By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The SmackDown Files. Tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live emanated from the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After SD Live invaded Raw last night, did Kurt Angle lead his troops into battle while driving a milk truck a la WWF vs. The Alliance in 2001? The answer to that question can be found throughout this blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s show in no particular order.
· Shane McMahon kicked off SD Live and explained why he and his crew ambushed most of the Raw roster last night. McMahon noted that Kurt Angle dug his own grave by asking for a high profile star to replace Bray Wyatt at TLC. AJ Styles was the man for the job and extended his services an extra night by teaming up with The Shield to take on Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro in a six-man tag team match.
· Angle showed his arrogance by claiming that the SD Live wrestlers couldn’t hold a candle to their red counterpart. This emboldened the blue brand to take action which led to the biggest invasion angle since The Nexus’ debut seven years ago.
· Before Shane could continue, Sami Zayn danced his way to the ring in the most sarcastic way possible. Zayn wanted to let bygones be bygones by brushing off his actions at Hell in Cell a couple of weeks ago. Shane-O-Mac wasn’t having it, but Zayn had a better idea when it came to healing their fractured business relationship.
· Zayn and Kevin Owens agreed to put aside their animosity towards Shane in order to represent Team SD Live at Survivor Series. Zayn stated that Shane wasn’t stupid enough to reject their offer.
· Shane did just that, but he gave Zayn a chance to earn a spot on the team if he defeated Randy Orton later tonight. Zayn’s shit-eating grin disappeared as the opening segment came to end.
· This was a good way to start the show. Shane McMahon offered a reasonable explanation for the SD Live Invasion and wanted to prove that his brand was the best by firing the first shot in shocking fashion. I am not a fan of the heels and babyfaces joining forces in order to prove that they bleed red or blue, but WWE continues to push this narrative despite the concept falling flat on numerous occasions. See Bragging Rights 2009-2010.
· On the flip side, Sami Zayn continues to be an entertaining heel who is snarky and overly giddy for all the right reasons. He is embracing this role wholeheartedly which gives him something meaningful to do for a change. It’s about damn time!
· Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) when Gable pinned Woods after Benjamin kicked his shoulder blade behind the referee’s back. The match was good, but it was short on time. The Usos were entertaining on guest commentary as they scouted Gable and Benjamin since they are next in line for a SmackDown Tag Team Championship shot. The Usos are clearly being positioned as babyfaces because Gable and Benjamin used underhanded tactics in order to pick up the win. It’s an interesting dynamic, but I expect both teams to deliver the goods in the ring because they are capable of tearing the house down on any given night.
· For the first time ever, I hated this week’s installment of The Fashion Files. Fashion Dogs resorted to the one thing I hate most when it comes to WWE Comedy: Poopy Jokes. James Ellsworth’s shit-stained boxers was a visual I didn’t need to see. Even The Ascension couldn’t save this dreck of a segment. Here’s hoping the world premiere of Stranger(er) Things is better thought out in terms of humor and execution because Breezango has hit a wall from a creative standpoint.
· There appears to be tension between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan. Bryan wasn’t a fan of SD Live invading Raw while McMahon explained that his commissioner powers gave him the authority to make such unilateral decisions. Is their business relationship on the rocks or will the hug it out after Brand Wars 2017? We shall see.
· Sin Cara defeated Baron Corbin via Disqualification when Corbin got DQ’d for pummeling Sin Cara after the five-count. Corbin finished off the Faceless One by dropping him with End of Days onto the floor. It was a cool spot that popped the crowd, but the haphazard booking of Corbin continues to do more harm than good after he beat AJ Styles clean as a sheet a couple of weeks ago. He shouldn’t be struggling to beat someone who hasn’t been on television in six months.
· Jinder Mahal offered a dry rebuttal to Paul Heyman’s blistering comments about him being a paper champion. It was a dull promo that didn’t foster much believability when it comes to Mahal defeating Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series.
· Meanwhile, AJ Styles earned the second easiest paycheck of his career when made Sunil Singh tap out the Calf Crusher in about 45 seconds.
· Styles’ easiest paycheck was when he defeated James Ellsworth to retain the WWE Championship in about 10 seconds late last year.
· Mahal wanted revenge on Styles and decided to book Samir Singh in a match against the Phenomenal One next week. Mahal is such a brave and honorable WWE Champion. *Insert Sarcasm Here*
· Becky Lynch made Carmella tap out to the Dis-Arm-Her as she won the right to captain the Women’s Team at Survivor Series. The Fatal 5-Way match featuring Lynch, Carmella, Tamina, Naomi, and Charlotte was fine, but it was nothing special in terms of wow moments.
· The feud between Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode will come to a head next week when they face off in a 2 Out of 3 Falls Match. Here’s hoping both men deliver the goods because their previous encounters have been so-so at best.
· Randy Orton became the first member of Team SmackDown when he defeated Sami Zayn with an RKO in a very good main event match. The bout was surprisingly physical and hard-hitting throughout as Zayn took sick bumps in order to put over Orton’s offense. He was selling his ass off which made the match better from a storytelling standpoint.
· Orton channeled his inner Cesaro by nailing Zayn with a series of stiff uppercuts which added extra grit to the proceedings. Orton dropping Zayn with a Belly-to-Back Suplex on the announce table only for Zayn to counter with a Tornado DDT through the ring post was an early highlight along with Orton hitting Zayn with a crazy Superplex from the top rope.
· Zayn recovered and went for the Helluva Kick, but Orton moved out of the way which caused Zayn’s foot to get tangled up between the ring ropes. Orton nailed him with the Draping DDT and was about to finish Zayn off with an RKO when Kevin Owens ran down to make the save for his best friend.
· Owens climbed on the ring apron to distract Orton which allowed Zayn to roll him up for a near fall. KO tried to distract the referee once again, but Orton was hip to his game and delivered a low blow to Zayn before hitting his finisher for the win. The closing sequence was a nice callback from last week as Zayn beat Orton by doing the exact same thing. This was easily the best thing on the show and it’s not even close. The crowd could’ve been hotter, but that’s been the recurring theme when it comes to WWE television in the state of Wisconsin this week.
· The camera cut backstage to Daniel Bryan telling Shane McMahon that he should breathe a sigh of relief Raw didn’t retaliate tonight. However, their day of reckoning was coming and wanted to make sure that Shane understood that the fallout would fall under his job description as SD Live Commissioner as the show went off the air.
· WWE was smart to delay Raw ambushing SD Live. It would’ve been too soon for the red brand to strike back. After the ass-kicking they took, the wrestlers need a week to recuperate and formulate a game plan. Here’s hoping the crowd is more receptive in terms of heat because Green Bay had zero fucks to give last night.
· Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live was middling at best. The in-ring action was nondescript until Randy Orton and Sami Zayn salvaged things during the main event. Outside of that, it was a boring show to watch for the most part.
· However, WWE has loaded up next week’s show in Norfolk, Virginia by booking two more Team SmackDown Qualifying Matches on the men’s side as Kevin Owens squares off against Shinsuke Nakamura while Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler blow off their feud in a 2 out of 3 falls match. If both bouts are laid out and timed properly, this could be a strong show from a wrestling standpoint.
· Most importantly, the company didn’t make a big deal about the broadcast airing on Halloween night. Can the company resist the urge to decorate the ring and main stage with fake spiders, cobwebs, and pumpkins? Will there apple bobbing contest for kicks and giggles? Let’s hope the creative team doesn’t fall into the trap of making next week’s show a macabre freak show for all the wrong reasons. Fingers crossed!
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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