WWE Smackdown Live blew the roof off of the arena in the United Kingdom. For the first time ever, a World Title changed hands outside of the U.S.
The WWE’s tour of England continues – here’s a recap of what took place during SmackDown.
The Good
AJ Styles Title Win
Dreams really do come true for this writer. Finally the trainwreck/failed experiment of Jinder Mahal is over. Hopefully. AJ is a much better draw to fight Brock Lesnar and let’s be honest, he’s just plain better. Hopefully this title reign lasts until Survivor Series. I think it will, this would make no sense otherwise.
Kofi Kingston vs Sami Zayn
Even though this didn’t move a story line forward, it didn’t matter because of the talent in the ring. Kofi and Sami put on a great show, as would be expected from two veterans. Side note: The New Day creating a new nickname for Sami (Paperboy) was spot on, and the Manchester crowd loved it.
Charlotte’s Title Shot Next Week
After seeing a new Smackdown Live Champion be crowned at the end of the night, the title shot Charlotte has next week means so much more. It seems like WWE creative, both RAW and Smackdown Live, are second guessing their booking decisions.
Last night on RAW we saw the tag titles change hands as well. This bodes well for Charlotte, and quite frankly, the WWE Universe benefits as well. Charlotte is a far superior talent to Natalya and I think a match between Charlotte and Alexa Bliss will be more exciting.
The Bad
Rusev vs Randy Orton
This finish made no sense to me. If you didn’t want Rusev to be the fifth man on the team, why have a match with that very prize on the line. It’s a waste of TV time. It’s not so much that I think Rusev would be a good addition, it’s that you took the time to make it a stipulation, why not pay it off?
American Alpha 2.0 vs Usos
I was really excited for this match. To have it end with a count out due to Chad Gable chop blocking Jey outside of the ring is a bit confusing. If it’s to get the feud personal, OK. I was just hoping for a bit more match. I certainly hope this isn’t somehow going to cause the Usos to forfeit their titles before Survivor Series.
The Ugly
Inter-gender Match
James Ellsworth is just awful. In the ring, on the mic, I can’t believe he is still in the WWE. I don’t mind the slimy manager gimmick, Bobby Heenan did it masterfully. James just isn’t good on the mic, which you absolutely have to be in that position.
The match wasn’t great either. Becky Lynch deserves so much better than she is getting right now.
