We are in Night 2 of the "Shake Up." Let's see what actually changes.
SmackDown Thoughts (Written LIVE as the show progressed)
- Shane gives a pep talk to the roster about the changes brought by last night's announcement on Raw. Paige is no longer the GM of SmackDown Live, but she is being given a new role (unannounced). A "Thank You Paige" chant erupts from the wrestlers. I really hope that they find something for Paige to do that substantive. I don't want to see her just every month on a Kickoff Show panel.
- Becky Lynch comes out to the ring. She doesn't care who is running the show: She runs the show. She doesn't do corporate meetings. She handles her business in front of the fans. All she wants from the McMahons is Ronda Rousey. Lynch is angry about Rousey interfering in her match and not having the decency to face her. She calls Rousey a "Roddy Piper cosplayer." Wow. Charlotte Flair comes out next. "Speaking of cosplayers..." Burn. Flair wants Lynch to step in line because Charlotte wants Rousey first. Asuka comes out next with her newly won SmackDown Women's Championship. Forget Ronda. Asuka is the champion now! HERE COMES VINCE MCMAHON!!!!
He congratulates Asuka on winning the champion. He's disappointed in Charlotte and Becky in making excuses. Ronda wrote the next chapter in their careers. Take it out on Ronda Rousey. Asuka is asked if she wants to defend her championship tonight. Naomi comes out to tell Charlotte and Becky that they don't deserve a title shot. She wants that shot. Vince says "Let's have at it."
What follows is a good back and forth confrontation between Naomi and Asuka. The two trade rollups and go for dropkicks at the same time to build up the match slowly. Asuka actually gets Russian Leg Swept off the middle rope by Naomi, which may be a first for me. When the show returns from break, Asuka gets the advantage and nails a dropkick off the top rope on Naomi. Naomi and Asuka are on the floor, and Naomi jumps on the barricade and hits a big back kick. Both women continue to beat each other up in the ring. Split Legged Moonsault by Naomi is blocked and turned into an Asuka Lock. She can't lock it down initially. Naomi hits the Rear View and almost wins the title. Asuka reapplies the Asuka Lock and Naomi immediately taps out. Good TV match here and better than any of the women's matches I saw in the Gauntlet Match last night on Raw.
- The Miz knocks on The McMahon Family locker room. Vince tells Miz that Shane "can't come out to play right now." Miz is upset. He's here for whatever the company wants. Miz wants Shane to be his tag team partner to be the best in the world. He asks Vince for his blessing to be Shane's "partner." Oh my God. Vince says he never gives blessing. He tells Miz to go find a partner and face a team of Vince's choosing. Vince closes the door on Miz's face.
- Rusev says he will beat Shinsuke Nakamura when he gets his hands on him. He also cuts some jokes about his beard and being generally awesome.
- Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy have a segment next. Samoa Joe is supposed to apologize. Samoa Joe apologizes for not apologizing. Instead, Joe is staging an intervention. Jeff says he's never going back. His demons remind him of what he's been through and where to never go again. Joe is trying to cover for his own insecurities like never winning a World Championship on the main roster. Twist of Fate to Samoa Joe. End of segment. Was that a way to end this part of their feud now? If so, I'm glad the substance abuse/demons can be left behind to get to a straight up feud between the two.
- The Miz is in the ring and his partner is Mandy Rose. They face the Mixed Match Challenge Winners R-Truth and Carmella. R-Truth puts over everything that they won on Sunday, and he's looking forward to facing Miz and Maryse. Lol. After a dance break, The Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on R-Truth to win the match for his team.
- It is announced that Mustafa Ali has been added to the SmackDown Live Roster, and it will be Mustafa Ali and AJ Styles facing Daniel Bryan and Andrade "Cien" Almas. That is a nice announcement, but I stand my ground on what I said last night. He needs to do more than wrestle a great match with Daniel Bryan on the main roster in order to gain any momentum. Tonight's his big chance.
- The NXT video from last night plays again to show the new wrestlers coming soon to the main roster.
- The Usos come out next. They are interrupted by Gallows and Anderson who are sick of seeing The Bar, The Usos, and The New Day time and time and time again. The Good Brothers haven't been on SmackDown Live since August. They want to clean the slate and clean house. The Usos aren't moving for anyone. Gallows and Anderson aren't going back. The Usos welcome them to the Uso Penitentiary. The McMahons announce through the ring announcer that the match will take place now.
I'm surprised Gallows and Anderson were able to find their gear after spending months off of TV. Anderson catches one of The Usos going to dive with a dropkick, causing him to hang off the top rope as we go to commercial again. We come back to The Usos having the advantage on the match. Jay Uso is selling the bad knee on the floor. Jimmy is wrestling the match by himself. Here comes The Bar. Uso Splash... but Sanity (Wolfe and Dain) run in the ring. They lay waste to everyone in the ring and walk by The Bar. "We beat you to it."
The Bar run in and beat down on both teams involved in the match.
- Nakamura cuts a promo backstage. He should be afraid of the Rusev on Total Divas? A video package of Rusev's goofier moments on Total Divas is shown. Rusev is just a Total Diva. Ok then.
- The main event is Mustafa Ali and AJ Styles taking on Andrade "Cien" Almas and Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan comes out and cuts a promo first. He heels on Fresno and says "Fresno is #1 in the state of California for pollution." And the crowd cheers that and says "YES!" Daniel Bryan yells "Shame!" over and over again. (Daniel Bryan isn't wrong here, folks.) Bryan says a great line about fans not knowing wisdom even if it was filled with GMOs and given to them in a Drive-Thru Window. This "New" Daniel Bryan character is amazing.
We get a pretty good main event match here with Bryan and Almas working over Ali for a good portion of the match. Smart move as they are forcing the crowd to care for Ali in order to get that tag to AJ Styles. Ali getting beaten down gains sympathy for him and gains more attention from the crowd who want Ali to make that tag to AJ. Ali finally gets Almas off of him and tags in AJ. Styles and Bryan start going at it as the legal men in the match. Bryan charges at AJ and eats a boot. Middle Rope Moonsault/Reverse DDT gets a 2 for AJ. Ali gets a tag by AJ. Tornado DDT by Ali. Phenomenal Forearm to Almas. 054 BY ALI TO BRYAN! 1-2-3! WOW! That's a big moment for Ali there potentially. He just pinned the WWE Champion. Will WWE capitalize on this by giving Ali a big enough push going forward? Obviously, he shouldn't beat Bryan for the title, but there's a way to build this guy up and protect Bryan at the same time. Here's hoping WWE does some good here.
Well, there were less McMahons on this show than Monday. I'll give SmackDown that. There wasn't all that much different from last week's SmackDown, except that Ali got an even bigger spotlight this week than last week. Facing Bryan in a throwaway match is one thing. But to follow that up with having Ali get a rub by teaming with AJ Styles and PINNING Daniel Bryan in the ring automatically moves him up the ladder of the SmackDown pecking order. Now, can WWE cement him as one of the true new stars of the SmackDown Live roster? Time will tell. I felt that the tag team match between The Usos and Gallows and Anderson was good enough, but I have a hard time believing that SmackDown won't just fall into The New Day vs. Usos vs. The Bar routine.
Actions more than words is what WWE needs to do to convince fans these changes are going to legitimately change up their shows. Otherwise, it's just more of the same with some window dressing. Still, Mustafa Ali... I have to give them credit tonight. That's a big moment that I hope they can capitalize on. So, I'm giving this show a cautionary thumbs up for now.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
Comments
Post a Comment