Smackdown & 205 Live 7/10/18 Preview: Styles vs Nakamura, Alexander vs Itami, more…

5 matches have been confirmed for WWE’s Smackdown and 205 Live shows tonight. Both shows will emanate from the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH.

Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles will go one-on-one for the 7th time in their rivalry tonight, not including house shows. It will be just the second time they have faced each other without a single’s title on the line.

Additionally, the main event of 205 Live will feature a Cruiserweight Championship match. Cedric Alexander will defend the title against top contender, Hideo Itami.

Smackdown Live 7/10/18 Preview

Team Hell No Kick-Off Smackdown

• MizTV will kick off Smackdown tonight. The Miz’s guests will be Daniel Bryan and Kane.
• While not invited on the show, one might suspect Team Hell No’s opponents at Extreme Rules, the Bludgeon Brothers, might make an appearance.
• Even though Bryan and the Miz aren’t currently in a program with one another, the two long-time rivals always have an interesting back and forth whenever they are in the same segment.

AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura

• At Extreme Rules, both AJ and Nakamura will have championship matches. Styles will defend the WWE Championship against Rusev and Nakamura will challenge Jeff Hardy for the US title.
• This will be the 7th match between the two (not including house shows). They are 2-2-2 against one another:
  • WrestleKingdom 10  – Shinsuke Nakamura (c) defeated AJ Styles – IWGP Intercontinental Championship
  • WrestleMania 34 – AJ Styles (c) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura – WWE Title
  • Greatest Royal Rumble – AJ Styles (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (double count-out) – WWE title
  • Backlash 2018 – AJ Styles (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (No-contest) – WWE Title
  • Smackdown May 15th, 2018 – Shinsuke Nakamura defeated AJ Styles
  • Money in the Bank 2018 – AJ Styles (c) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura – WWE title.

Asuka vs James Ellsworth – Lumberjack Match

• Asuka will challenge Carmella on Sunday for a chance to win her first title on the main roster. She’ll get to enact some revenge on James Ellsworth tonight, however.
• Ellsworth’s return to WWE at the Money in the Bank PPV caused enough of a distraction to allow Carmella to pull off a huge upset and defend her title.
• Asuka might be looking for revenge tonight but rest assured Carmella is probably looking for an opportunity to soften up her opponent for Sunday.

Tye Dillinger vs Samoa Joe

• Last week in a WWE exclusive, R-Truth volunteered up Tye Dillinger to take on Samoa Joe this week.
• Truth had originally been trying to recruit Tye as his newest tag-team partner but some comic hijinks resulted in Truth challenging Joe on Tye’s behalf instead.

Sin Cara vs Andrade “Cien” Almas

• In a match that has been pushed to the back-burner for a few weeks, Andrade Almas will finally face Sin Cara tonight.
• The angle they have been going with is that Sin Cara and Almas used to be friends but now Almas has adopted a new outlook under the guidance of Zelina Vega.

205 Live 7/10/18 Preview

Only one match/segment is scheduled for 205 Live tonight.

Cruiserweight Championship Match
Cedric Alexander (c) vs Hideo Itami

• Cedric Alexander insisted 205 Live General Manager, Drake Maverick, make this match as Itami defeated top-contenders Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali in a triple threat match on June 19th.
• Maverick was hesitant only because Itami has been interfering in matches and the GM didn’t want to reward bad behavior.
• Alexander is the 8th champion in the title’s lineage and the belt is currently in its 10th reign.
• Not including house shows, Alexander will be attempting to defend the belt for the 3rd time.
• Should Alexander be victorious tonight, his reign will move into the second longest all-time position, passing Enzo Amore’s 2nd run with the belt of 93 days. The longest reign in title history was Neville’s 197-day run between January and August of 2017.
• Neville’s 7-title defenses during this reign is also a record.