This week’s WWE Smackdown Live was held at TD Garden in Boston Massachusetts on April 11th, 2017.
Smackdown Live wasn’t pulling any punches with their Superstar Shakeup roster changes. Kevin Owens entered the arena, wearing a suit and clean shaven (well it was clean shaven for him). However, regardless of how KO looked, it was apparent that it was the same Kevin Owens that we have come to know and love. He addressed the crowd, welcoming them to “the new Kevin Owens show”, and informed them that his arrival signaled a “huge upgrade”. He continued on about how Canada was superior to the United States. He even went so far as to tell the Bean Town crowd that it was obvious that Canadian athletes are better, considering how many times the Bruins lose to the Montreal Canadians. That a boy KO, solidify that heel persona. He started speaking French, then apologized when he realized that the crowd only spoke one language. What he was saying was that if anyone in the back had a problem with what he was saying, they should come out and do something about it. He wasn’t there for the fans, or anyone in the back for that matter. He was there to be the new face of America.
One of the first men to take issue with this was Baron Corbin. As he walked to the ring, Corbin agreed with KO regarding the fact that he could probably beat up anyone in the arena, and most of the locker room…..but he couldn’t take the Lone Wolf. Corbin told KO that he beat up Dean Ambrose so badly that it caused the Lunatic Fringe to run to Monday Night Raw. He then accused KO of escaping to Smackdown Live due to the fact that Ambrose took it to him last night. Corbin then used the always accurate fight logic (this statement is oozing with sarcasm if you didn’t pick it up) to deduce that this meant Corbin could beat KO. Corbin concluded his chat with KO by informing him that he was owed a title match, and since Ambrose was no longer on Smackdown Live…..his United States title would suffice. Owens was having none of what I’m sure he considered nonsense, and told Corbin that he didn’t deserve a match with him.
Then a ghost from NXT past opened wide the eyes of the US champ. Sami Zayn has come to Smackdown Live! Owens goes into a fit, yelling out things like “this can’t be real” and “you can’t be here. Sami was glad to correct his former friend, saying that he was indeed finally on Smackdown Live. Corbin got in a little shot on Sami with a quick “No one cares that you are here”. The crowd hardly had a chance to react to this, because there was one more superstar who wanted to be heard. AJ STYLES!! *clap clap clapclapclap! Styles got last week’s wish of staying on Smackdown Live granted. Thank goodness, because last night I was afraid that RAW was going to try and take everyone from Smackdown Live. I thought that the Raw writers might think that their dip in ratings was due to the fact that they didn’t have a strong roster, instead of their inferior storytelling. I’m sorry, I digress.
Styles borrowed Corbin’s red pen to also correct KO on some of the “facts” he was spewing in the TD Garden. It was in fact not the “KO show” as was previously stated, nor was it about Sami Zayn or Baron Corbin. It was about him and the house that Styles built. Do you smell a match setup? Well if you do then you know what’s coming up next. That’s right, Daniel Bryan enters the conversation, and with news! Since the match between KO and Chris Jericho for the US title at Payback had been made prior to the Superstar Shakeup, this stacked fatal 4-way match could not be set in stone. The winner of the Payback match would be the one that would be traded to Smackdown Live. No where does this leave the other three men in the ring? It leaves them in tonight’s main event. A triple threat match, where the winner would have the opportunity to face the winner from Payback for the US title. YES! YES! YES!
Randy Orton vs Erick Rowan
After the first commercial break, we were greeted by the image of Erick Rowan standing in the ring with his Big Van Vader-esque sheep mask. Randy took the action to Rowan right away, hoping to finish the match quickly before he had to contend with the size and freaky speed of Rowan. The only offense Rowan was able to hit Orton with was an elbow while Orton was coming off the ropes. Randy was able to regain the advantage almost instantaneously with a lightning fast powerslam. Rowan tried to flee to the outside to regain his composure, but Orton was having none of that, and threw the Wyatt Family’s own Red Beard into the steel steps. Orton beat the ref’s count first and met Rowan with a draping DDT as he entered the ring. As Orton was getting ready to RKO Rowan, Bray Wyatt appeared on big screen. The “Raw Face of Fear” told Randy that even though he was now on Raw, he would be seeing him very soon. He was “everywhere and everything”. He told Randy that he would see him in the House of Horrors match, and then just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone. Bray’s distraction was enough to allow Rowan to escape to the outside. When Randy hit the floor in pursuit of Big Red, Rowan threw the same steps that Orton had used previously on him right in his face. This caused the ref to call for the bell, ending the match in Rowan’s disqualification. Rowan then pushed Orton back into the ring, and added insult to injury planting Orton into the mat with his full nelson slam. Even when Bray isn’t even on the same show, he can still wreak havoc on whoever is in his cross hairs. RUN!
American Alpha vs The Usos
Another fantastic match from these two teams. There wasn’t anything particularly unique in this match that we haven’t seen in previous programs from these guys, but it was still a blast to watch. There were tons of back and forth between them, some great close calls after well executed high spots. At the end of the match it would be the Usos coming out as the victors after Jay hit Chad with a splash from the top rope. Chad had unfortunately not seen a tag by the Usos while driving Jimmy into the Usos’ corner. Chad attempted a roll up for the win, but was caught not paying attention and that’s what sealed his fate. The “real story” here though was the appearance of a new tag team to Smackdown Live from Raw. The Shining Stars made their presence known by attacking Jason Jordan on the outside of the ring, and then turning their sights to Chad, hitting him with a team effort powerbomb. Hopefully we will get to see some character development for Primo and Epico on Smackdown Live.
Jinder Mahal vs Mojo Rawly
WWE writer: “Hey! Wasn’t it cool when Gronk made a Wrestlemania moment by obliterating Mahal after a drink was thrown in his face? Since we’re in Boston let’s do that again.
Second writer: “Yeah sure. We all don’t know what to do with Mojo since we aren’t confident that he could carry the weight of a heavy push. But the old man seems to want to do this, so let’s do it.”
Yeah, that’s pretty much what I thought of when I saw this match start. After a few minutes of the match, Jinder was able to put Mojo down and proceeded to walk up to Gronk and start talking trash. He must not have a very good concept of Mojo’s respawn timer. As Mahal had his back turned to the ring, Mojo had recovered and offered Mahal up to Gronk like a sacrifice to the Bro Gods. Gronk threw his drink into Mahal’s face, and the crowd loved it. Mojo threw Mahal back into the ring, set him up in the corner, and delivered a brutal punch/forearm. Lights out for Mahal. Mojo celebrated by running to the outside and jumping into the section where Gronk and hit friends were sitting. For a split second I thought that Mojo and Gronk were going to recreate the Dirty Dancing lift scene with the way Mojo jumped into his arms. I’m sure they went out after the show and……Haaaddddd the time of their liiiiivvvveeesss, and Mojo oweeesss it all to Gronk. Sorry for that, I’ll try and control myself.
Women’s Division Announcements
Smackdown Live commissioner Shane McMahon came down to the ring to make some announcements about the changes in the Smackdown Live women’s roster. Before that, he took the time to thank all of the Smackdown Live superstars that went to Monday Night Raw. He thanked them for all that they had done to help both Daniel Bryan and himself succeed in making Smackdown Live both competitive and a place where opportunity breeds results. On to the matter at hand. Shane brought out all the current female superstars that stayed on Smackdown Live. These were Naomi, Carmella, Natalya, and Becky Lynch. Once all the ladies made it down to the ring Shane said that one of the main reasons the women’s division on Smackdown Live is so hot right now (I couldn’t help but picture Will Ferrell in Zoolander) is that they crowned a new champion at Wrestlemania. Shane was unable to get in another word due to James Ellsworth butting in. He claimed that Naomi was a horrible champion, and that people really tuned into Smackdown Live to watch Carmella and himself. He even used the name again…..”Carmellsworth”…..blech. It was now James’ turn to get cut off, as Naomi told Carmella to “get her side chick before he gets chin checked”. I was trying to reconcile how one would “chin check” someone without a chin when Shane regained control of the situation and continued on to the announcements. Shane started to talk about how the first acquisition was a second generation wrestler, and had a father in the hall of fame. Everyone obviously knew he was talking about Charlotte…..NOPE! He announces Tamina, daugter of the late Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. The crowd was certainly disappointed with the reveal. Shane spoke to this very reaction, saying “It looks like you guys thought I was going to say someone else”. He then informed the crowd that he did have someone else to announce, someone who he called the greatest acquisition in the Superstar Shakeup. This time it was Charlotte. It only makes sense that you would need to replace the loss of an amazing heel in Alexa Bliss with someone who is equally talented as a heel, and undoubtedly superior when it comes to athletic prowess.
Aiden English vs Tye Dillinger
The surviving Vaudevillain Aiden English was first in the ring. His partner Simon Gotch was recently released from the WWE, but this did not stop Aiden from singing his heart out about how the spotlight is solely on him now. The singing stopped as The Perfect 10 Tye Dillinger made his was to the ring. For the second week in a row, the chants of “TEN!” came from the entire crowd. I’m sure Dillinger, who was recorded on video last week in a very emotional state after the wonderful welcome he received from the crowd, was just as touched this week from the reception. When the match began, Dillinger showed off a bit, avoiding attacks from English with flare. Each time holding up ten fingers to show English who he was in the ring with. English got angry and mounted a short burst of offense, but Dillinger quickly put that to a halt. A Tye Breaker secured Dillinger’s victory, the crowd chanting “TEN!” each time the ref hit the mat. So I suppose Tye Dillinger scored the victory via thirty count. Let’s hope that Dillinger can continue this rise in the ranks, because I love watching him wrestle…and maybe yelling “TEN!” at my TV after he hits a move.
Dolph Is Introduced To A King
The next segment brought us to Dolph Ziggler standing in the ring with a microphone. He opened with how the Superstar Shakeup was all anyone was talking about. Dolph being Dolph however made it about him, saying that the only question everyone is asking is where Dolph will be headed. He made his intentions clear, he was staying with Smackdown Live because it was the show he made cool to be on, and the show that he built. He added that all these shiny new toys that the crowd was getting are exciting now, but each week the shine would dull and after they were all gone Dolph would be the one to carry the show. You know what’s shiny Dolph? Violins. You know what the sound of violins announces? That’s right, the arrival of the king of strong style, Shinsuke Nakamura. Judging the reaction of the crowd, Nakamura’s shine didn’t dull in one single atom of his being. The crowd chanted “Nakamura” as Shinsuke entered the ring. After the chants “calmed down”, Dolph asked Nakamura “Can I help you? You’re new here so you may not know me. I don’t know you. Who exactly do you think you are?” The fans took this bait and ran with it. The chants of “Nakamura” regained their previous strength, and then went beyond. The fans actually started to sing Nakamura’s entrance theme, all while Shinsuke stood there in front of Dolph, basking in the love from the crowd. Shinsuke finally took the microphone and simply stated “Do you want to know who I am? I am Shinsuke Nakamura”. The chants continued when suddently Dolph tried to kick Nakamura, but Nakamura easily caught his foot and pushed him to the ground. Nakamura looked down at the stunned Ziggler, and gestured to bring it on. Ziggler of course pulled the classic heel move and retreated. Wanting to fight Shinsuke on his own, and hopefully more advantageous, terms.
*It is significant to note that throughout the night there were multiple short video segments announcing the arrival of certain superstars from Raw to Smackdown Live. We saw such segments reveal that Rusev & Lana, The New Day, and Sin Cara would be joining the Smackdown Live roster.
Main Event: Triple Threat Match (No Countout/No DQ)
I was pretty excited to see this match. Most of the excitement came from the addition of Sami Zayn into the lineup. Any match between AJ and Sami will be excellent. I was also interested to see how being thrown around by Braun for multiple weeks on RAW would translate into selling for Corbin. This match hit both those targets perfectly. Corbin dominated most of this match. The times where he got in trouble was mostly due to both AJ and Sami joining forces to incapacitate the Lone Wolf. But each time AJ and Zayn did this, they were either countered by Corbin, or he didn’t stay down for long. This trend was apparent from the very start of the match, when Sami and AJ tried to suplex Corbin, only to be suplexed themselves. The times when Corbin was down were just a taste of the tremendous matches AJ and Sami could have if given the chance. A couple great sequences from these two had me drooling for a longer match on a future PPV. The crowd seemingly read my mind during these sequences, chanting “this is awesome”. The final moments of the match were high intensity and very fast paced. Sami would throw Corbin into the turnbuckle with an exploder, only to get hit with an Ushigoroshi from Styles, then Styles gets leveled by a vicious clothesline from Corbin. After that Sami hits Styles with a Blue Thunder Bomb, but AJ kicked out. Still in control Zayn props Styles onto the top turnbuckle to attempt a superplex. A revived Corbin lifts Sami onto his shoulders like they are about to play chicken in the pool. This gives Styles the opportunity for a Phenomenal Forearm, but Corbin sees it and drops down, causing Styles to miss both his opponents. Corbin then hits Zayn with a Deep Six, but couldn’t get the pinfall as Styles stops the count at two. AJ picks up a dazed Corbin, but gets pushed into the corner. Corbin could not capitalize on this however, missing a shoulder tackle and hitting the ring post. AJ seized the moment to hit a 450 splash on the helpless Corbin, but the Lone Wolf was not out of it yet, kicking out at the last minute. All three men then exchange moves in the corner, everyone getting a turn to hit both their opponents. These sequence was pretty fun to watch, and something you don’t see very often. The match finally ended when Sami Zayn hit Corbin with a Helluva Kick, but wasn’t able to notice Styles going for the Phenomenal Forearm, which connected. AJ Styles picks up the win in what I consider a great start to the continued domination of Smackdown Live in the new WWE Main Roster Wars.
