Becky Lynch confronts Charlotte during Smackdown Live Women’s Championship celebration. Samoa Joe continues to haunt AJ Styles following their controversial title match.
A new Smackdown Live Women’s Champion celebrates her title victory as the roster grapples with the fallout from Hell In A Cell. A very special edition of Miz TV kicks off the show.
Smackdown Live comes to us from Tulsa, Oklahoma this 18th of September, 2018.
A Grave Miztake
Miz TV opens with a major match announcement regarding WWE Super Showdown. Daniel Bryan and The Miz will once again face off but this time for a WWE Championship opportunity. Fresh off of a victory against Bryan and his wife Brie Bella, The Miz announces his very special guest who also happens to be Maryse.
Maryse gloats about her superior athletic ability compared to Brie. The A-Listers continue to disparage Bryan and Brie’s relationship and wrestling ability before announcing Maryse’s exit from in ring competition. The Miz gets irritated with the crowd’s discontent and calls out Bryan.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ6Pwz9iGek]
After listening to the insults backstage, an enraged Bryan storms to the ring and lunges at The Miz. The two brawl until their skirmish accidentally knocks Maryse to the ground. The new mother clutches her stomach as Bryan and The Miz freeze in horror. As medical staff and Bryan check on the fallen Superstar, Maryse suddenly reveals a wicked smile. Her “injury” is just another ploy to distract Bryan as The Miz attempts a Skull Crushing Finale.
Bryan thwarts the sneak attack and shoves The Miz into his wife, avoiding potential humiliation.
Although Bryan challenging for the title would be a dream come true, The Miz needs to pull out third victory in this series. Bryan and Brie should have defeated team Miz at Hell In A Cell. This would allow The Miz to pull out the shadiest of victories at Super Showdown, moving on to the WWE Championship scene. The Miz has demonstrated he has all the tools to be a legitimate heel champion. Assuming AJ Styles holds on to the WWE Championship long enough, The despicable Miz can provide the perfect foil to the baby face who runs the place.
Ceasaro vs Kingston
Ceasaro faces Kofi Kingston in singles competition. These two are certainly work horses within the WWE roster and demonstrate this in a short but great match on Smackdown Live.
Both The Bar and The New Day have been floundering lately in a tag team division dominated by the less than compelling Bludgeon Brothers experiment. This recent lull is evidenced by the Smackdown Live Tag Team Championships being defended on the preshow of Hell In The Cell. Both teams have an opportunity to pull out a barn burner at Super Showdown to hopefully revive a once great division.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv8QCsKxWG8]
Though Kingston utilizes some innovative offense he is no match for the power advantage Ceasaro possesses. After hitting a Neutralizer, Ceasaro pins Kingston to the shock of The New Day. It is important that The Bar establish that they are still formidable opponents before the big match in Australia.
Rusev Day Drama
Rusev receives another United States Championship opportunity but not before some backstage drama. After losing alongside teammate Aiden English at Hell In A Cell, Rusev suggests English’s best simply will not do anymore. Thinking he is alone, English rants to backstage personnel about the short comings of Rusev and Lana in a fit of rage. Lana is revealed to have been listening the entire time off camera and threatens to tell Rusev.
This creates uncertainty going into the match with Shinsuke Nakamura.
Although Rusev has the strength advantage, Nakamura answers with his signature Strong Style and also a bag of dirty tricks. Rusev goes for a suplex but Nakamura rakes the eyes of The Bulgarian Brute. This allows Nakamura to deliver a flying knee to his stunned opponent. Rusev mounts a heroic comeback however and nails a Machka Kick.
As Rusev looks to seal the deal with The Accolade, Aiden English gets on the ring apron and screams Lana’s signature line of “Rusev, crush!”. This temporarily distracts Rusev long enough for Shinsuke Nakamura to execute a roll up to retain his title.
Perhaps it is frustration or panic that motivates English to then attack Rusev. Lana would have eventually ratted on English who is also probably tired of Rusev’s criticism. English has finally caved under the pressure of his failings.
This relationship never seemed like it would end with English turning but it will certainly be interesting to see where the writing goes from here.
Styles vs Almas
AJ Styles has a lot on his mind heading into his match against Andrade “Cien” Almas. The WWE Champion admits that Almas has what it takes to beat him and must try to block out the controversy surrounding his victory at Hell In A Cell. Video footage shows that Styles tapped out during a submission turned pinning predicament that decided the WWE Championship match against Samoa Joe.
Before Styles can even enter the ring Almas attacks him prior to the match. Styles struggles to recover from this and the interference of Zalina Vega during a competitive match. There are several times where it looks like Almas could pin the champion in a huge upset.
Through all of this Styles proves why he is WWE Champion. In a beautiful counter, he sets up and connects with a Styles Clash for the victory.
Immediately Samoa Joe runs out of the WWE Universe to attack Styles. Joe screams that Styles knows the truth, referring to their WWE Championship match ending. Styles fights off Joe who runs away through the crowd.
Joe will get a rematch for the title at WWE Super Showdown. Although Joe is in desperate need of a high profile win, the potential opponents that could await Styles as champion are just too good to pass up. It seems as though the creative powers that be may have booked themselves into a corner as a Joe victory seems unlikely.
The Coronation
The antihero Becky Lynch finally dethrones Charlotte for the Smackdown Live Women’s Champion in an intense match at Hell In A Cell. Although she maintains her heel demeanor she is cheered on by the crowd at every turn.
Paige introduces Becky Lynch to a thunderous applause and gives her the floor. Lynch comments on the modest ring decor for her coronation and proceeds to call out Charlotte. With her former best friend in the ring, Lynch gloats about her victory. She demands Charlotte raise her hand, put the title around her waist and call her Queen.
Charlotte was more than willing to offer respect to Lynch but the new champion is too consumed with soaking up her hard fought victory for sportsmanship. Charlotte finally loses it when Lynch calls her a bitch. Charlotte lunges at Lynch but misses and receives a beating from the new champion. After a Bexploder suplex and the Dis-arm-her Lynch stands tall as a distraught Charlotte lays in the ring.
This feud is leaps and bounds above Bailey and Sasha Banks in terms of plot. WWE should expand on the original angle more and involve less combat in their storytelling at this point. Charlotte could have made a plea for a friendship reset in acknowledging that she should have given Lynch the spotlight for a change. This gesture could have caused a visible, emotional reaction from Lynch that out of her pride she would be forced to suppress. This internal struggle could play out over the coming weeks, adding another dimension to this feud.
Although the what happened tonight is slightly less compelling, it certainly touched on the emotion within this angle. One thing is for sure that Lynch is more over now than throughout her entire career.
She truly deserves it.
