Tonight’s WWE Smackdown Live was held at the Oracle Arena in Oakland CA.
Tonight was a night of returns, including my own. I’m very happy to be back after Irma put the Smackdown on Florida. Mine is not the only return tonight though, let’s get to it.
Show Open
Shane McMahon returned from his suspension tonight and addressed the crowd regarding last week’s events concerning his father and Kevin Owens. Shane did a great job in this promo. It all seemed very real and from the heart. He mentioned that even though he and his father didn’t always see eye to eye, he was still his dad and he loved him.
Shane closed the segment with a warning to Kevin Owens. He told Kevin that he didn’t know if Owens knew what he had done, but promised him this. He condemned him to a furious beatdown, and a life of pain and suffering. His final condemnation of Kevin Owens was that he would experience hell in a cell.
Randy Orton vs Aiden English – Winner: Randy Orton
The Good
I’m pretty happy that they didn’t make this a throwaway match. Aiden has been growing on me lately. Not so much with his gimmick, but with his ring work. The guy is talented, and the WWE let him showcase his talent in this match
The Bad
After the match the predictable happened, Rusev showed up and challenged the Viper to a match right away. This could be seen a mile away after Rusev’s comments last week about breaking a legend. Sure he got the pinfall, but not without help from English distracting Orton.
The Ugly
This is NOT a feud we need to see. Rusev needs something fresh upon his return. Rusev can be a legit star, but not with programs with someone who is a zombie on the mic like Orton. Please WWE….give Rusev someone better than this.
Jinder Mahal Segment
This garbage was the same speech he gave last week, just with more racist undertones. No, let me re-phrase that, BLATANT racism. The crowd literally started chanting “That’s too far”. I won’t repeat the quotes here, not because I think they went too far, it’s just because they weren’t funny or clever. I don’t know what angle the writers are going for here, but man are they missing the mark. Especially this mark (yours truly).
AJ Styles vs Baron Corbin – No Contest
I’ll just summarize the good and bad in one section. I was happy to not have to see this match that wasn’t going to make a bit of difference in the storyline of AJ and Corbin. I was happy to see some aggression out of Dillinger and the fact that he hasn’t been written out of the US Title picture. Corbin doesn’t need a title to stay relevant, but I believe right now Dillinger does. It should be the other way around, but alas we are held to the whims of WWE creative.
Charlotte Flair Segment
We finally saw the return of The Queen tonight after she has been absent for weeks to tend to her father while he was ill. I for one would like to send out well wishes to Ric and his entire family for a quick and easy rehab.
What was meant to be a sincere thank you to the WWE Universe became a vehicle to get Charlotte back into the title mix. Nattie came down to make it about her and tried to steal the spotlight as the leader of a new women’s revolution. The reigning queen of the WWE women’s division was having none of this and challenged Nattie for her title.
As is the way lately with creative they took this opportunity to have Becky, Naomi and Tamina come down and throw their hats in the ring as well. Daniel Bryan came out to seal the deal and tonight we have ourselves a fatal four way match for the opportunity to fight Nattie at Hell In A Cell.
New Day vs Hype Bros – Winners: New Day
The Good
The good was mostly from the announce team joined by the Usos. The Usos can really hold their own on the microphone and that translated well to their back and forth with the announce team. Corey Graves is again a God send to this show, coining Byron Saxton’s new nickname tonight “Booty Saxton”. Bless you Corey.
The Bad
As much as I can’t stand the gimmick of the Hype Bros, I really hate to see someone as talented as Zack Ryder getting nowhere in this company. I can even see Mojo doing well if he can reinvent himself somehow.
The Ugly
Every time I see Big E lick his hand while he is stretching another superstar I have nightmares. But watching Mojo do it and then slap Big E yelling “He ain’t hype”…..that’s some IT level creeps right there.
Dolph Ziggler Rant
This week Dolph targeted the entrances of members of DX as well as the DX entrance itself. This angle was entertaining the first time. He was speaking the truth and it was something different. It has lost it’s effectiveness week after week I’m afraid. He needs to either up the ante or creative needs to pull the trigger on someone calling him on his actions. Bobby Roode? Anyone? Hello?
Fatal Four Way – Winner: Charlotte
The Good
The women did a great job with keeping the action going in is traditionally a hard match to keep in order. There were some great near falls and a few high spots that got the crowd on their feet. The best thing of all was that Charlotte has a chance to win the title that she so rightfully deserves.
The Bad
Even though Tamina showed some improvement tonight I really think this is the beginning of the end for her. The crowd isn’t buying her as a powerhouse like the RAW crowd is buying Nia Jax. I just don’t think she has what it takes to shine in the ring when she is competing next to women that are just exposing her many weaknesses.
The Ugly
I have a fear. I very real fear. MITB contract holders aren’t holding onto their contracts as long as they used to. I’m afraid if Charlotte wins, which I expect she will at Hell In A Cell, Carmella will cash in. Not that it would hurt Charlotte, she will probably be beat up from a great match, but seeing her without the title for a longer period of time just doesn’t seem right to me.
