The Good, Bad, and Ugly format has been omitted this week. Not much ugly, and just a bit of bad.
WWE Smackdown Live was held in Dayton Ohio at Wright State University Nutter Center.
Daniel Bryan had some decisions to make in his first night back. After a short video recap of the results of the first ever female MITB ladder match, we cut to four out of the five participants in that match talking to Daniel outside his office. He told them all that a decision would be made tonight, but he wanted to hear what Carmella and James Ellsworth had to say for themselves first. This is Smackback.
Show Open
Normally I’m not a fan of Carmella on the mic. This was a bit different. She started off by talking about how after Money In The Bank her name was trending, but not in a way that she would like. Instead of it trending because she won, it was all about how she won. The WWE Universe came out in full force against her, sending tons of tweets to Daniel Bryan demanding he do something. Her response, “I don’t care”. She was tired of being overlooked, and decided to use her intellect to plan how to win while all the women would rely on what the WWE always focuses on when it comes to them.
She actually made some pretty good points. The match was a no disqualification match, so how can you break a rule that isn’t there? She made a few references to prior year’s MITB matches where both Kane and Bray Wyatt interfered, yet nothing was done in regards to consequences. She concluded the segment by calling the WWE Universe pathetic for their actions, and regardless of their pleas Daniel Bryan would side with her. Seriously good performance from Carmella.
Female Money in the Bank Backstage Segments
All the women would show up at different points of the night to plead their case to Daniel Bryan. The one that really stood out was Becky Lynch. She showed genuine emotion during her conversation with Bryan. She told him that she didn’t know what to do anymore. No matter how skilled she is, or how much she prepares, there is always someone there to cut in front of her and slither into a spot they didn’t earn. Completely dejected she would ask Bryan what can she do and what would he do. Bryan would answer with “It’s complicated”. In one of the most genuine and sincere responses I’ve seen from Becky she simply asked “What’s so complicated about doing the right thing?”.
Big E vs Jimmy Uso – Winner: Big E
I’m usually not a fan of tag team superstars competing in singles competition. Unless something really amazing happens to propel a current story line forward, they usually don’t keep my attention. This was no different. New Day is always great with their intros so there is no criticism there. The match just didn’t do much for me. It’s the two heavy hitters from both teams that are usually reserved for hot tags doing an entire match. They are so much better utilized for short bursts of power moves and explosive encounters.
Something I also find a bit troubling was the second attempt of the Usos to run away from a match. Just two days after losing via count out at Money in the Bank they once again attempted to take their belts and go home. I don’t think this is a good move for this specific team. Heels running away is nothing new, but only when they are established as a slimy type of team. The Usos have been branded as a super tough team that can take it to you. This sudden change doesn’t seem to fit well.
Randy Orton Interview
Tom Phillips interviewed Randy days after his hometown loss to Jinder Mahal at Money in the Bank. It wasn’t so much the things that Randy was talking about that bored me, it was Randy. He is just a boring interview. It makes me a bit annoyed because I know he can do better. The feud with Bray Wyatt proved that point. Anyway, he talked about how he lost focus in the match with Jinder when the Singh brothers assaulted his father, and that was what caused him to lose. Now that they have involved Randy’s family it’s a completely different ballgame. Orton promises that things are about to get a bit more brutal. He even pondered the idea of going to India and dishing out RKO’s to everyone in Jinder’s family. I find myself hoping that this feud ends soon.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Dolph Ziggler – Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Match. Of. The. Night. It started out as a slow burn and had a steady pace throughout. One thing I have noticed with Nakamura’s matches are that they seem to mimic the pacing of big matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling. They really don’t waste any movements and when something big happens it really means something. Dolph is the perfect opponent for Nakamura in the Smackdown Live roster (excluding a possible program with AJ Styles). He can sell so well I was actually concerned a few times during this match because I though Shinsuke connected with a few shots.
This match really had everything. A slow start showing the mutual respect of both men’s skill. Close calls, submission attempts, explosive finishing attempts. It was simply amazing, a pay per view caliber match on regular TV is always welcome in my eyes. I hope this feud continues, but I think Dolph will have to do something drastic to move the story line along from a personal angle. I will never get bored watching their matches, but I would like to see some real world stuff peppered in as well.
Kevin Owen’s Open Challenge
This was a tad disappointing. When I heard that Kevin Owens would be holding an open challenge to properly represent the original land of opportunity, the United States, I was so hoping that Rusev would show up. How great would that be? Kevin Owens professing to be the New Face of America and the one true U.S. Champ against someone who claims to be the greatest U.S. Champion ever.
Alas this was not the case. As Owens was explaining the offer he stated that the opponent would have to be a Dayton local. AJ Styles would come down, but as Kevin Owens would point out the obvious, AJ is not from Dayton. In a surprising appearance Chad Gable would come to the ring claiming to be a new resident of Ohio, giving Owens the address of the arena when pressed by the champion. Styles confirmed that the address was a legit one and called for the match to start.
Gable made an extremely strong showing. He was throwing around Owens at the beginning of the match like he was a small child. This is no small feat, we need to remember how big Owens is. There were a few points where Chad German suplexes Owens with no help at all. You could tell because it looked like a real suplex from an actual amateur wrestling match in the Olympics. That is ridiculous power. Owens would eventually pin Gable clean, but man did Gable impress me in this match.
Daniel Bryan Decision
Happy to be back on Smackdown Live Bryan informed the WWE Universe that he has spent the last two days in talks with Shane McMahon and various other people regarding his decision. He was basically told that he had to keep his emotions out of it and abide by the WWE rule book. He then brought all five women in the MITB ladder match down to the ring. Here we go.
He started off agreeing with the points that Carmella made earlier in the night. Stating that it was a DQ match, and technically the winner is the first woman to hold the briefcase on the mat. He then shifted gears a bit and referenced that they were in uncharted territory due to the actions of James Ellsworth. This is when James Ellsworth chimed in and accused the former WWE World Champion of getting to soft now that he is the father of some vegan hippy baby. This obviously enraged Bryan who got in Ellsworth’s face immediately. He told him that if he ever mentioned his baby daughter again he would punch him directly in the face before firing him. I wish he just would have slugged him.
All the women took turns talking but then Bryan regained control. He told Carmella that she was in fact the first women’s Money in the Bank winner. She would also be the first Miss Money in the Bank to hand over her briefcase. Bryan is not the type of person who would not let someone like her ruin what was supposed to be a historic moment for the women’s division. Bryan’s bombshell was followed with the announcement that their would be a redo of the match next week on Smackdown Live.
As Bryan walked away with the briefcase a melee ensued in the ring. When the dust settled it was Charlotte and Becky in the ring with Carmella. In a just act of revenge Charlotte hit Carmella with Natural Selection which allowed Becky to lock in the Disarmer. Turn about as fair play.
Jinder Mahal vs Luke Harper – Winner:Jinder Mahal
Poor Luke Harper. This was really just a place holder match for a later event and what I consider the worst part of the night. Even though Baron Corbin made an appearance with his new Money in the Bank briefcase, this was about one thing. Randy Orton coming down at the end of the match and dismantling Mahal and the Singh brothers. Luke put in a good showing but he unfortunately fell prey to both the numbers game and writers not knowing what to do with him.
