The Miz is drafted to Smackdown Live at the request of Daniel Bryan. Now cleared to wrestle, how will Bryan exact his revenge for months of trash talk and gimmick stealing?
The moment arrives when The Miz may have to answer for his crimes against Daniel Bryan. But will WWE pull the trigger on the long awaited feud? Major upsets occur throughout the night as multiple, odd run ins plague the evening.
Smackdown Live Live comes to us from Louisville, KY this April 24th, 2018.
A-Lister On The B Show
The Miz kicked the night off with his triumphant return to Tuesdays. He made his return alone and wasted no time advising the crowd to silence themselves. Miz has not lost sight of the Intercontinental Championship and vows to reclaim it at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Before then he must address the Daniel Bryan situation.
The new father compared himself to Bryan in that they have daughters and this bond should serve to smooth things over between them.
Its seems as though the Miz is not changing his heel persona. He claims Smackdown Live is now the “A show” and that he inevitably brings better ratings.
It is at this moment that Big Cass’s music hits and the near seven-footer makes his way to the ring unannounced.
WWE seems to be saving the Miz and Daniel Bryan feud until later. Moving on this angle now would make sense with the timing of Miz’s arrival and Bryan being behind move. This would make for the hottest feud in wrestling which is why it might be saved for a Big Four pay per view.
Enter Big Cass
Cass finally reveals why he has a bone to pick with Bryan. Both competitors were recently cleared at the same time and Bryan has apparently stolen the spotlight.
Cass continues to open up about how he was once small like Bryan and bullied. After finally overcoming these obstacles and his recent injury Cass finds himself overshadowed by a “little man”. This is a decent motive for a feud. At this point it is a small stretch but one can certainly understand Cass’s frustration.
Directly after this segment referees find Daniel Bryan severely beaten backstage.
One can only assume Cass is to blame at this point. While Cass’s motives may not match the deed his overreaction can definitely spark a feud. We will see if WWE is able to kindle a solid story.
Iconic Upset
The Iconics continue to flaunt their good looks and smack talk the women’s roster. Their superiority complex will work in WWE just as it did in NXT. Although these two are too new to the main roster to have developed depth they are already heat magnets. Their charisma already antagonizes fans and this is what eventually got them over previously.
Their opponents tonight seem assured victory. Asuka and Becky Lynch are paired to face the Iconics in a completely one sided match. For the most part this match unfolds accordingly. Billie Kay fails to gain any sort of offense. Peyton Royce suffers heavy hits and a submission from Asuka.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR8VwOgbowQ]
In an amazing turn of events, The Iconics were able to create miscommunication between their opponents. Royce shoves Lynch into Asuka who is knocked out of the ring. Royce then rolls up and pins Lynch while using her feet on the ropes for leverage.
The Iconics are on the right track and should continue to gain upset victories through cheating. Their arrogance and shady tactics will fill in any performance gaps while they acclimate to the ring.
The Glowing Distraction
Erick Rowan faces Jimmy Uso in a continuing feud between their two respective teams who would be ringside for the match.
Before the match Naomi pleads with her husband Jimmy to allow her to join the Usos a ringside. Naomi thwarted a recent attempt of The Bludgeon Brothers to end the careers of The Usos via sledgehammer. She claims to have a bad feeling about the match tonight.
The use of Naomi in this story line is great and there should be more commingling of male and female talent in angles. It is something not normally seen until recently and in this case adds to the drama. Naomi as a wife cannot stand to see her husband possibly suffer vital injuries at the hands of these monsters. This coupled with their mutual experience as wrestlers adds to the drama of the situation. This booking develops all characters involved. Harper and Rowan look more monstrous while Naomi and Jimmy’s on camera relationship deepens.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blVjHyYoDIw]
As Jimmy is dominated by Rowan the end seems near for the Uso Until Namoi’s music hits. Naomi dances in a laser light distraction which allow Jey to superkick Harper while Jimmy rolls up Rowan for the win. The Usos along with Naomi celebrate their unlikely victory as the Bludgeon Brothers seethe in the ring. Although they celebrate now, The Usos may have just dug deeper graves for themselves when they eventually face the Bludgeon Brothers again.
Sneak Attack
Shelton Benjamin is set to do battle with Jeff Hardy in singles competition. That is until Randy Orton steals Jeff Hardy’s entrance, returning the favor from the previous week. Hardy remains at ringside as Orton and Benjamin put on a solid match.
Out of nowhere a masked individual hops the guard rail a clips Hardy in the back of the knee. Security chases the assailant into the ring where Orton stops and unmasks him. He is revealed to be Sunil Signh, the servant of Jinder Mahal who will face Hardy for the United States Championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble. The obvious motive is to create an exploitable injury ahead of the title match to ensure Mahal wins.
Singh is immediately disposed of via RKO but this opens up Orton to a roll up from Benjamin. Orton is abruptly defeated by Benjamin in the third upset victory of the evening. It is unclear which direction the situation between Hardy and Orton will go at this point. It is brilliant to have Singh interfere and bridge two different angles while building drama for the upcoming United States Championship match.
Rock Star Rusev Day
The Club reunites as Gallows and Anderson team with AJ Styles to face Rusev Day and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Styles and Nakamura still hate each other and have formed alliances to wage their war. Nakamura’s disrespectful actions against Styles and others have gone unanswered and the former Bullet Club alumni are no stranger to having each other’s back. Rusev Day has for the most part been placed in the match and beyond this have little allegiance to Nakamura.
AJ Styles has trouble with Rusev and Aiden English in the early goings of the match. Luke Gallows is able to get the hot tag and clear house of all opposing tag members. Gallows however does not see Nakamura tag in and is blindsided by strong style offense. Nakamura is able to hit is knee strike on Gallows for a pinfall victory.
As Nakmaura celebrates an enraged AJ Styles flies in to lay numerous fists upon his bitter enemy. Nakamura is able to fend off Styles with another low blow and goes for the knee strike once again. Karl Anderson is able to dive in front of Styles and takes the knee strike for his friend. Nakamura continues to levy knee strikes as Styles watches helplessly having suffered too much damage.
Nakamura continues to demonstrate supreme heel behavior and this week it is far more malicious than annoying as in previous shows. WWE has even changed his theme music, once one of the most popular song downloads on iTunes, to draw more heat. WWE are capitalizing on what was certainly a risky move to turn Nakamura heel
It is definitely working out for them.
