Tonight’s WWE Smackdown Live was held in Rochester NY at the Blue Cross Arena.
Show Open
WWE Smackdown Live kicked off with a video recap of the women’s fatal five way match last week. After the video ended we were brought to the arena, where all five contestants in the first ever women’s Money In The Bank were in the ring. Shane McMahon came down to address the crowd as he has been doing regularly the past few weeks.
Shane began by introducing all five women to the crowd, and then unveiling the female’s version of the MITB briefcase. He began to talk about the risk and reward of the match before the Staten Island Princess’s resident jester interrupted. This kicked off all the women getting in a few jabs at the others, which actually wasn’t all that bad. Once all the women finished their insults Naomi came down to the ring. She didn’t get much mic time, someone wanted to speak a bit more. Ladies and gentlemen, Lana has arrived.
Lana came down to a fairly welcoming reaction from the crowd. This reception continued as she demanded that she be entered as a competitor in the MITB ladder match. Shane McMahon had other plans as he told Lana that she had to earn her shot. She then had a mini tantrum and left the ring. Shane wrapped it up so that we could start the first match of the night.
Six Woman Tag Match – Charlotte/Becky/Naomi vs. Welcoming Committee – Winner: Welcoming Committee
The Good: Lana interfering with the match and causing Naomi to get pinned was the right move. It establishes her as a heel right away, and takes a bit of the face cheering away from the crowd.
The Bad: Everyone looked a bit stiff tonight. There were even a few blown moves from Charlotte and Natty, which is rare. They were only little things, but when you are used to seeing high level talent, the mistakes are glaring.
The Ugly: If I have to watch Carmella take Naomi’s quick kicks one more time I’m going to freak out. It’s truly atrocious to witness.
Mojo Wants An Opportunity
Mojo Rawley approached Shane backstage and made a case for himself. He referenced that he has been for almost two months and that he is a bit disappointed with his direction on Smackdown. He even went so far as to bring up that he is the only guy on the roster to beat Jinder Mahal since he came to Smackdown Live.
Shane responded to Mojo’s pleas for an opportunity with exactly that. If Mojo could beat Jinder tonight, he would have his spot in the MITB ladder match. He was hyped to hear this.
AJ Styles vs Dolph Ziggler – Winner: AJ Styles
The Good: I got my wish for more ring time with these two from my article last week. It was another fantastic match that is worthy of any PPV. There was one particular sequence that AJ won with that really impressed me. He transitioned an attempted roll up into it and it looked seamless.
The Bad: I wish I could have another 20 minutes. (I’m only saying this because it happened this week, so maybe I can get my wish again). I could watch matches with these two every week.
The Ugly: Someone needs to call the Fashion Police on Dolph’s pants.
Fashion Files
I can’t keep doing these segments the injustice of trying to describe it properly. Just watch it.
Jinder Mahal vs Mojo Rawley – Winner: Jinder Mahal
The Good: Short match with two mediocre talents at best. This match was not compelling in the least, and the sequences looked way too stiff.
The Bad: I had to watch a match that had no payoff for Mojo. What was the point then?!
The Ugly: Can I just say that I find it offensive that they will ding superstars with legit prescriptions for medication in their health and wellness program but not Jinder. Now I’m not saying that he’s taking…..well yeah I am…..allegedly.
The New Day vs The Colons – Winner: The New Day
The Good: The New Day look very good after their time off. Both their in ring stuff and their antics felt new again. The segment with the Usos coming out after the match was also amusing. Both teams have a knack for insults which makes for some awesome story telling.
The Bad: I have a bad feeling that the Colons are going to get lost in the mix. It’s too bad because they are a really solid tag team.
The Ugly: New Day. Fellas. Can we not lick our hands before spanking our opponents? Thank you kindly.
Backstage
Sami Zayn was being interviewed about MITB. He said that he was watching film on all of his opponents but Shinsuke Nakamura was the only one he couldn’t quite figure out, which worried him. Baron Corbin then jumped Sami from behind. I know right? NO WAY! This is becoming so stale. Sami was going to be a guest announcer for the main event, but now Baron seems to be taking his spot.
Naomi found Shane McMahon and essentially demanded a match with Lana at money in the bank. The weird thing is he said yes. The only way I can see this working is that the female MITB ladder match is before Naomi’s match. That way the winner could cash in right away that night. Otherwise Lana getting a title shot makes no sense at all.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Owens – Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
The Good: The announce team was right. This did have a big fight feel. Both superstars looked really great, and Shinsuke looked strong beating the U.S. champ clean. If Shinsuke doesn’t win the MITB ladder match, I see this feud happening.
The Bad: As much as I have been championing Baron Corbin as a future champion they need to keep him off the announce team. He isn’t quite ready yet.
The Ugly: WWE, please stop calling Nakamura the “Artist”. He got crazy over in NXT all on his own. He doesn’t need any more branding, he’s badass enough as it is.
