6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (18 July - Results & Review)

2. That Steel Cage Setup

Solo Sikoa Arrested
WWE.com

Honesty time.

Initially, this guy wondered what the bloody point of Solo Sikoa trying to frame Jacob Fatu for a car crash was. Police questioned Jacob then released him within the hour “after reviewing the footage”. It all seemed so pointless until Jacob and Jimmy Uso handled Solo’s MFTs, then stand-in GM Adam Pearce announced Sikoa vs. Fatu inside a steel cage at SummerSlam. Let that be a quick lesson in patience. Oops!

Some on social media seem unhappy that Sikoa is being put in this position so soon after stealing the United States Title from Jacob, but nah - the cage gimmick makes sense as a means to keep as many other bodies as possible away (Talla Tonga springs to mind), and announcing it fit in with the locked up gimmick of police involvement on this week's show.

This was a good idea all in and well executed on the night. Solo was apoplectic when Pearce put him in a cage at SummerSlam then the fake cops handcuffed him for lying about the car crash incident. Sikoa was watching all of his assumed power melt away, and now he'll have to contend with a revved up 'Samoan Werewolf' on one of the biggest shows of the entire year.

What do people want from tentpole events like SummerSlam if not this sort of thing?! Besides, haters need to calm themselves and watch Solo working with Cody Rhodes inside a cage back on the 13 September 2024 edition of SmackDown. He knows how to squeeze the most out of this match type.

Believe.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.