Smackdown Live Review 10/17/2017

Hello Misfits. It’s time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. I know I’m a couple of days late but I was at the show live thanks to Jinder Mahal coming through with tickets just a couple of days before the event. I mean he just got back from India and still got back to me. Say what you want about his character but he’s one hell of a guy. One of the nicest and most down to earth people I have ever met. Thank you Jinder Mahal. Anyway, I haven’t really had the time to sit down and write this. I also wanted to watch the television broadcast to see how I felt about it from the perspective of those who watched it at home. I’m curious to see what happens this week with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. It was also announced that Jinder Mahal would lay down a big announcement and challenge for Survivor Series. Lets see what happened.

Smackdown comes to us live from Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.

– The show actually kicked off with the intro video which was nice to see because its kind of rare these days.

–  Michael Cole, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves are on commentary. Phillips has some time off for the next couple of weeks as he’s on assignment according to Maggle.

Daniel Bryan confronts Sami Zayn
Hometown crowd goes crazy for Daniel Bryan. Bryan announces matches for the night. He starts to talk about wanting to address Zayn when Sami Zayn comes out. Sami has the same music but is over doing his dance on purpose in a fashion that makes you want to punch him in the face. Zayn says that he is not the same as Daniel Bryan. Yes that have similarities, like being great in-ring performers, well at least Bryan used to be. Zayn says that never had support from the company, but Bryan at least had the fans. He goes on saying that the fans broke their end of the unspoken deal because they never had his back like they did with Bryan. Then Zayn’s brother Kevin Owens then comes out and mockingly waves at Bryan.
Owens says that he is happy for Zayn and happy that he is finally listening to what he has been saying all along. He says that Bryan was a pathetic martyr and calls him a house wife and Mr. Bella. Owens says Bryan has become the worst thing of all…a hypocrite. Bryan says that Owens does not care about Zayn and only cares about himself. Bryan says that he only cares about the fans. Owens says that Bryan only cares about doing what’s best for business. Owens says Bryan is now the authority. Zayn thanks Owens for saving him from becoming like Bryan. Then the brothers hug it out. Bryan starts walking back and Owens asks where he is going. Owens made a comment that Bryan is doing what he does best..walking out in this building. Bryan says he is going to find to dudes to punch them in the face.
Opinion
I enjoyed this segment. I’ll admit it did feel a little longer than it had to be but I understand the circumstances. They were in Daniel Bryan’s hometown so they had to lead him soak in the love and get the fans really behind him to the extent that Sami and KO’s mean hearted promos against him hurt more. This way it made sense that Bryan would book them in a tag match for the main event. Of course we all wanted to see Bryan get physical. There was a part of me thinking this could be the moment but I knew it was too good to be true. If it was ever going to happen it should have with The Miz last year. Sami’s heel promos have been solid so far and super convincing. Of course KO is Mr. Entertainment and never misses a beat.

Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Naomi def. Natalya, Lana & Tamina
In a good television six woman tag match Charlotte picked up the win for her team by making Lana tap out to the figure eight. Natalya tried attacking Charlotte with a chair after the match only to fail and be chased off by Charlotte.
Opinion
This was a fun match and it was great to see Lana back in the ring because after her short push and initially pairing up with Tamina she seemed to barley get TV time. I also appreciated the fact that let her have some offence instead of just getting squashed. It was also great to see Naomi again. Becky played her part too but I wish she did more. I’m a Becky fan but I wish she had more of an angle right now. I mean remember when Smackdown was praised for having more than one women’s angles at a time? On that note there was angle advancement between Natalya and Charlotte which I enjoyed. I hope there is a stipulation for their next match, possibly a No DQ or something.

-Backstage Daniel Bryan runs into Owens and Zayn and says that everyone wants to punch those two in the face. Bryan then announces that Zayn and Owens will be taking on Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura.

– Fandango is in a room with The Ascension and tells them to be cool. Like Tyler Breeze who is in a wig and a dress. The Ascension call out Breezango for not solving the case of 2B. Breeze starts choking and Fandango said that Breeze is allergic to pickles. The Ascension said they would help if they could all be friends. The Ascension five Fandango this big needle looking thing and is about stab it into Breeze’s chest. But just as he is about to do that Breeze wakes up. Breeze notices a brief case is gone. The Ascension said this is the time for the fashion four to assemble! Breeze and Fandango walk away. Quality stuff.

Sin Cara def. Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin teased the fans about giving Sin Cara an opportunity in an U.S. Title open challenge match but then says nope. In a quick match Sin Cara defeated Baron Corbin by count out after coming at him with his arial offence like a ball of fire.
Opinion
This was interesting. I mean Corbin had just won and defended his championship which put him up in the power rankings and then he loses to Sin Cara tonight. Yeah it was by count out and it is a solid way for a heel to lose without being hurt but I dont care for a major feud between Corbin and Sin Cara. I doubt it leads to anything of substance, as Corbin will likely just kill him next week. This is usually the point where I say I hope I’m wrong but I want to be wrong. Corbin should be facing someone like Rusev or Shinsuke or something. Why not bring Dillinger back for the chase?

– Renee Young is backstage and introduces The Usos. They talk about their next challengers Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin. Then as The Usos are about to close their promo, Gable and Benjamin interrupt. Gable and Benjamin try rapping and say that they will be tag team champions. Gable and Benjamin extend their hands to show a sign of respect. As soon as The Usos go in for the handshake, Gable and Benjamin fake out on the Usos and pull away in the last second.

–  A Bludgeon Brothers promo airs.

Jinder Mahal Issues a Challenge
They show clips of Mahal’s visit to India. Jinder Mahal makes his way to the ring and starts talking about his trip to India. How much he was appreciated there and being greeted with a heroes welcome. Then says the WWE Universe in America does not respect him but he is their champion. He said a kid asked him what’s next and runs through the list of names that he has beaten such as Orton and Nakamura. He has to beat a man the fans think is unbeatable. Mahal issues a challenge to The Beast Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. He says he wants everyone to kiss his feet when they find out The Beast can be slayed. Cole said “are you kidding me?” here moments after praising Jinder Mahal. AJ Styles who enters the arena. Styles then asks if he heard Mahal correctly. Mahal said that he has challenged Lesnar but Styles said that he is not talking about that. Styles referenced to when Mahal said he has beaten everyone on Smackdown Live, but has not beaten him. Mahal said there is still no worthy competition in Smackdown Live. The Maharaja points out to Styles that he is a winner and Styles is a loser. Styles then says that Mahal should have no problem facing him for the championship if thats the case. Mahal said that people respect him in his country. Styles says that they are not in his country. Mahal starts to square up to Styles, then Styles makes the first move and clears the ring of Mahal and the Singh Brothers.
Opinion
It was rumoured and it was true. This automatically took me back to my Q&A live stream I did with Jinder Mahal where he said he’d love to take on Brock Lesnar and take him to headlock city. I actually think this match is intriguing because its hard to figure out how it’s going to go. I’ll admit in the later half of the year every match Lesnar has, there is this part of you thinking he could lose. I mean fatal four way matches and matches against guys like Joe and Strowman. I know for sure that the Singh Brothers are definitely going to be taking some suplex’s and brutal bumps. I know they dont want to hurt their WWE Champion but also dont want to hurt their investment of Lesnar. Also the fact that the championship’s aren’t on the line makes me believe anything is possible here. Styles coming out is super cool because if they weren’t doing this Lesnar thing, I definitely think he was the next one up to try to dethrone the Modern Day Maharaja. I hope they continue this past Survivor Series but are just planting the seeds now because I really do want to a solid Styles and Mahal feud rather than it being filler because Lesnar isn’t around every week. This was different and was filled with good stuff. I’m just really curious to how this will all play out. I feel like we were left with more questions than answers.

– Daniel Bryan is backstage on his phone when he is then interrupted by Jinder Mahal. Mahal demands respect after what just happened. He asks Dragon Boy what he’s going to do about it and Bryan asks him what he’s going to do about it. Jinder Mahal offers one of the Singh Brothers to take on Styles next week. Bryan says that is a great idea.

Dolph Ziggler def. Bobby Roode
In a competitive match Dolph Ziggler defeated Bobby Roode with a rollup while pulling the tights.
Opinion
This was a solid match but nothing too unforgettable. Ziggler picks up the victory and now the two are tied up with victories over each other by the same finish. This is vintage WWE 50/50 booking and just angle advancement.

– Brock Lesnar will respond to Jinder Mahal’s challenge this upcoming Raw. Interesting.

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura
Owens and Zayn acted as if they weren’t going to wrestle the match unless they got the respect they deserved. In a competitive match and entertaining main event Sami Zayn picked up the victory after sneaking in a low blow behind a distracted referee’s back which was followed by a helluva kick on Randy Orton.
Opinion
This was a very entertaining main event. I like Orton and Nakamura being this super team right now. It exciting to see them as a team and you would expect them to be unstoppable. I know the kids must love it and so do I damn it. Its also super cool to see KO and El Generico teaming up again like the good ol’ days in the indys. This match was good and didn’t follow the typical formula. The heels did have the heat for a bit but there was two hot dogs. A little bit of a brawl at the end that poured to the outside of the ring. There were times you didn’t know which way it was going to go. I love how Randall doesn’t always get his scoop slam or his momentum movies through all he time anymore. Its like he’s been doing it for years that people know to expect his scoop slam and stuff. He mixed it up and did different things and it was cool. The low blow from Sami was awesome mainly because of his reaction after because it was as if it was like orgasmic for him to do something so dirty and heelish. It then led to him picking up the victory by pinning Orton. It was if everything he was preaching was true. If you dont pander to the fans, you achieve things. The celebration following the match was hilarious and comedic. Shinsuke and Orton were choked and Sami and Owens were just hugging each other and gloating. I loved it. Great angle advancement and I wonder if this means Owens and Zayn will be working with Orton and Shinsuke more going forward. Team Shane vs Team KO and Zayn for Survivor Series?

– When Owens and Zayn get backstage they run into Daniel Bryan. Zayn and Owens start to gloat about their victory over two of the top stars on Smackdown Live. Zayn and Owens ask who is next and Bryan says that is up to Shane McMahon. So, Shane McMahon will return tomorrow. Orton and Zayn are standing at the bottom of the ramp, when Owens takes a mic and starts screaming YES! Owens says that they are Smackdown Live and nobody can do anything about it.

Final Thoughts
This was a great episode and had a ton of angle advancement as well. They gave us some stuff to look forward to next week such as Styles facing Sunil and Shane returning to confront Zayn and KO. Also on Monday we’ll hear Lesnar’s response to Jinder which means we’ll hear Jinder respond to him next week because you know, he’s there every week. This was one of those episodes where a lot happened but it left you with more questions than answers and makes you want to tune in to next week to see which way they’re going to go for the new month. I’m looking forward to it. Obviously being there live kind of makes my opinion of this show a bit bias but whatever. Solid show and looking forward to next week.
Rating – 7.5/10

https://media.go2speed.org/brand/files/ssi/1989/HPOL.PNG