Matt love this! Great stuff from Kayla and Bianca, and we’re getting it one more time! Bianca VS Mella, SmackDown Women’s Championship, they run it back on a very special SmackDown next week! Sometimes going to Twitter to complain works out! But Mella is still going to have a tall task since she lost once already. The biggest thing from that was that the biggest cheer of the night was the fans reacting to Bianca. That speaks volumes to what Bianca’s done this past year. Matt says we’ve just gotten “part of the ride,” seeing how it was at WrestleMania 37. Now with fans back all the time, Bianca will be one of the superstars getting the biggEST boost from those reactions.

Speaking of pops, Balor’s return on SmackDown was big! And we’ll hear from him after the break!

Talking Smack is back, with the Prince!

Matt says WWE is all about the moments, and Finn Balor’s return to SmackDown was a moment! Sami wasn’t happy about it but he made the mistake of trying to attack Balor. Balor’s actions did the talking as he got Sami back. What an impact, and Kayla is with Balor backstage.

Kayla welcomes Finn back and asks him what it is like to be back in front of the fans. “It’s good to be back. It’s SmackDown, the fans are back, and Finn is back. And I tell ya, that was a hell of a pop. The energy is still moving through my body. But yeah, glad to be back.” Kayla says Finn is always a man with a plan, so what can he tell us about his return to SmackDown? There’s always a plan. Balor went to NXT, became NXT Champion. He was on Raw, he became the FIRST Universal Champion and a two-time Intercontinental Champion. He went back to NXT, became NXT Champion again, so the reason he’s on SmackDown is to win championships.

Kayla says the cool thing about that is that the fans have been with him the entire time. Does he have something he wants to say to them? Maybe share his appreciation? Well he’s eternally grateful for fans sticking with him through the pandemic. But his message is, “Buckle your seatbelts. We’re going for a ride.” Back to the studio.

Kevin is pumped to see Balor back. Balor just listed his accomplishments, but there’s clearly a lot of hunger left. Matt says that someone with that kind of motivation will continue to fight for more. Balor has a plan, a plan to win titles. If Matt is anyone with a title right now on SmackDown, be worried about Balor. Look at what Balor’s already done. Just ask everyone in NXT. That man held the NXT title for more total days than anyone! And yes, he was the original Universal Champion and a two-time IC Champion, but there’s one thing Matt noticed. The plan is there, but Balor kept it vague. That’s smart, because he is just teasing that. How far can Balor go?

Balor can win the Universal Championship again, honestly! Or even get the IC title a third time! Maybe Balor finds a friend and gets the tag team titles for the first time. But that plan can take on many forms. Balor has faced adversity, injuries, but he is physically at his peak! Pat McAfee says it is a TEN pack! Kevin can barely get two! But the way Balor returned, Matt had it right, Balor means business. Matt says the fans are behind Balor, that is always a big boost. The fans will make a difference. The fans were so excited when Balor came out, but maybe Sami will try to stop Balor. Sami is surely not happy with how Balor interrupted his latest rally against “the conspiracy.”

Kevin says we’ve heard from three very popular people, and that includes Kayla herself. Bianca, Balor, but maybe not the Usos? Jimmy & Jey are standing by, after the break.

Talking Smack returns and talk about the Usos.

Money in the Bank’s Kickoff show has gold, too! Rey & Dominik Mysterio will defend their SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Jimmy & Jey, and Matt says that is a tough spot for both teams. Here’s why: If you’re the Usos, you want to be SEVEN-TIME tag team champions; if you’re Rey & Dom, this is more about retribution than victory. But Matt does wonder, is this a must-win for the Usos? How so? Well Roman Reigns says he’ll be leaving MITB with the Universal Championship, and he expects the Bloodline to have all the championships. The Usos MUST be champions at the end of tonight. Because if not, they’ve let Roman down!

The Usos do not want to let Roman down, and that is the most important thing. Kevin agrees 100%. If we’ve seen anything lately, you don’t cross Roman, and after Roman putting it upon himself to “go to town” on both Rey & Dom, there is major pressure on the Usos. If Matt is Rey & Dom, they feel pretty good because they’re coming in as champs, that alone makes you feel good. But then there’s also the controversial loss on SmackDown, so you want that one back. Rey got pinned before the title match, so there’s a lot of emotions. But is this more thinking with heads or hearts? Will the Mysterios be blinded by what happened?

Kevin says Rey is an absolute legend, and Dom is a son of a legend coming up and getting his first taste of fans. Is that a flaw or weakness? Matt says we’ve seen this a lot, where there are certain stars who get that boost. In Fort Worth, the Usos probably don’t get a lot of fans. But Rey & Dom absolutely will! That is great motivation, but the motivation to keep The Head of the Table happy is just as strong. Kevin throws things over to Kayla.

Kayla sits with Jimmy & Jey in the “Uso Lounge,” and as both Kevin and Matt said, it was a big night tonight, and a bigger night this Sunday. Roman has said the Usos have to win to be in his good graces. Do they feel that pressure? Jimmy says they won tonight. So at MITB, Usos VS Mysterios, the first-ever father-and-son tag team champions. But the Usos know what they’re doing. This Sunday, they’re stepping with the best luchador to ever do this! Jey says the difference is that Rey & Dom are stepping in the ring with the best tag team to ever do this! The Right Hand Man and #NobodysBitch!

On Sunday, the Usos make the family proud! On Sunday, the Usos make the Bloodline dripping with gold! On Sunday, SEVEN-time champs! It’s coming soon. Kayla thanks them for their time and wishes them luck this Sunday, before throwing things back to the studio.

Kevin says that was rather interesting, but Matt says the Usos are locked in. Is it both or just Jey? Jimmy seemed to be talking up Rey, but Matt says the Usos have taken some lessons from Roman Reigns. Maybe they’re playing mind games. Matt doesn’t think that’s ever been a part of the Usos’ game, they get things done in the ring. But the mind games might be coming into play. Matt isn’t going to try and get in the Usos’ minds, they know what they’re doing, but it just didn’t seem like the Usos were worried. They were ready to win. Jey has certainly had enough of being the middleman, he took charge and talked up the family and their plans. That is the MITB Kickoff show, Usos VS Mysterios, cannot wait!

Matt does point out that while the Usos could walk out of MITB with titles, what about Roman? Yes, we all saw what happened to end the Six Man match: a win for Roman and the Usos. But then after, the lasting image is Edge putting Roman in “The Deal.” Edge wants the title he’s never held, and he said as much on The Bump this past Wednesday, this is the one title that wasn’t around when Edge was in the ring 10 years ago. Now, the Universal Championship is within Edge’s grasp. Edge held the belt but will he win it Sunday? That’s what makes this the marquee match-up. Edge is the only one who got Roman’s eyes to bug out. And  yes, that was a great interview on The Bump.

Again, this Sunday, MITB, Forth Worth, Texas, and back with fans! Kevin and Matt will leave us with a highlight reel of the sights and sounds from Houston! It was a historic night in more ways than one, and it’s surely the first of many now that the WWE is back on the road!

My Thoughts:

A very good episode for this new era of Talking Smack, but I’m confused by how they weren’t correcting themselves with “last night” versus “tonight.” I mean obviously Talking Smack was always being recorded right after SmackDown on Friday and then just put up on Saturday as if it were live on Saturday. But did I miss this being uploaded late last night on Friday? Or did they upload it today, not realizing the changes were made to how it was done? I feel like they could’ve tried doing this episode on location, honestly, getting some fans to react, but maybe they didn’t want fans hijacking things on such a fired up night.

That said, Matt Camp and Kevin Patrick were good hosts here with Kayla on location for the interviews. This was a short episode, too, at just under 20 minutes. All the guests had great segments, and I am surprised that Bianca VS Carmella II is happening so soon. But as I said for the SmackDown article, it just exposes how bare the RawDown Women’s Division has ended up after the releases. And as I also said for that article, I hope this doesn’t make one crowd upset that they aren’t getting the title match, since SmackDown will be both in Cleveland and in Miami on the same night.

Balor of course wants titles, who doesn’t want titles? But while it is given to us as “oh he’s being vague so that he could be going after anyone,” it’s really more because they have no idea where he’d fit in just yet. MITB will shake a lot of things out, Balor probably goes to where the gaps are. Balor VS Apollo Crews for the Intercontinental Championship would be a pretty good program, with “The Prince” taking on “The Prince of Nigeria” for a title that Finn already held twice and last held at Extreme Rules 2019, losing to Nakamura which then ushered in the redesign.

But at the same time, if Edge doesn’t win the Universal Championship, Balor VS Roman would be great stuff for SummerSlam. Balor was the first Universal Champion and won it at a SummerSlam, winning it back at a SummerSlam would be a great full circle situation on Balor’s RawDown career. Then the Usos had a good segment to close, and I suppose yes, Jimmy was more willing to respect what Rey has done while Jey was the one ready to slam them down. I am pretty confident the Usos lose between the math from SmackDown and how there needs to be some kind of consequence for Jimmy’s DUI, I just hope there isn’t this new dysfunction brought up. The Bloodline just got united, let it be that the Usos succeed and fail together, not against each other.