By: Keila Cash
Hello
everyone and welcome to another installment of The SmackDown Files. Tonight’s
episode of SmackDown Live! emanated from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville,
CT. The fallout from SummerSlam continued as Smackdown finally introduced the
brand new Tag Team and Women’s championships. Plus, Randy Orton proved that he
was alive after taking a bloody and gory trip to Suplex City courtesy of Brock
Lesnar. Finally, a new number one contender for Dean Ambrose’s WWE World Title
was determined. All that and more can be found throughout this blog. Without
further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s episode of SD Live! in no particular
order.
·
At
least Dolph Ziggler sold dejection after he failed to win the WWE World Championship
at SummerSlam. Getting in a brief scuffle with AJ Styles was a nice way to
illustrate his frustration.
·
I
guess everything is uniform when it comes to the new Tag Team and Women Titles
on SD Live! They are blue and exact duplicates of the championship belts on
Raw. How original. *Insert sarcasm here*
·
The
Heath Slater saga continues as he has been tasked to find a tag team partner to
compete in the tournament to crown the new tag team champs on SD Live! However,
Slater and his partner must run the table in order to secure a contract on the
blue brand. Otherwise, he will remain the hottest free agent in WWE.
·
Ziggler
continued his Bitter Man Party as he attacked Styles from behind during the
opening segment. The tag teams had to separate both men as the show went to
commercial break.
·
I
am glad that SD Live! finally introduced the secondary titles which will give
the broadcast a greater sense of purpose besides wrestlers trading wins back
and forth with nothing on the line worth fighting for. Plus, it gives the
Backlash PPV an automatic jolt in terms of importance as well.
·
As
for Ziggler and Styles, it’s a tale of two storylines. Styles is riding high
after picking up a major win against John Cena while Ziggler is portraying the
sulking wrestler who failed to live up to the hype when it counted most. It’s a
weird dynamic because Ziggler has no credibility as a babyface and his only
course of action is to turn heel. It seems logical enough, but will the
creative team actually do it?
·
Becky
Lynch picked up the win against Alexa Bliss via the Dis-Arm-Her. It was a
decent match while it lasted and I am glad Lynch evened the series to make up
for Eva Marie’s spectacular distraction a couple of weeks ago.
·
The
Usos advanced to the semifinals of the Tag Team Tournament by making quick work
of The Ascension via the Frog Splash. The match was nothing to write home
about, but it should be noted that Jimmy and Jey’s face paint was darker than
usual. It’s a subtle detail, but it is a sign that a much needed heel turn is
happening very soon.
·
Daniel
Bryan announced that Ziggler and Styles would settle their issues in a high
stakes match later tonight. If Styles wins, he will go on to face Dean Ambrose
for the WWE World Championship at Backlash. If Ziggler wins, he will be added
to the title match to make it a Triple Threat. Therefore, Styles gets his shot
regardless and the only thing he has to be pissed off about is Ziggler being
added to the mix to play spoiler. Ziggler is in an all or nothing situation
which plays into his downward spiral perfectly.
·
Carmella
just executed the easiest heel turn in history by attacking Nikki Bella.
Carmella irritates me for all the wrong reasons and I’m glad that the creative
team was smart enough to reverse course on her character by making her annoying
for all the right reasons. Plus, it makes Nikki Bella a sympathetic figure who
is coming back from a career-threatening neck injury. This is a win-win in my
book.
·
Randy
Orton is wearing Tapout gear. And PANTS!!! The Corporate Viper is in the
building, ladies and gentleman.
·
It
appears that Orton will be feuding with Bray Wyatt. After their stare down last
week, it was expected. Wyatt didn’t have much to say besides proclaiming that
Orton was a mere man while he was a God among men. It is a teaser for things to
come. Let’s hope things don’t get too hokey because I believe both guys are
capable of having a good match if they are given something substantial to work
with from a storyline standpoint.
·
It
looks like Heath Slater just found his tag team partner. Rhyno is going to help
Slater pay for his above-ground swimming pool in their quest to become
Smackdown Tag Team Champs. How sweet. It brings a tear to my eye…
·
American
Alpha and Breezango had a really nice match that intensified after the
commercial break. The action was strong throughout and I loved how the heat
grew as the match went on. Tyler Breeze and Fandango had a nice showing and
managed to get a couple of near falls on Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, but the
outcome was never in question. This had the potential to be even better if they
were given more time. Wrestling tournaments are supposed to be fun despite the
predetermined result. The Cruiserweight Classic is a great example that.
·
AJ
Styles crushed Dolph Ziggler’s hopes and dreams after he dropped The Show Off
with the Styles Clash to become the number one contender for Dean Ambrose’s WWE
World Championship. I thought Styles vs. Ziggler was very good as Ziggler
wrestled with a sense of passion and urgency that was missing from his title
match against Ambrose at SummerSlam. It was the best bout on the show by a
landslide that also built to a nice crescendo after the second commercial
break. It told a great story and I liked how chill Ambrose was on commentary as
he spoke highly of both men while remaining confident that he could defeat them
one-on-one or in a triple threat match.
·
The
show ended with Styles and Ambrose having a brief stare down as Mauro Ranallo
wrapped up the show on time for a change. Whew!
·
As
for Ziggler, he is out in the cold with no sense of direction. I guess Sulk
Fest 2016 will continue with a dark cloud hanging over Ziggler’s head for not
winning the big one. I wonder where The Show Off goes from here. Let’s hope he
doesn’t take a trip back to mid-card hell because that will be Ziggler’s final
destination if the next chapter of his story leaves fans underwhelmed. We shall
find out soon enough.
·
Overall,
I thought tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live! was decent at best. It’s an easy
show to watch, but the in-ring action was light with a couple of exceptions.
The roster remains thin, but I think certain wrestlers can be trusted to carry
the load and keep the crowd happy for the most part. The training wheels have
to come off at Backlash in a few weeks. It’s SD Live’s! first standalone PPV
and they must deliver the goods in the ring for a considerable amount of time. One
has to assume that these B-Shows won’t last more than a couple of hours due to
the brand extension, but it would do everybody a world of good to use Tuesday
nights as a dress rehearsal for the real thing. With the secondary titles
finally being established, there is no excuse for the blue brand to be light on
wrestling action. Especially after Daniel Bryan made that point loud and clear
last month. Just saying…
On
that note, this wraps up another edition of The SmackDown Files. I hope you
enjoyed it and I will be back next week with a brand new installment of The Raw
Exposé. See you later, boys and girls!
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