Well there were no "second fall opportunities" tonight. But SmackDown delivered an imperfect but better show compared to Raw.
SmackDown Thoughts
- Dolph Ziggler shows up earlier today and cuts a promo about the useless tub called Kevin Owens. Ziggler complains about carrying the company on his back. All of a sudden, a car shows up blowing its horn. It's Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens and Ziggler start arguing. Owens and Ziggler start fighting. Owens and Ziggler start getting separated. Owens and Ziggler start fighting again. Owens and Ziggler get separated again. Shane McMahon shows up. He throws Kevin Owens out for the evening to go "cool off." Owens is bleeding from the mouth.
- Shane is asked why he cancelled tonight's main event. He says he is going to protect his superstars. He's asked what the main event is going to be. He has a few ideas.
- It is confirmed that Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura will happen tonight. Kevin Owens shows up out of nowhere and steals a mic. Kevin Owens says he's going to speak the truth. He talks about the McMahon talking about bringing change. Owens says the only thing that's changed is Shane getting more TV time. No one wanted that. He gets on the table. Shane tells production to turn off the mic. Kevin Owens continues to rail on the company and Shane McMahon. He mentions all of the stars that are left off TV for Shane McMahon to stay on TV. Owens says "enough." But McMahon dismisses him and his comments. Owens is basically chased out of the arena by the security.
(This felt a bit forced to me. Owens looked like he was rushing through the smark comments trying to seem authentic. It didn't come off as authentic. I can't really give a thumbs up for that. I will however give a thumbs up for the Owens-Ziggler confrontation as that was a good start. So, this was a mixed bag for the first part of the show.)
- We are getting a "Tag Team Summit" later tonight. (WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? THE G20?!)
- We are also getting Aleister Black's opponent being revealed.
- It's the battle of two guys who were more relevant in New Japan and NXT than they have been on the main roster: Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura's entrance outfit reminded me of "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" for some reason. Nakamura strikes Balor viciously with some stiff back elbows followed by some kicks in the corner. During the break, Balor is still getting mauled with some knee drops and kicks. Nakamura continues the beatdown with a face first suplex and the classic Nakamura knee strikes. We return from break to see Finn Balor start fighting back. Running attacks and a double stomp by Balor. Balor goes for Sling Blade, but Nakamura gets a SLIDING German Suplex on Balor. Kinshasa is avoided with a Sling Blade by Balor. Balor goes to the top, but Nakamura stops him and hits the knee to the ribs. Nakamura hits a diving knee on Balor on the apron. He now whips Balor back and forth around ringside between the barricade and the post. He hits Kinshasa on the floor and leaves Finn Balor to be counted out. Balor gets back in by 9. Nakamura kicks him right back out and continues the attack. He's just kicking the heck out of Balor. Balor gets back in by 9, but he gets met immediately with Kinshasa! 1-2-3!
(Wow. That was as close to a squash match as you are going to see Finn Balor have with anyone other than Brock Lesnar. Glad to see Nakamura get a win and show a lot of viciousness in the process. I'm just surprised to see Balor not get much more offense in.)
- Elias, Drew McIntyre, and Shane McMahon are backstage. Elias is working on a song for The Undertaker's funeral Sunday. Dolph Ziggler is upset and wants competition. So, Shane drops the biggest news of the night: ROMAN REIGNS IS GOING TO WORK HIS OWN SHOW TONIGHT! WOW! Roman vs. Dolph is tonight as Roman works Tuesday!
- We get a video package to promote Kofi vs. Joe at Extreme Rules. Joe cuts a promo after the video from backstage. He tried to show compassion, clemency, and safety. But Kofi is everything Joe says he is. At Extreme Rules, Joe will tear away the lie and beat him down to the bare essence of who Kofi really is. Then, he will put Kofi to sleep. Joe is going to take the WWE Championship. (Yeah. Because the last 6-7 WWE Championship opportunities worked out so well for Joe in the past.)
- It's the Contract Signing for the SmackDown Women's Championship Match at Extreme Rules. It will be a 2-1 Handicap Match with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross taking on Bayley. Nikki and Bayley come out to sign the contract. Bayley is asked why she attacked Nikki last night. Bayley says she's not here to fight. She sees a lot of herself in Nikki. Nikki says the person who attacked her last night was the true Bayley. Good to know. Bayley asks if Nikki is ok doing all of this for Alexa. She knows Nikki doesn't need Alexa. But what's going to happen when Alexa loses and blames Nikki? Bayley signs the contract.
Nikki says all of Bayley's friends left her. Alexa won't. Nikki says her and Alexa are going to become co-champions. She wants Bayley to stay for Nikki's match with Carmella. That way she can see why whenever Nikki plays, she gets all the fun.
(This was a retread of everything that has already been said. I really couldn't get into this segment. It felt like a giant waste of time.)
- We return for Carmella vs. Nikki. Nikki dominates from the beginning, throwing Carmella around. She locks in a few head and chin locks on Carmella. Nikki yells to Bayley that "this is on you." Nikki misses a crossbody which allows Carmella to start fighting back. The Princess of Staten Island hits the seated senton in the corner. But Nikki catches Carmella with the Spinning Neckbreaker for the win. She and Bayley have a bit of a faceoff.
(Ok, paint by numbers match for the women here. Just ok though.)
- We get an update on The Kabuki Warriors vs. The IIconics from Tokyo, Japan. The Warriors won the match, earning a title shot. We return to see a confrontation between the two teams. Paige tells The IIconics that they want to cash in their title match tonight. The IIconics complain about being sick. Paige calls them a bunch of clowns. She slaps Billie Kay. She goes to fight back, but Paige points out that "she's sick." The Warriors are coming for their titles.
(Just get the match over with so we can further bury Asuka and Kairi. That's really the endgame of all this right?)
- Roman Reigns cuts a promo. Roman is ready to face Ziggler tonight. Roman and Undertaker are going to make sure Shane and Drew "Rest in Peace."
- The "Tag Team Summit" is next. Ugh... Xavier puts over his Triple Threat Match with Daniel Bryan and Otis after this "summit" is over. Big E says some odd sexual innuendos. Daniel Bryan and Rowan come out next. Bryan says The New Day should be booed for losing and being jokes. No one takes The New Day seriously as champions whenever they win them. Xavier counters by questioning Rowan's loyalties over the years. He wants to know "Who's Your Daddy?" Bryan counters that all New Day does is use jokes. Bryan puts over New Day's athleticism and greatness. But they never escape the mid-card and are considered jokes. The only team that would be worse than New Day is Heavy Machinery. Cue the entrance of Heavy Machinery. Tucker puts over the fact that Heavy Machinery took Rowan and Bryan to the limit. They earned their opportunity to be in this match. Otis says something almost coherent. Tucker says they are going to win the titles Sunday and have a "blue collar" party.
(I want those 8 minutes of my life back.)
- We get Xavier vs. Otis vs. Bryan after the break. As you would expect, Bryan spends the first few minutes outside the ring. Then he comes in to get overpowered by Otis along with Xavier Woods. Rowan starts taking matters into his own hands and knocking people down. Tucker and Big E help knock Rowan out over the table to the floor. They start arguing. The referee kicks everyone to the back who isn't directly in the match. During the break, the match resumes with Bryan beating down Woods outside the ring. Woods and Bryan start beating up Otis on the floor before turning on each other. Back in the ring, Bryan catches Xavier in the Labell Lock, but Otis breaks it up. Otis starts getting offense going running into both his opponents in the ring. He hits the Caterpillar on Bryan. Eventually Otis gets a Pop-Up Slam on Xavier and wins.
(I wish I could say I'm surprised by the outcome. Despite how much I am not a fan of Heavy Machinery at times, I'm giving this a thumbs up. The work during this match was solid, if not overly spectacular.)
- We get a recap of the events that led to Kevin Owens going rogue last week and earlier tonight. We get a recap of what Kevin Owens said that was so controversial that they decided to air it twice on the same show.
- We see Ember Moon get interrupted at the buffet by Sonya and Mandy. Mandy calls out Ember for calling out people on Twitter (like she apparently did yesterday). They suggest Ember finds a tag team to face them next week.
- Another promo runs for Ali in some area. Ali is going to run towards danger. He again talks about the evil that he has seen on the streets among the people. No monster can scare him nor evil that he cannot battle. He will ask The Devil "May I have this dance?"
(That's just asking for Bray Wyatt to wreck his world.)
- Aleister Black is in his darkened room as we are about to find out who his opponent will be for Extreme Rules. The contract has been signed. But his opponent will NOT reveal himself tonight apparently. Black applauds the mystery opponent for doing it. Black doesn't care who it is. A person walks in to the image and circles a chair. A person sits. It is Cesaro. Cesaro says he is the one who wants to pick a fight with Aleister Black. Black is happy because he is going to fight him.
(Should be a good match. I'm just thankful that it wasn't Bray Wyatt. Because no one would have won from that match.)
- Shelton Benjamin is asked if Dolph Ziggler will prove if it will be him. Benjamin makes the funny faces and says "Well..." before walking off.
- A backstage promo is being set up, and Paul Heyman walks by. Kofi Kingston walks in and talks about his match with Joe this Sunday. Kofi knows who Joe is: a lethal weapon who gets into his opponent's head. Kofi got into Joe's head and kicked it last week. He welcomes the challenge of Samoa Joe because it makes him that much better as a champion baby!
- The main event is next as Roman Reigns takes on Dolph Ziggler.
Shane McMahon comes out after both make their entrance, along with Elias and Drew McIntyre. He gets his big intro, and we go to commercial break.
We return to the match just starting. Shane tells Elias and Drew that they can "scout" Roman by walking around ringside if they want. Roman dominates early on, hitting Dolph with the "Drive-By" on the floor as Elias and Drew continue to "scout." Eventually, Elias distracts Roman allowing Drew to push Roman into the ring post. Roman gets whipped hard into the barricade by Dolph. Dolph goes to work on Roman in the ring. But eventually, The Big Dog fights back. Dolph seemingly sells a big boot a little too quick. Elias gets hit with a Superman Punch when he gets on the apron. Zig Zag only gets a 2 for Dolph Ziggler, despite the distraction. Dolph tunes up the band, but he gets hit with the Superman Punch. Roman gets set up for the spear, but Drew pulls him out. ROMAN DIVES OVER THE ROPES ONTO DOLPH, DREW, AND ELIAS. Shane runs in the ring and distracts Roman. Superkick to Roman by Ziggler. Meanwhile in the ring, Kevin Owens runs in and hits Shane with a Stunner!!!! Roman and Zigger go back in the ring. Spear. 1-2-3! Roman wins just in the nick of time as SmackDown goes off the air.
(Fun ending to the show. Roman gets a win back after last night. Ziggler got a very good near fall. And Kevin Owens is now officially a face if that wasn't made clear last week.)
What I Liked
- Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler in the parking lot
- Otis vs. Bryan vs. Xavier
- Cesaro, NOT Bray Wyatt, being the one who knocked on Black's door.
- Roman vs. Dolph
What I Didn't Like
- Kevin Owens trying to channel CM Punk.
- Contract Signing
- Tag Team Summit
- Too much talking.
As much as SmackDown seemed to have several matches on it, it also seemed to be a show jam-packed with a bunch of talking. Bad talking at that. I'm sure I'm one of the only people who didn't enjoy Owen's pipebomb promo, but I stand by it. It just felt forced and unnatural. The Tag Team Summit was long and boring. And, in general, SmackDown just had too much talking. But it was a much better show overall compared to Raw. And most of the matches that SmackDown did throw at us were at least entertaining. AND HEY! NO 2/3 FALLS MATCHES! NO 6 or 8-MAN TAG TEAM MATCHES OUT OF THIN AIR EITHER! Therefore, I'm giving it a provisional thumbs up.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
SmackDown Thoughts
- Dolph Ziggler shows up earlier today and cuts a promo about the useless tub called Kevin Owens. Ziggler complains about carrying the company on his back. All of a sudden, a car shows up blowing its horn. It's Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens and Ziggler start arguing. Owens and Ziggler start fighting. Owens and Ziggler start getting separated. Owens and Ziggler start fighting again. Owens and Ziggler get separated again. Shane McMahon shows up. He throws Kevin Owens out for the evening to go "cool off." Owens is bleeding from the mouth.
- Shane is asked why he cancelled tonight's main event. He says he is going to protect his superstars. He's asked what the main event is going to be. He has a few ideas.
- It is confirmed that Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura will happen tonight. Kevin Owens shows up out of nowhere and steals a mic. Kevin Owens says he's going to speak the truth. He talks about the McMahon talking about bringing change. Owens says the only thing that's changed is Shane getting more TV time. No one wanted that. He gets on the table. Shane tells production to turn off the mic. Kevin Owens continues to rail on the company and Shane McMahon. He mentions all of the stars that are left off TV for Shane McMahon to stay on TV. Owens says "enough." But McMahon dismisses him and his comments. Owens is basically chased out of the arena by the security.
(This felt a bit forced to me. Owens looked like he was rushing through the smark comments trying to seem authentic. It didn't come off as authentic. I can't really give a thumbs up for that. I will however give a thumbs up for the Owens-Ziggler confrontation as that was a good start. So, this was a mixed bag for the first part of the show.)
- We are getting a "Tag Team Summit" later tonight. (WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? THE G20?!)
- We are also getting Aleister Black's opponent being revealed.
- It's the battle of two guys who were more relevant in New Japan and NXT than they have been on the main roster: Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura's entrance outfit reminded me of "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" for some reason. Nakamura strikes Balor viciously with some stiff back elbows followed by some kicks in the corner. During the break, Balor is still getting mauled with some knee drops and kicks. Nakamura continues the beatdown with a face first suplex and the classic Nakamura knee strikes. We return from break to see Finn Balor start fighting back. Running attacks and a double stomp by Balor. Balor goes for Sling Blade, but Nakamura gets a SLIDING German Suplex on Balor. Kinshasa is avoided with a Sling Blade by Balor. Balor goes to the top, but Nakamura stops him and hits the knee to the ribs. Nakamura hits a diving knee on Balor on the apron. He now whips Balor back and forth around ringside between the barricade and the post. He hits Kinshasa on the floor and leaves Finn Balor to be counted out. Balor gets back in by 9. Nakamura kicks him right back out and continues the attack. He's just kicking the heck out of Balor. Balor gets back in by 9, but he gets met immediately with Kinshasa! 1-2-3!
(Wow. That was as close to a squash match as you are going to see Finn Balor have with anyone other than Brock Lesnar. Glad to see Nakamura get a win and show a lot of viciousness in the process. I'm just surprised to see Balor not get much more offense in.)
- Elias, Drew McIntyre, and Shane McMahon are backstage. Elias is working on a song for The Undertaker's funeral Sunday. Dolph Ziggler is upset and wants competition. So, Shane drops the biggest news of the night: ROMAN REIGNS IS GOING TO WORK HIS OWN SHOW TONIGHT! WOW! Roman vs. Dolph is tonight as Roman works Tuesday!
- We get a video package to promote Kofi vs. Joe at Extreme Rules. Joe cuts a promo after the video from backstage. He tried to show compassion, clemency, and safety. But Kofi is everything Joe says he is. At Extreme Rules, Joe will tear away the lie and beat him down to the bare essence of who Kofi really is. Then, he will put Kofi to sleep. Joe is going to take the WWE Championship. (Yeah. Because the last 6-7 WWE Championship opportunities worked out so well for Joe in the past.)
- It's the Contract Signing for the SmackDown Women's Championship Match at Extreme Rules. It will be a 2-1 Handicap Match with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross taking on Bayley. Nikki and Bayley come out to sign the contract. Bayley is asked why she attacked Nikki last night. Bayley says she's not here to fight. She sees a lot of herself in Nikki. Nikki says the person who attacked her last night was the true Bayley. Good to know. Bayley asks if Nikki is ok doing all of this for Alexa. She knows Nikki doesn't need Alexa. But what's going to happen when Alexa loses and blames Nikki? Bayley signs the contract.
Nikki says all of Bayley's friends left her. Alexa won't. Nikki says her and Alexa are going to become co-champions. She wants Bayley to stay for Nikki's match with Carmella. That way she can see why whenever Nikki plays, she gets all the fun.
(This was a retread of everything that has already been said. I really couldn't get into this segment. It felt like a giant waste of time.)
- We return for Carmella vs. Nikki. Nikki dominates from the beginning, throwing Carmella around. She locks in a few head and chin locks on Carmella. Nikki yells to Bayley that "this is on you." Nikki misses a crossbody which allows Carmella to start fighting back. The Princess of Staten Island hits the seated senton in the corner. But Nikki catches Carmella with the Spinning Neckbreaker for the win. She and Bayley have a bit of a faceoff.
(Ok, paint by numbers match for the women here. Just ok though.)
- We get an update on The Kabuki Warriors vs. The IIconics from Tokyo, Japan. The Warriors won the match, earning a title shot. We return to see a confrontation between the two teams. Paige tells The IIconics that they want to cash in their title match tonight. The IIconics complain about being sick. Paige calls them a bunch of clowns. She slaps Billie Kay. She goes to fight back, but Paige points out that "she's sick." The Warriors are coming for their titles.
(Just get the match over with so we can further bury Asuka and Kairi. That's really the endgame of all this right?)
- Roman Reigns cuts a promo. Roman is ready to face Ziggler tonight. Roman and Undertaker are going to make sure Shane and Drew "Rest in Peace."
- The "Tag Team Summit" is next. Ugh... Xavier puts over his Triple Threat Match with Daniel Bryan and Otis after this "summit" is over. Big E says some odd sexual innuendos. Daniel Bryan and Rowan come out next. Bryan says The New Day should be booed for losing and being jokes. No one takes The New Day seriously as champions whenever they win them. Xavier counters by questioning Rowan's loyalties over the years. He wants to know "Who's Your Daddy?" Bryan counters that all New Day does is use jokes. Bryan puts over New Day's athleticism and greatness. But they never escape the mid-card and are considered jokes. The only team that would be worse than New Day is Heavy Machinery. Cue the entrance of Heavy Machinery. Tucker puts over the fact that Heavy Machinery took Rowan and Bryan to the limit. They earned their opportunity to be in this match. Otis says something almost coherent. Tucker says they are going to win the titles Sunday and have a "blue collar" party.
(I want those 8 minutes of my life back.)
- We get Xavier vs. Otis vs. Bryan after the break. As you would expect, Bryan spends the first few minutes outside the ring. Then he comes in to get overpowered by Otis along with Xavier Woods. Rowan starts taking matters into his own hands and knocking people down. Tucker and Big E help knock Rowan out over the table to the floor. They start arguing. The referee kicks everyone to the back who isn't directly in the match. During the break, the match resumes with Bryan beating down Woods outside the ring. Woods and Bryan start beating up Otis on the floor before turning on each other. Back in the ring, Bryan catches Xavier in the Labell Lock, but Otis breaks it up. Otis starts getting offense going running into both his opponents in the ring. He hits the Caterpillar on Bryan. Eventually Otis gets a Pop-Up Slam on Xavier and wins.
(I wish I could say I'm surprised by the outcome. Despite how much I am not a fan of Heavy Machinery at times, I'm giving this a thumbs up. The work during this match was solid, if not overly spectacular.)
- We get a recap of the events that led to Kevin Owens going rogue last week and earlier tonight. We get a recap of what Kevin Owens said that was so controversial that they decided to air it twice on the same show.
- We see Ember Moon get interrupted at the buffet by Sonya and Mandy. Mandy calls out Ember for calling out people on Twitter (like she apparently did yesterday). They suggest Ember finds a tag team to face them next week.
- Another promo runs for Ali in some area. Ali is going to run towards danger. He again talks about the evil that he has seen on the streets among the people. No monster can scare him nor evil that he cannot battle. He will ask The Devil "May I have this dance?"
(That's just asking for Bray Wyatt to wreck his world.)
- Aleister Black is in his darkened room as we are about to find out who his opponent will be for Extreme Rules. The contract has been signed. But his opponent will NOT reveal himself tonight apparently. Black applauds the mystery opponent for doing it. Black doesn't care who it is. A person walks in to the image and circles a chair. A person sits. It is Cesaro. Cesaro says he is the one who wants to pick a fight with Aleister Black. Black is happy because he is going to fight him.
(Should be a good match. I'm just thankful that it wasn't Bray Wyatt. Because no one would have won from that match.)
- Shelton Benjamin is asked if Dolph Ziggler will prove if it will be him. Benjamin makes the funny faces and says "Well..." before walking off.
- A backstage promo is being set up, and Paul Heyman walks by. Kofi Kingston walks in and talks about his match with Joe this Sunday. Kofi knows who Joe is: a lethal weapon who gets into his opponent's head. Kofi got into Joe's head and kicked it last week. He welcomes the challenge of Samoa Joe because it makes him that much better as a champion baby!
- The main event is next as Roman Reigns takes on Dolph Ziggler.
Shane McMahon comes out after both make their entrance, along with Elias and Drew McIntyre. He gets his big intro, and we go to commercial break.
We return to the match just starting. Shane tells Elias and Drew that they can "scout" Roman by walking around ringside if they want. Roman dominates early on, hitting Dolph with the "Drive-By" on the floor as Elias and Drew continue to "scout." Eventually, Elias distracts Roman allowing Drew to push Roman into the ring post. Roman gets whipped hard into the barricade by Dolph. Dolph goes to work on Roman in the ring. But eventually, The Big Dog fights back. Dolph seemingly sells a big boot a little too quick. Elias gets hit with a Superman Punch when he gets on the apron. Zig Zag only gets a 2 for Dolph Ziggler, despite the distraction. Dolph tunes up the band, but he gets hit with the Superman Punch. Roman gets set up for the spear, but Drew pulls him out. ROMAN DIVES OVER THE ROPES ONTO DOLPH, DREW, AND ELIAS. Shane runs in the ring and distracts Roman. Superkick to Roman by Ziggler. Meanwhile in the ring, Kevin Owens runs in and hits Shane with a Stunner!!!! Roman and Zigger go back in the ring. Spear. 1-2-3! Roman wins just in the nick of time as SmackDown goes off the air.
(Fun ending to the show. Roman gets a win back after last night. Ziggler got a very good near fall. And Kevin Owens is now officially a face if that wasn't made clear last week.)
What I Liked
- Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler in the parking lot
- Otis vs. Bryan vs. Xavier
- Cesaro, NOT Bray Wyatt, being the one who knocked on Black's door.
- Roman vs. Dolph
What I Didn't Like
- Kevin Owens trying to channel CM Punk.
- Contract Signing
- Tag Team Summit
- Too much talking.
As much as SmackDown seemed to have several matches on it, it also seemed to be a show jam-packed with a bunch of talking. Bad talking at that. I'm sure I'm one of the only people who didn't enjoy Owen's pipebomb promo, but I stand by it. It just felt forced and unnatural. The Tag Team Summit was long and boring. And, in general, SmackDown just had too much talking. But it was a much better show overall compared to Raw. And most of the matches that SmackDown did throw at us were at least entertaining. AND HEY! NO 2/3 FALLS MATCHES! NO 6 or 8-MAN TAG TEAM MATCHES OUT OF THIN AIR EITHER! Therefore, I'm giving it a provisional thumbs up.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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