Smackdown Live Review 01/09/2018

Hello Misfits. It’s time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. Royal Rumble is only weeks away and that means we’re just getting closer to Wrestlemania. Tonight we’ll find out how AJ Styles will react to being booked to defend his WWE Championship in a handicap match against Owens and Zayn at the Royal Rumble. Also if this brash decision by Daniel Bryan will cause more tension between Shane-O Mac and himself. What will be the fallout of the controversial tag team championship match last week? The United States tournament continues and more women announce that they are competing in the Womens Royal Rumble. There is so much going so lets find out how it all played out.

Smackdown comes to us live from Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham, AL.

–  Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves are on commentary.

AJ Styles Interview
Renee Young and AJ Styles are in the ring with chairs. Renee Young asks Styles if he thinks Daniel Bryan making a handicap match for the WWE title at the Royal Rumble. Styles says he is human and he makes mistakes. If Styles knew that  Bryan would take him seriously last week he would not have said what he did. Is there a chance Styles could lose the title? Sure. Is there a chance Styles could beat the hell out of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn? Yes. Young tells Styles he didn’t answer her question. Styles says yes, it’s not fair. Young asks Styles if he thinks Bryan is playing favorites with Zayn and Owens. Styles says he doesn’t know what Bryan’s deal is. He doesn’t know what Bryan is thinking. Young asked if Styles thinks Shane McMahon is playing favorites. Styles responds that he isn’t getting in the middle of their issues.
Owens and Zayn come out on the ramp. Owens says Styles put his foot in his mouth last week and will do anything to take it back. Zayn says yep. Owens adds that Styles could never beat the two of them in the same match. There is no way Styles will leave the Royal Rumble with the WWE title. Owens and Zayn are going to be the first ever co-WWE Champions. Owens and Zayn are going to do whatever they want to do. Shane McMahon comes out and says he agrees with Styles here. It’s not fair that Styles has to defend the title against both Owens and Zayn. Shane says he doesn’t understand why Bryan will give Owens and Zayn the opportunity to win the title. Shane goes on to say that he backs whatever choices Bryan makes for the time being. Shane says since they are having handicap matches, Owens and Zayn will face Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Randy Orton tonight! As Shane walks to the back Bryan is waiting for him. Bryan says Shane booked a hell of a main event tonight. Shane and Bryan shake hands.
Opinion
I really enjoyed this opening segment as it was something different at first but then led to the same situation the last month of opening segments fell into, where it became more about the tension between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan. I still stand by my feelings that if this doesn’t lead to Daniel Bryan returning to the ring, its really crazy how much they’re focusing on his relationship with Shane McMahon. I kind of wish they made it a Triple Threat match over a handicap match at Royal Rumble. That way both championships would be defended in triple threat matches. Plus, I would believe you could tell a better story there. Everyone goes into it thinking that Owens and Zayn are going to double team Styles to win the match but then they both get competitive with each other. Remember John Cena defended the WWE Championship against DX at the 2006 Survivor Series? Similar to that scenario back then.

Becky Lynch w/ Charlotte Flair & Naomi def. Ruby Riott w/ Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan
In a solid match Becky Lynch defeated Ruby Riott when she countered a riott kick into a dis-arm-her making Riott tap. Becky Lynch also announced that she was going to be in the Women’s Royal Rumble.
Opinion
This was a solid match for Becky’s first match back. Technically there was nothing wrong with it and it was solid but it wasn’t a classic or anything. I think these two could put on a hell of a match with more time. I’m also glad this didn’t end in a brawl as we’ve seen that a lot these past month.

The Bludgeon Brothers def. The Ascension
In a quick match where the Ascension tried to gain the advantage by attacking at the bell, the Bludgeon Brothers defeated The Ascension after hitting Viktor with the sky-high bomb.
After the match Harper and Rowen motion Konnor to come collect Viktor as if it was safe. When Konnor does enter the ring, Haper and Rowen attack Konnor and hit him with the upside down.
Opinion
This was a squash. I’m a bit disappointed because I would have enjoyed seeing Konnor and Viktor get more offence and be the first team to kind of feel like a threat to the Bludgeon Brothers to kind of get some cred back but that was not the case.

– Bobby Roode makes his entrance as he’ll face the winner of the next match.

United States Championship Tournament
Mojo Rawley def. Zack Ryder
In a decent match Mojo Rawley defeated Zack Ryder by pin fall after a running punch in the corner. Following the match Bobby Roode gets into the ring and has a stare down with Mojo Rawley.
Opinion
The right guy won and Mojo continues to showcase his aggressive side. The match was decent and the confrontation with Roode following the match was a great way to great Roode on the show.

– Backstage, Jinder Mahal says no one believed in him when he was the WWE Champion. Mahal has set his eyes on a new goal: the United States Championship. This was solid and Jinder Mahal seemed to have been more comfortable talking here which is great. Its crazy how much more interesting his promos are when the writers don’t have him saying the same thing for weeks straight like they did for his rivalries as the WWE Champion.

Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin
Benjamin makes fun of the Alabama fans sitting on their butts as their team won a title. Benjamin says Georga got robbed last night, just like they did last week. Gable and Benjamin blame the second referee for ruining things. Gable says that referee is just like all of the people in the crowd. They don’t know what it means to be a winner. A crime was committed last week and they demand justice. They are here to free the tag team titles. They didn’t lose to the Usos last week, they lost to instant replay. Gable demands the referee come to the ring right now. Daniel Bryan comes out and tells Gable and Benjamin that he understands how they feel. Bryan says he doesn’t care about how they feel about the Usos but he will not sit by and let them talk down to management. Benjamin says they didn’t say anything about management.
Daniel Bryan says referees are an extension of management. The referee’s decision is final. Benjamin yells that Bryan is damn right. The referee awarded them the titles. They won the match. Bryan says, no they didn’t. They pinned the wrong Uso.The referee did the right thing. The referee felt he did the right thing. Benjamin tells Gable to tell Bryan how he feels. Gable says Bryan is taking out the fact that Shane is mad at him on them. Gable asks Bryan what he wants. Does he want them to beat the Usos twice in one night? Bryan says that’s a great idea. At the Royal Rumble, The Usos will defend in a two-out-of-three falls match.
Opinion
This felt kind of long. I see what they were trying to do here with Gable and Benjamin turning heel, thus making the Usos the good guys and build to a rematch but I feel like it dragged on. I’m still getting used to both guys on the mic because they dont have it a lot and when they do, definitely not for this long. They did good but I felt like there was a lack of emotion in what they were saying. I am excited for the 2-out-of-3 falls match. I was hoping for something like this.

– Backstage, AJ Styles goes into the locker room to talk to Randy Orton. Styles asks Orton if he wants to talk strategy or is Orton going to go out there and RKO everything that moves. Orton says he likes that idea. Styles says “good talk” and tries to leave. Orton tells Styles that after he wins the Rumble he doesn’t care who has the title because he is coming for it at Mania. Nakamura walks in and says “not so fast”. Nakamura leans in and too sweets the WWE title. Nakamura says good talk and leaves. STYLES VS NAKAMURA AT WRESTLEMANIA PLEASE.

– Aiden English sings that Rusev and himself will be participating in the Royal Rumble.

Breezango def. Rusev & Aiden English
In a fun match Breezango defeated Rusev and English when Fandango catches a distracted Rusev with a roll-up and gets the pin fall.
Opinion
I’m a big fan of both teams so I didn’t mind who won here but I was expecting Rusev and English too. It was a nice little surprise to see Breezango pick up the win even if it did mean Rusev suffered a loss. Rusev Day will remain to be over and Breezango needed some redemption after being squashed by the Bludgeon Brothers for weeks. This was cool.

– Backstage, Daniel Bryan gloats about the Smackdown tag team division but Shane McMahon questions Daniel Bryan about the matches he has made for the Royal Rumble. Shane asks Bryan if he is doing ok and claims that Bryan has been acting unstable. Bryan says he could say the same about Shane considering his gene pool. Shane tells Bryan to be careful and they will agree to disagree for now.

Two-On-Three Handicap Match
AJ Styles, Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura def. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
In solid main event match where the stipulations kept changing due to Shane McMahon’s authority, Styles, Orton and Nakamura defeated Owens and Zayn after Nakamura hits a kinshasa followed by an RKO by Randy Orton on Sami Zayn for the pin fall victory.
Opinion
This was a fun and exciting main event that was kind of chaotic. Owens and Zayn played the heels who were just trying to get away any way they could. Its rare the babyfaces have the upper-hand in a handicap match rather than the baby face trying to defeat the odds, but they made this work. AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton all got some revenge on Owens and Zayn after dealing with their shenanigans for the past few months.

Final Thoughts
I thought this weeks episode of Smackdown Live was good but it didn’t leave me excited for next week. Besides the United States Championship tournament, they never really gave us a reason to be excited for next week. The way the show went off the air was more of a happy moment rather than a cliff-hanger on one of the storylines for us to really anticipate to see what happens next. There was a lot of good on this show though, such as some fun matches and even a surprise victory but Smackdown has been better in previous weeks. I’m sure they’ll get back on it next week. This was a totally fine episode but if you missed it, you dont have much to worry about.
Rating – 6/10