By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of
The SmackDown Files. Tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live! emanated from the
Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. This is the final go-home show for
SummerSlam as SD Live! attempts to put an exclamation point on their marquee
matches as we head into the biggest party of the summer. Did the blue brand get
the job done or did they drop the ball which left fans less excited for the
PPV? The answer to that question can be found throughout this blog. Without further
ado, let’s dissect tonight’s episode of SD Live! in no particular order.
·
Randy
Orton has an idea about Heath Slater’s unemployment status as he bites into an
apple only for the SmackDown intro video to roll leaving us in suspense. Interesting
teaser.
·
Heath
Slater continues to shine in his role as the delusional free agent looking for
a deal. Stealing a gift basket full of fruit and handing it to Daniel Bryan and
Shane McMahon as a peace offering was hilarious.
·
There
is one dude shouting for Dolph Ziggler to retire. This man is persistent, passionate,
and a little disrespectful.
·
Didn’t
Dean Ambrose star in an equally crappy WWE Studios film? Just saying…
·
Dolph
Ziggler delivered a Superkick to Dean Ambrose and basically said that he was
walking out with the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. The opening segment was
good as Ziggler and Ambrose talked trash to each other while The Miz had a smug
smirk on his face as he stirred the pot to set up the confrontation in the
first place. Both guys rehashed the same argument they had a couple of weeks
ago, but it was still effective. It was nice to see Ziggler show some
aggression and he really needs to illustrate that in his match against Ambrose
on Sunday.
·
Apollo
Crews finally got his revenge on Miz as he laid him with the Spin-Out
Powerbomb. Too bad it happened during the commercial break. That is a damn
shame. Miz vs. Crews for the Intercontinental Championship will be the coldest
match at SummerSlam in terms of crowd response. I send my condolences in
advance.
·
The
twelve man tag team match featuring The Usos, American Alpha, and The Hype Bros
vs. The Vaudevillians, The Ascension, and Breezango broke down into a parade of
finishes. Everybody hit their signature spots and American Alpha picked up the
win for the babyface team as Jason Jordan and Chad Gable hit Grand Amplitude on
Aiden English. The action was chaotic as hell, but I enjoyed it. The Tag Team
Division looks less anemic with The Usos back in the fold, but I think Jimmy
and Jey could really benefit from a heel turn to help freshen up their act. It’s
beyond stale at this point.
·
Naomi
doing the full-on Lite-Brite entrance is pretty damn cool. It makes her stand
out and that is a positive in my book. And her theme song got remixed. Amen!
·
Eva Marie is “stuck” in traffic and she won’t
be able to compete against Naomi. The personal ring announcer’s deadpan announcement
of this news made me laugh out loud. The running gag continues and I am
starting to love it a little bit more.
·
AJ
Styles just threw some major shade at Alberto Del Rio about him not even being
on the SummerSlam card. Sami Zayn says hello from the cutting room floor as
well. Zayn not having a match at the second biggest PPV of the year is a crying
shame. He had an amazing match against Kevin Owens at Battleground and he has
been directionless ever since. I guess creative has nothing for him. I call
bullshit on that. This concludes my random post-Raw rant. We now resume regularly
scheduled blogging.
·
Look
at Curt Hawkins borrowing a page from the Matt Hardy Version 1.0 Playbook by
hitting fans with a few Curt Facts. Let’s hope that Hawkins will be better
utilized on SmackDown this time around. Fingers crossed!
·
Oh
my damn. Orton is mocking Brock Lesnar as he dropped Slater with a German
Suplex while doing Lesnar’s patented bounce and jig. That’s what I call
subliminal shade.
·
Orton’s
idea was to systematically destroy Slater and he succeeded. He got
intentionally disqualified and proceeded to chuck Slater over the announce
table only to plant him on the barricade and nail him with a Draping DDT from
outside the ring. He hit the Suplexes and finished Slater off with an RKO. The
Viper sent a message to The Beast five days before SummerSlam and I expect them
to have one hell of a battle in Brooklyn on Sunday. This feud has been a
pleasant surprise. Let’s hope it translates in the ring.
·
Slater
just talked his way out of his contract again because he confused Daniel Bryan
and Shane McMahon for Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon. He was a little loopy
after his match with Orton. I feel so sorry for Slater and even the fans booed
Shane for rescinding the contract offer. Slater is a gem who is dimmer than a
20 watt light bulb, but a gem nonetheless.
·
On
the flipside of things, it was a little weird seeing WWE play up Slater’s head injury
for laughs considering they are currently facing a big ass concussion lawsuit
from at least 50 former wrestlers. Plus, having Daniel Bryan participate in the
skit was a little jarring as well because a series of concussions ended his
career. I can turn off my brain and still find the humor in the segment from a performance
standpoint, but the impact of brain injuries in professional sports is no
laughing matter.
·
Dean
Ambrose made quick work of Erick Rowan as he finished him off with Dirty Deeds.
What happened after the match was more newsworthy, though. Bray Wyatt had his
back turned from Rowan, placed Rowan’s sheep mask in the rocking chair, and walked
away. I have never seen Wyatt give any of his family members the cold shoulder
before. Will this storyline be expanded further? Will Wyatt send Rowan out to
pasture so he can live out his days as a winemaker? Yes, Rowan used to be a
winemaker before he joined Wyatt’s cult. Don’t ask...
·
I
am so glad Eva Marie made it to the arena after she was “stuck” in traffic. The
tag team match featuring Becky Lynch and Carmella vs. Natalya and Alexa Bliss came
to a complete halt as they took in her spectacular entrance. This shouldn’t be
a surprise because one’s entrance music tends to make time stop in its place. Seriously…
·
Becky
Lynch did make Natalya tap out to the Dis-Arm-Her to win the match for her
team. Yippee!
·
Kalisto
getting tortured by Baron Corbin backstage is becoming a regular thing. Corbin really
knows how to hold a grudge against somebody. My prediction of Kalisto vs.
Corbin taking place at the SummerSlam preshow is alive and well.
·
We
can add Lynch, Carmella, & Naomi vs. Natalya, Alexa Bliss, & Eva Marie
to the SummerSlam preshow as well. Let’s call it a hunch…
·
John
Cena tapped into his ruthless aggression days as he delivered a wicked Attitude
Adjustment to AJ Styles through the announce table. That was slightly uncharacteristic
of him, but it’s nice to see Cena show off a more vicious side of his character
when warranted. I guess he was playing possum as Styles was talking over his
prone body. That’s a nice way to set a trap for your enemy.
·
Styles
fired the first shot as he drilled Cena with the Phenomenal Forearm after Cena
defeated Alberto Del Rio via the AA. Cena vs. Del Rio was easily the best and longest
match on the show by a landslide. I liked how WWE played into the history of
Del Rio beating Cena last year at Hell in a Cell. Del Rio’s momentum was
derailed due to some very questionable creative decisions that has left him
directionless ever since. Cena never got his win back until now and I appreciate
that nod to history. Del Rio is still stuck in neutral which is a shame because
he is a very good wrestler who can thrive as a babyface under the right
circumstances.
·
But
Del Rio was served his purpose as he helped put the final bit of shine on Cena
vs. Styles at SummerSlam. They should have an outstanding match and I am really
hoping that Styles picks up the win. He needs to be in the WWE Title picture as
soon as possible. As for Cena, he’s a legend. A loss won’t hurt him in the slightest.
Let’s hope the Power That Be are on the same wavelength as me.
·
Overall,
I thought tonight’s SmackDown Live! was a solid two hour affair. It didn’t drag
and I thought WWE struck the right chord when it came to promoting SummerSlam.
SD Live! has definitely turned the corner since their first lukewarm show last
month. There are still things that needs to be addressed in terms of depth
issues, but I like what I am seeing from the blue brand recently. It’s an easy
show to get through and it doesn’t drag into the abyss like Raw’s third hour
most weeks. Therefore, I give SD Live! the nod for having the superior go-home
show over Raw. That’s not super high praise, but I thought the blue brand ended
things on a higher note versus their red counterpart. Plus, Mauro Ranallo
managed to get in his final hard sell for SummerSlam in the nick of time. Whoever
is in charge of clock management needs to get it together. ASAP!
On
that note, this wraps 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. Happy SummerSlam Week, boys and girls!
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