Smackdown Live Review 03/06/2018

Hello Misfits. It’s time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. The Road to Wrestlemania continues and Smackdown Live has one more stop with Fastlane. Last week John Cena found his way into the main event of Fast Lane for the WWE Championship after defeating AJ Styles to earn his spot. This week we saw Cena address his involvement in the match on Raw but I am curious to see if Cena will appear on Smackdown Live tonight. I’m also curious to see how the other competitors react to Cena being added to the match. Last week we saw The New Day and the Usos shy away from The Bludgeon Brother so I’m curious to see if there is any more build on that. Jinder Mahal is also scheduled to face Randy Orton tonight. Will The Modern Day Maharaja find a way to get himself into the United States Championship match at Fastlane? What’s next for Charlotte and Ruby Riott as we head into Fastlane? Will there be more tension between Bryan and Shane-O this week? Lets find out.

Smackdown comes to us live from Resch Center in Green Bay, WI.

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

Charlotte Flair/Ruby Riott
Dasha Fuentes is in the ring with a mic to kick off the show. Dasha welcomes us to SmackDown and introduces SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. Out comes Flair for a face off with her WWE Fastlane opponent. Dasha introduces Ruby Riott and out she comes with her partners but they stay back. Dasha starts talking to Ruby but Ruby cuts her off and snatches the mic, dissing Dasha and saying she will take it from here. Ruby says this all began on November 14th, 2017 when Flair became SmackDown Women’s Champion. Ruby says Flair has been set up for success all her life. The perfect women – she’s tall, blonde, athletic and more, she’s the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. Ruby says Flair became the first Superstar to win the Divas, RAW, SmackDown and WWE NXT Women’s Titles when she won back in November. Riott says she watched then as the myth began to form, the myth that Flair is the personification of the women’s revolution. Ruby says that is why she formed The Riott Squad just 2 weeks after Flair’s win, with one sole purpose – to destroy the myth.
Flair says the only myth that exists about her is that she’s been handed anything in her life. Flair says she’s had to work hard, probably harder than others, because of who she is. She has the weight of expectation on her shoulders, which is hard to live up to. Flair says if she loses, the consequences are magnified and look bad on her whole family. Flair goes on and says she has proven by her accomplishments that she transcends any myth about her. Flair says the reality is that she’s standing right here and she’s better than what Ruby has heard. Ruby goes on and says whether Flair put herself there or was put there, she’s on a pedestal and all that is on the line this Sunday. Ruby says when she takes Flair’s crown, she will no longer be the queen and her world will crumble. Ruby says Flair will be just another bleach blonde failure with a famous last name.
Ruby gives a nod and in comes Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan. They all stare down Flair but the music interrupts and out comes Flair’s Mixed Match Challenge partner, WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode. Roode is here to do commentary for tonight’s first match, Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal. Roode stops any attack by distracting everyone as he does his entrance
Opinion
This was a great segment to advance the angle between Riott and Charlotte. I like how Smackdown Live is once again trying a different way to open the show focusing on the talent more heading into Wrestlemania rather than being a Authority heavy show as it has been for months now. Charlotte didn’t get to say a word but she doesn’t need too. Charlotte is already an established star whereas this was Ruby Riott final chance to sell us on her as a serious threat. I liked that Bobby Roode came out right as Charlotte was about to get attacked since Charlotte is his MMC partner.

Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh def. Randy Orton
In a solid match, Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton by hitting him with a Kallas when Orton got distracted after knocking Roode off the apron due to a shove from Mahal.
Opinion
This match between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton was better than I expected. The more these two work together the more they have their match down. I’m glad to see Jinder Mahal still being placed in a prominent role as a top heel on Smackdown Live. I was worried about what might happen to him after he lost the championship to AJ Styles. I like how they booked a finish that protected Orton but allowed Mahal to keep his momentum of standing tall last even if it’s done in a sneaky fashion. I definitely could see this leading to a triple threat match between Roode, Orton and Mahal at Wrestlemania.

– Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are backstage. Sami talks about being ready for the Six-Pack Challenge. Owens is also ready but reminds him that this is every man for himself. Owens reminds Sami how Sami previously said he would lay down for Owens if the match at Fastlane came down to the two of them. Sami says yes. Owens can’t believe Sami would do that and says it’s almost too good to be true but Sami is a really great guy. Owens goes on about Sami and Sami says people didn’t start noticing all of this until he hooked up with Owens. Sami says his time will come but Owens is one win away from main eventing WrestleMania 34 and one win away from becoming a Grand Slam Champion. Sami says he will be so proud of Owens when that happens. Sami thanks Owens for everything he does and says yes, he will lay down for Owens at Fastlane. Sami laughs and hugs Owens to end the segment.

– Backstage, Baron Corbin says he is happy John Cena has been added to the title match at Fastlane. Corbin says he owes Cena. Cena cost Corbin his money in the back contract. When Corbin lays out Cena, Cena will look up and see Corbin holding the WWE title and Corbin will tell Cena that he can’t see him.

-Backstage, Shinsuke Nakamura says he is worried that his dream match with AJ Styles at WrestleMania is in jeopardy. Nakamura wants to beat Styles at WrestleMania with a knee to the face. Rusev and Aiden English walk in. English claims his throat is damaged after their match last week. Rusev says Nakamura broke his Aiden. Rusev challenges Nakamura to a match at Fastlane. Nakamura accepts and lets Rusev know that when he beats him Sunday it will be Nakamura DAYYY!!

Becky Lynch def. Carmella
In a decent television match, Becky Lynch defeated Carmella by making her tap out with a disarmher.
Opinion
This was a decent television match and a great effort from both women. It was great to see Carmella back on Smackdown Live television again in a match. I know we saw her last week in some backstage segment that helped book this match but it feels like we havent seen her on TV for weeks. It was also great to see Becky Lynch back doing something on her own rather than standing next to Charlotte in her rivalry against the Riott Squad. This match was mainly to help them booked the match for Fastlane in the next segment and it worked.

– Backstage, Naomi is shown watching the match. Natalya walks in clapping. She mocks Becky and says Carmella was battling the flu all week, which is why she lost. Natalya warns Naomi to stay away from Becky because everyone who deals with her gets burned. Naomi knocks Natalya for only having cats as friends. Naomi proposes she and Becky vs. Carmella and Natalya for Fastlane. Natalya accepts and says she will be challenging the winner of Riott vs. Flair.

AJ Styles & Dolph Ziggler
AJ Styles says that after winning the WWE title for the second time he has a different perspective on everything. Styles spent a lot of time trying to get to WWE and now he is here. The odds are stacked against Styles on Sunday. Styles isn’t going to sit here and complain. Styles is going to fight. This is the house the AJ Styles built. Last week John Cena pins Styles clean in the middle of the ring. Styles shows footage of Cena saying he is going to win the WWE championship for the 17th time on Sunday. Styles notes that Cena said that Styles should use his rematch clause at WrestleMania to make this a triple threat match. Styles says that isn’t what he wants. He wants to have his WrestleMania moment. Styles wants to defend the championship against the best. Styles wants to defend the WWE title against Shinsuke Nakamura. At Fastlane he isn’t just fighting for himself he is fighting for us. It’s going to be nothing short of phenomenal.
Dolph Ziggler comes out and makes fun of what Styles just said. Ziggler says Styles isn’t phenomenal anymore. Now Styles is just desperate. Styles says this coming from a man who has been in WWE for 13 years and still has reached his potential? Ziggler says that it took Styles 10 years to even get to the HOUSE that Ziggler built. Ziggler says Styles is going to lose Sunday. Styles’ head isn’t in the game. Why? Because Styles is doing it for these people. These people will turn their backs on Styles just like they did Ziggler. Ziggler says years ago he was told he would never be WWE Champion. Ziggler scratched and crawled to win Money in the Bank and then the championship. Ziggler went on to win the championship and they enjoyed the moment together. The people stood by and did nothing while Ziggler proved he was the best thing to ever happen to this company whether they like it or not. Ziggler tells Styles he can take his dreams and shove it. Styles says Ziggler is talking a lot. Why don’t they just do this right now?
Opinion
It was great to finally hear AJ Styles thoughts on the six pack challenge match and address Cena now being added in the match. Styles did lose to Cena last week clean and at first I thought that was a poor decision. However, this week I realized how this Sunday he is going to overcome the odds by beating the five other competitors. I’m not 100% sure what they’re doing with Dolph Ziggler. He won the US Title but left it and walked out. He returned at the Rumble only to be eliminated. He finds himself with another championship opportunity but I dont see him winning. It makes me very curious on how he’s going to be booked for Wrestlemania. This promo made me confused about his role though. A couple of weeks ago he seemed like a babyface but this promo had heel-like attributes. The creative for Ziggler is confusing.

– Backstage, Aiden English and Rusev are complaining to Shane McMahon about not being on the show the past few weeks. English tries to tell Shane that he’s jealous of the popularity of Rusev Day. Shane tells English that he has a match tonight against Shinsuke Nakamura. Well Shane-O sang that English was in a match with Shinsuke Nakamura.

– Renee Young is backstage with WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode, asking about Fastlane and the match with Randy Orton. Roode talks about the Top 10 List and respecting Orton but Orton walks up and says it’s not about the Top 10 list, it’s about the United States Title. Orton says Roode just happens to be the guy that he had to run through to get the title. Orton walks off.

AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler
A great match between AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler ended in a no contest or DQ because Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn rushed the ring and attacked both guys.
Opinion
This was a quality main event match, that I feel like they could have stretched all the way to the end of the show putting both guys over. This was a smart way to make both Ziggler and Styles look strong and not take another L by being pinned heading into Fastlane. These two have great chemistry with each and regardless how I feel about the way Ziggler is being booked as a character creatively, he’s always been able to over deliver in the ring.

-Shane speaks from the stage and asks if Sami & Owens are trying to take out two of their opponents for Sunday. Shane says they must be feeling the competitive spirit and since they are, they need to turn around and get back into the ring. Shane makes AJ vs. Ziggler vs. Owens vs. Sami vs. Baron Corbin in a Fatal 5 Way for right now. This was the only time we saw any Authority figures which was impressive and he did have me fooled, because I did think we were going to have a tag match and not a fatal five way.

Sami Zayn def. AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler & Baron Corbin
In a fun but competitive main event, Sami Zayn defeats his four opponents after hitting helluva kick on Kevin Owens and pinning him.
Opinion
This was the original Fastlane match before Cena got added and it gave us a taste of what we can expect this Sunday. It was okay for Styles to lose here because I personally think he’s going over this Sunday and this helped advance the KO/Zayn storyline. It also allows people to think that Styles could lose this Sunday because the odds are stacked against him and he lost this match without being pinned.

– After the match, Sami looks up at the WrestleMania 34 sign as he stops on the stage. Dasha Fuentes comes out and asks Sami why he hit Owens. Sami says why, why? How about this… he is the best WWE has, he has been without a doubt the most underlooked performer, no one else comes close to him. Sami tells Dasha not to ask him stupid question. Sami says tonight was not about the WWE Title, it was about who is the best and Sami proved that he is. SmackDown goes off the air. This was great and shows a more fired up Zayn. Possibly a more fired up one than we’ve ever seen in the WWE.

Final Thoughts
I thought this was a good episode of Smackdown Live. It went by really fast which usually means I was entertained throughout it. It left us with more questions than answers which means I’ll be looking forward to Fastlane and next week’s Smackdown Live. There was a ton of angle advancement but a lot of great wrestling as well. If you have some time check it out. A ton of focus on the talent and less focus on the authority figures and that led to a great episode of Smackdown.
Rating – 7.5/10