By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The SmackDown Files. Tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live emanated from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Another epic encounter is on tap as Randy Orton faces Shinsuke Nakamura for the first time ever. The winner will go on to face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship at the Hell in a Cell PPV next month. Did Nakamura come alive for The Viper or did he shrink like a violet instead? The answer to that question can be found throughout this blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s show in no particular order.
· Did Shane McMahon forget his line? Roman Reigns is hereby exonerated from having a bad case of brain freeze for the rest of his career.
· The Shane McMahon-Kevin Owens feud took a very personal turn when Owens suggested that McMahon’s family would’ve been better off he didn’t survive the helicopter crash in New York a few weeks ago. Owens made the costly mistake of mentioning his kids which set Shane off. He proceeded to potato Owens with some pretty bad punches before tackling him over the announce table to continue the beat down. WWE officials along with Daniel Bryan tried to defuse the situation as Shane continued to pounce on Owens.
· Cooler heads prevailed when Shane eventually walked away as the opening segment came to an end.
· After the commercial break, Owens was being carried around backstage when Bryan tried to apologize for what happened. Owens told him to enjoy his job as SD Live General Manager because he was going to sue the entire McMahon Family and destroy WWE from within.
· Bryan implored Owens to come up with a better solution. KO agreed and vowed to press criminal charges against Shane-O-Mac as Bryan walked away with a concerned look on his face.
· This was an interesting way to start the show. Shane McMahon almost killed the segment dead when he lost his train of thought, but Owens held things together as he went full-on heel by making things extremely personal. Shane’s punches were softer than Charmin tissue paper, but the crowd still popped for the beat down. Something tells me that KO and Shane will settle their issues inside Hell in a Cell. Just a hunch…
· Natalya defeated Carmella with a roll-up after James Ellsworth provided the inadvertent distraction towards the end of the match. Carmella nailed Natalya with a Superkick for a near fall. Ellsworth accidentally tossed the Money in the Bank briefcase in the ring which signaled a possible cash-in according to the referee.
· Carmella waved off the cash-in attempt which allowed Natalya to roll her up for the win.
· After the match was over, Carmella berated Ellsworth for being a pathetic excuse for a human being. She called him a genetic defect and charity case that should’ve been given away at birth. Carmella ended their business relationship and left the ring in a huff while Ellsworth pouted like a sad puppy.
· Carmella did a great job berating The Chinless One, but I have a feeling that he will have the last word when he costs her a shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Revenge is a dish best served cold with a side order of karma.
· Welcome to Role Playing with Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler continues to be bitter about the fans not appreciating his work ethic in the ring and decided to channel his inner cosplayer by dressing up like John Cena, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Naomi in order to embrace the gimmick way of life.
· Ziggler chided the fans for sitting on their hands during his matches and stated that he no longer gave a damn about them before heading backstage.
· Ziggler’s bitterness is understandable, but his reasoning is flawed. Fans don’t care about him because he doesn’t have a cool gimmick that makes him stand out from the pack. They don’t care because he’s been booked like a total bitch for the past four years. After a while, the fans tap out from an emotional standpoint.
· Case In Point: Bayley’s Babyface Run.
· However, rehabilitation is possible if there is creative support involved.
· Prime Example: The Miz’s Career Resurrection & Breezango going viral with Twin Peaks.
· A similar type of happenstance could happen for Ziggler if he’s given a chance to shine. Most importantly, he has to figure out who the hell he is as a character. He tried to sell himself on Talking Smack earlier this year and laid an egg for the world to see. At some point, it is on the talent to figure out what makes him or her tick. It’s time for Ziggler to go on a journey of self-discovery in order to find his true self. Until then, he’s just a Shawn/Bret Michaels hybrid with no spark or spunk.
· Aiden English defeated Sami Zayn with a roll-up after Zayn crashed and burned from the top rope. The match was quick and the outcome was a little surprising. English is on the come up while Zayn is swimming in the abyss. Poor thing…
· The Usos and The New Day will face off in a Sin City Street Fight for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles next week. It should be a slobber knocker, to say the least.
· Daniel Bryan delivered some bad news to Shane McMahon to kick off the second hour of SD Live. Per the order of Vince McMahon, Shane is suspended indefinitely. The fans shouted down the decision as they chanted “Thank You, Shane!” as the segment came to an end.
· The Thank You chant was a bit much because Shane didn’t get fired. This probably frees him up to fight Kevin Owens as a wrestler at Hell in a Cell next month. Bryan did a nice job reminding the audience that he had to restrain himself from punching The Miz in the face when things got heated during their epic spat on Talking Smack last year. If Bryan can’t take matters into his own hands, Shane shouldn’t get a free pass because of his last name. Therefore, the ruling makes sense despite Owens being the instigator.
· Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger with End of Days in a solid match. AJ Styles was on guest commentary and lost his shit when Corbin chopped Dillinger’s throat behind the referee’s back which set up the finish moments later. The action was fine, but it was nothing to write home about. It did serve as a nice backdrop to forward a future United States Championship match featuring Styles vs. Corbin at later date, though.
· Another match is set for next week’s Sin City Spectacular as AJ Styles will open up the US Open Challenge exclusively for Tye Dillinger. Last week’s match was shortchanged on time. Here’s hoping both men are given more time to ball out in Las Vegas because they could have one of the better television matches of the year if everything goes according to plan.
· Carmella reconciled with James Ellsworth by giving him a big kiss and slap for good measure. That took quite the turn…
· Shinsuke Nakamura will face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship after defeating Randy Orton with the Kinshasa in a very good main event match. The action started off with Orton slowing down the pace which plays into his methodical style of wrestling. Nakamura turned up the heat with his signature knee strikes and stiff kicks midway through the match only for Orton to counter with a beautiful Superplex and Draping DDT from the middle rope.
· Orton was about hit Nakamura with an RKO when the King of Strong Style countered with an armbar before turning it into a Triangle. It was a great spot that popped the crowd something fierce.
· Orton broke the hold by power bombing Nakamura. He went for the RKO again only for Nakamura to counter with his finisher moments later.
· The crowd was surprisingly pro-Orton, but Nakamura had his share of supporters as well. It was a well-worked match that had the audience hooked from start to finish. Here’s hoping this match is revisited because both guys stepped up in a big way.
· The camera cut backstage to Kevin Owens walking down the hall when Daniel Bryan confronted him about Shane McMahon being indefinitely suspended. Owens vowed to make Bryan’s job a living nightmare by making SD Live his own personal playground next week.
· Bryan informed Owens that Mr. McMahon will address what happened tonight on next week’s show as the camera cut back to Nakamura celebrating in the ring as SD Live went off the air.
· The Las Vegas Edition of SD Live promises to be a memorable show. Three championships are on the line as AJ Styles defends the US Title against Tye Dillinger, The Usos face The New Day in a Sin City Street for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles and Natalya squares off against Naomi for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
· As I mentioned last week, SD Live needed a spark heading into the fall season. The show tends to thrive when they plan things out in advance. The Wild Card Finals is a great example of that. Will Sin City deliver similar results? We shall find out soon enough.
· Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of SD Live was solid. The show was anchored by the Shane McMahon-Kevin Owens confrontation and Randy Orton vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. The in-ring action was so-so until the main event, but the final match more than lived up to expectations.
· This was a storyline driven show that forwarded several feuds leading up to next week’s Sin City Spectacular. The blue brand has a clear sense of direction heading into the fall television season. Here’s hoping next week’s show is a smashing success. Fingers crossed!
On that note, this wraps up another edition of The SmackDown Files. I hope you enjoyed it and I will back next week with a brand new installment of The Raw Exposé. See you later, boys and girls!
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