It’s been a good little while since I’ve jumped into the world of wrestling. I’ve kept an eye on it, watching all the major shows with my $9.99 subscription, but the TV stuff I had let slide. But ever since Kofi won the gold I’ve been pulled right back in. So, with that said let’s jump into this weeks show.
Opening Segment
The show opened up with The Kevin Owens show and talking with The New Day, minus Big E because of injury. Not a huge fan of long talking segments to open a show, but it’s hard to ignore how fun Kevin Owens is to watch, especially in good old Canada land.
The segment was fine, mostly calling to insiders and fans of the players involved, but Kevin joining The New Day is a really nice touch for a number of storyline reasons. I’m a screenwriter, so I’m always looking at what comes next, and I see a turn happening with KO doing a package with Kofi, which would be fantastic.
For now, it’s great to see this New Day to allow Kofi to have matches without risking the title straight away as everyone wants him to have some sort of run, even if WWE has no idea what that run will look like. It’s also a nice nod to anime fans with KO getting the Big O moniker!
(Mustafa) Ali vs Finn Balor
WWE needs to stop taking away people’s names when they hit the main roster. From what I understand it’s being done to give them “superstar” appeal and to help separate themselves from anything they may have done on NXT. Fair enough, but it just makes people miss who they were in NXT, you know, the real wrestling brand of the company.
The match itself was a nice warmup for Finn now that he’s on the Smackdown roster. I also feel it’s really a tryout for (Mustafa) Ali after a number of injuries have left him sidelined. Fingers crossed its just been bad luck and not that he’s injury prone as I really dig what he brings to the roster. The roster is starting to look a lot more diverse and that’s a good thing for all the kids looking to connect with someone that resembles them.
The match was solid with a number of high-spots and a great way to kick of the wrestling part of the show. I hope they build a package with these two like they did with Andrade and Mysterio before on Raw. Ali in the IC picture makes perfect sense and gives Balor someone that complements him really well in styles to help elevate the belt.
Match Rating: 3/5
Carmella vs Flair
Dance break intro. Kill me. Look, I love R-Truth and think he should have had a real run at the title back in the day, he’s a damn former NWA World Champion for gods sake. I’m glad he’s still around, but after WrestleMania and them taking time away from an already eight hour show, I’m over it. Although I do love me some Carmella. Damn.
Match-wise this pairing has some history, but we all know how this has to end. Flair lost at the main event at Wrestlemania and now has something to prove moving forward. Carmella is just going to be a stepping stone back into the title picture really soon while the women’s division figures out what the hell is going on in the solo section.
The action here was a lot of fun and I’m impressed with how far Carmella has come. Who would have figured she’d be the champion level star when Enzo and Cass were still around. And she kept up with Flair during the match, even flying off the guardrail on the outside at one point in a nice spot.
One thing the women’s division lacks are superstars that are great on the mic. Having Charlotte and Carmella on Smackdown goes a long way in helping that brand with that issue. Even better is that these two ladies can put on a fun and engaging match as well. It’s not the squash I was expecting and makes both look strong, with Carmella tapping out to Charlotte in the end. Clean and tidy!
Match Rating: 3/5
Lars Sullivan comes out after to wreck R-Truth for reasons. Sullivan has a weird look and I’m not sure how I feel. Although, the creepy lecherous vibe he throws at Carmella feels super weird and dated. The crowd couldn’t care less about this guy. Don’t know his story but he feels like a generic CAW starting template and not some monster.
Becky Lynch Segment
Since Becky hit the main roster I’ve been a huge fan of her work and her evolving looks and personal style. She’s evolved a bunch along the way and each time she mixed things up she just kept building her fanbase. It’s always nice seeing an evolution of a character in an upward direction, each change building on the past.
Becky Two Belts is a pleasure to see and the fans really are behind her. She’s a badass, but also knows how to keep things loose thanks to all her growth and gimmicks. It makes her feel like a natural Superstar and not something manufactured (Suffarin Suckatash!), which is nice. Ember Moon comes out to break up her monolouge, followed by Bayley, and by The Iconics.
They all banter a bit about stuff, none of which involve Sasha leaving WWE, with Paige finally coming out to make her surprise announcement –and it was a big one. Well, the psyche-out of Evolution was set the stage first, but the real surprise was Asuka and Kairi Sane.
Asuka and Kari are two of my favorite wrestlers in the company hands down. These two pair perfectly together and winning the tag titles are only a matter of time. Whatever comes of all this, the Smackdown Live women’s division is pretty stacked. I know Paige is divisive with her “interesting” mic skills, but giving Asuka and Sane a mouthpiece of her prominence is perfect, as they don’t speak English all too well.
8-Way Women’s Tag Match
Sucks that the match kicked off during the commercial break, but it’s nice to see everyone getting their moment in front of the WWE Universe. Not a fan of these huge tag matches, but it’s a good way to let fans see which pairs mesh well against each other and for WWE to see who gets the pops.
Who would have thought that we’d have a women’s tag division that is stronger than the mens tag division. What a time to be alive. The match was a lot of fun but it’s clear WWE is pushing Asuka and Sane as the team for the belt chase, with the fans really popping for the pirate princess, as well they should!
Bodies were flying everywhere, inside and outside the ring. I like WWE spotlighting a lot of talent tonight as it does feel like they are trying to feel out the audience, especially after the shakeup with the Smackdown Live writing team. For the first time it does feel like WWE is letting the fans have a real voice, but that’s probably only because of the recent firings.
There were a lot of good spots and nobody looked bad in this outing. Sure, The Iconics losing sucks, but it keeps the belts safe and with so many people fighting the pair don’t look weak. Kari and Asuka going over The Iconics sets up a nice package and seeing the fans stand up as Kari dropped the insane elbow was a treat. Also great an NXT call-up getting a win in their debut!
Match Rating: 3/5
We then get a package pushing Lars Sullivan, who already came out, and I don’t understand why. It’s like Roman Reigns 2.0 in terms of the push that’s being forced on us. One thing the WWE fans don’t like is being forced to like someone, and I feel this might be a case of that again.
The (New) New Day vs Nakamura, Rusev & Cesaro
Okay, so you want to know an easy way to spot that WWE creative is in transition? Well, just look to see if most every match on the card is a multi-man tag match. It’s a great way to let everyone get some TV time while not risking any belts or current/potential storylines. As you can tell, it was by this point in the show I was starting to lose interest in this everyone fight everyone gimmick.
Buddy Murphy made a surprise video feature to announce that he’s coming to Smackdown Live and I’m game. Seeing him at Wrestlemania just made me wish his title loss was on the main show because of how much I enjoyed it. That, and he’s pretty huge for a Crusierweight, but I don’t think that really matters anymore.
The match itself just pained my heart. To see Rusev (who should be a former WWE champion), Nakamura (who once headlined WrestelMania and won the Royal Rumble) and Cesaro (who should be a champion too) on a team because WWE has nothing for them is a travesty.
Kofi should be having feuds with all these guys instead of sticking them into a tag team. Still, a lot of big spots here and it’s the first time the fans were super engaged in an entire match. The best spot came from Kofi being launched over the ropes by Big O onto the other team. Super clean, super fun and the crowd ate it up.
The match ends with everyone popping their finishers on Rusev which was fun and depressing at the same time. Here’s a guy that came out to WresteMania in a god damn Russian tank and now he’s a glorified jobber. Oh, and Lana was there but wasn’t mentioned or really seen. I thought it was some staffer just standing outside.
Match Rating: 3/5
Mr. McMahon Segment
The match ends with Mr. McMahon looking at the monitor probably hating life as he can’t stand KO or Kofi as top guys. I just know he’s there screaming inside his own head. He’s here to announce a huge acquisition with many people thinking its Brock, but you just know it’s going to be a swerve.
And it is was, as Elias is announced as Vince’s big pick for Smackdown Live. He’s a great heel and knows how to build some heat even if I’ve never actually seen him wrestle. And it was great because Roman Reigns comes out and forces fans to not know who to root for.
For years Vince has been pushing Roman down our throats to no avail. After his return from his medical battles this was Vince’s chance to finally win the crowd over by letting Roman superman punch him in the face. I love Roman as a person and think he gets a lot of hate, but we shall see what the fans think now that he’s back full-time.
I love you Roman, but you punched an elderly man in the face. Bad move if you want to look like the good guy. Not the best way to end a show as I hate ending segments, even more so with Roman coming back to the ring to spear Elias. I actually see Elias as the babyface here as he caught someones grandpa from dying. Still, for the most part it was a solid show and I hope to see some story pushes starting next week once this shakeup is over.
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