Smackdown Live Review 03/07/2017

Image via WWE.com

Smackdown is in full gear on the Road to Wrestlemania and everything is shaping up. Tonight is the night we officially find out who faces Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania. Although, I’m already full aware that we’re most likely heading for the matches of Orton/Wyatt and Styles/McMahon, there still is a chance that the WWE could swerve us. Also, similar to Raw hopefully we’ll find out the direction of the Smackdown’s Women’s Division heading into Wrestlemania. Who will Alexa Bliss face? Also what happens next between American Alpha and The Uso’s? John Cena and Nikki Bella are booked to face Carmellsworth and I can’t fathom to believe The Miz and Maryse won’t have some involvement.

Smackdown comes to us live from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan
Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan make their way to the ring to talk about all the controversy surrounding the Wrestlemania main event. Dragon Boy thinks Orton should be the one to face Bray Wyatt and Shane-O thinks Styles should be the one to face Bray Wyatt. After about ten minutes of explaining why they think both guys deserve it they share with us the conclusion that social media already made us aware of earlier in the week that AJ Styles and Randy Orton would be facing each other tonight and the winner will be going to Wrestlemania to face Bray Wyatt to headline Wrestlemania.
Opinion
I kind of felt like this segment dragged and was pointless considering we already knew this was the main event tonight. As much as I love and mark out when Shane O’ Mac’s music his this was totally something that could have been shorter and pre-recorded for a backstage segment. Thats just my opinion, because I’m not a fan of the Authority figures coming out at the beginning of the show just to run down the show or tell us things we already know.

– AJ Styles confronts Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan backstage. He wanted to know where they were all weekend because they weren’t answering their phones. Styles wants to make sure they don’t make a mistake. Bryan tells Styles to calm down. Styles is sick of this anti-AJ conspiracy and the he will make the best of a bad situation. Styles says he will take out Randy Orton and it’s on Shane and Bryan’s hands. Styles finishes his rant by saying he’s not afraid of fires, a viper, Shane McMahon or Daniel Bryan. Shane says that went well after Styles walks away.

John Cena & Nikki Bella def. James Ellsworth & Nikki Bella
In a fun and comedic match that seemed to have fly by Nena def. Carmellsworth via submission when both Carmella and Ellsworth tapped out to the STF. Nena double teamed Carmellsworth with hitting a double five knuckle shuffle and their finishers at the exact same time before locking in the STF on their opponents. Following the match, The Miz and Maryse who were on commentary attacked Nikki and John in midst of their celebration throwing them into the steel posts and ring steps.
The Miz then cut a promo on Cena which really drew a fine line between reality and scripted. It really felt like a worked shoot. He called their relationship fake, plastic and basically a plan to grow both their brands because they’re both materialistic, self-absorbed and power hungry. Miz says this is disrespectful to all the real couples out there who are truly in love such as Maryse and himself. Maryse tells Nikki to “break that bitch” and throws the mic at her.
Opinion
This was entertaining but it felt really weird. I’m not hating on it but seeing Cena and Nikki together as a team just felt weird. Maybe its because we’ve known about them for years and their relationship has been referenced many times but we have never seen them on screen together on WWE’s main product. It’s very evident that Nikki is loving this so much and you get this genuine vibe that she so happy to be involved in this. I mean she’s literally glowing the entire time, whereas Cena looks happy for her but looks more like he’s doing her a favour and would rather be in any other program than this. Its like he’s happy because she’s happy and thats about it. They also don’t seem to have that on air chemistry that Miz and Maryse have..hell not even as much as Carmella and Ellsworth do. It just felt weird.
The Miz and John Cena always kill it with promos when they’re up against each other that would actually think there’s backstage tension between them. Although the goal is for us to think that The Miz is just jealous of Cena, a lot of what he says makes you wonder if we should really be rooting for the Miz because what he is saying is true. I was never looking forward to this match but these last two weeks these two have made me intrigued in their program. The Miz and Maryse continued their tirade on Talking Smack and it further convinced me that we should be rooting for them, however hopefully we’ll see Cena and Nikki rebuttal next week.

– Randy Orton is interviewed backstage by Renee Young about his upcoming match tonight with AJ Styles. Orton cuts a promo about how he has no worries about his match and Styles should basically run.

– Mojo Rawley and Dolph Ziggler have a confrontation backstage where they both announce their entry into the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Whatever.

Dean Ambrose, Curt Hawkins & Baron Corbin
Curt Hawkins calls out Dean Ambrose for a rematch say Ambrose started something he can’t finish. Ambrose comes out dodges a punch and clotheslines Hawkins out of the ring. He then says he was going to come out and call out Baron Corbin anyway. Ambrose said that Corbin is the Neutered Wolf and said if he had any testicles he would come out face him. Corbin shows up on the screen saying he doesn’t listen to anyone and when he’s ready he’ll take everything from Dean, including the IC Title. Dean says if Corbins not coming out than he’ll go find him. Ambrose hits dirty deeds on Hawkins on his way to the back to find Corbin. Ambrose is walking around the Bankers Life Field House, but can’t find Corbin. Corbin attacks Ambrose from behind with a led pipe. Corbin stomps on Ambrose back. Corbin gets Ambrose trapped under a forklift. Referee’s and agents back Corbin away from Ambrose.
Opinion
Poor Hawkins. Why did they even bring the poor guy back? I question even more, why they built up his return with a bunch of vignettes if he was never going to be important? Anyway, this was good progress in the Corbin and Ambrose rivalry. Once again, Corbin gets the upper hand on Ambrose and I feel like soon we’re going to see Ambrose get the better of Corbin before Wrestlemania. I hope they find a really fun and creative way to make that happen. I was hoping their match would have some sort of stipulation but I figure the rivalry will continue after Wrestlemania and the stipulation may become involved on those PPV’s that follow Mania. I thought the forklift inclusion in this segment was creative and really showcased how much of an asshole Corbin is. Everything was great about this segment besides poor Hawkins.

The Blisseration
 Alexa makes her way to the ring along with Mickie James. Alexa grabs the mic, praising herself for being the first ever two time Women’s Champion and says she’s out here tonight to announce who she’ll be facing at Wrestlemania. Alexa insults every women apart of the Smackdown Women’s roster. Bliss said it won’t be Naomi because she’s at home not feeling the glow but feeling the ow. It won’t be Nikki because she’s in the training room with squared chin superman. Speaking of chins, it won’t be Carmella because she’s probably tending to her chinless troll of a friend under some bridge somewhere. Alexa compares Becky Lynch to Chucky because every time she thinks she’s gotten rid of her she comes back again. I thought they were funny so I thought I’d share them. This brought out Becky who said this was going to be the Becklaration and she wanted Alexa at Mania. Natalya followed calling Becky, “Beeker”. atalya had a good talk with Bliss last week and they have an understanding. They’re championship level talent and Becky is not. Bliss wants to know if Natalya got into some catnip because she’s not getting a title match at WrestleMania either. Bliss calls Natalya “the worst there is, the worst there ever was and the worst there ever will be.” Mickie tells everyone to shut up and stop being selfish because Alexa was about to announce her as the new number one contender for Wrestlemania. Alexa said that was never the plan shutting Mickie down. Daniel Bryan comes out before things break down. Dragon Boy says that Shane and him give the Blisseration a F in grade but they had a great idea which was since Alexa Bliss thinks she’s the greatest Women’s wrestler on the Smackdown Roster she will be defending her title against all the available women on the Smackdown roster at Wrestlemania. Bliss starts complaining that it’s not a fair decision. Bryan ignores her but instead he takes a trick from Teddy Long’s book and books a tag match between these four women.
Opinion
Great segment. Alexa Bliss is great. All the women were great. Unlike Raw, Bryan didn’t come out there and feel like bigger stars or more important than the girls in the ring unlike when Stephanie came out on Raw and made all the women in the ring seem below her and as if she was the strongest heel in the segment. I like the concept of the match because it’ll get all the girls on the Wrestlemania card but I just hope it doesn’t end up on the two hour pre-show but on the actual show. The Smackdown Women’s division has been booked way more efficiently than the Raw Women’s Division so I really think they deserve to be on the main card and hopefully they will.

Alexa Bliss & Mickie James def. Natalya & Becky Lynch
In a decent match Alexa Bliss and Mickie James defeat Natalya and Becky Lynch after Natalya hits Lynch with a release german suplex and Bliss tags herself in to get the pinfall victory. Following the match Mickie hits a Mick Kick on Bliss taking her out.
Opinion
Solid match but nothing too spectacular. Smart booking having Natalya cause their team the match by turning on Lynch. It makes complete sense since they had a heel teaming with a babyface. Although rushed, I like the way they broke up the Mickie/Alexa partnership because it makes complete sense. There was no potholes or blank spaces on why they would break up. Mickie helps Alexa win and retain the title time and time again but Alexa was never going to return the favour like Mickie expected her too. That’s one thing I enjoy about Smackdown..everything has a purpose and logic matters.

AJ Styles Promo
Styles makes his entrance for the match but before he gets down to business he has some stuff he needs to get off his chest. SmackDown is the house that AJ Styles built. When he was WWE Champion, the ratings couldn’t have been any higher. Styles turned the B Show into The Show. What does he get from Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon? Nothing but disrespect. Meanwhile, Randy Orton burns down a man’s house and gets rewarded for it. Here’s the thing that nobody seems to get. Styles was built for the main event of WrestleMania. Not Shane McMahon, not Daniel Bryan and certainly not Randy Orton is going to keep him from the grandest stage of them all and making it Phenomenal.
Opinion
Great promo. I love how even though he’s a heel that, he’s so good the fans chant his name. I know where we are heading with Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles but a promo like this makes you wish he was involved in the main event at Wrestlemania. Considering the year that Styles has had without putting on a single bad match you’d only want the best for him.

Wrestlemania #1 Contender for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton def. AJ Styles
In a terrific and more lengthy match Randy Orton defeated AJ Styles after a RKO. This finish came when Orton sends Styles to the ring apron. Styles tease an attempt at the Phenomenal Forearm. Styles goes for the Springboard 450 Splash, but Orton ducks out of the ring. Orton drops Styles with the RKO to pickup the victory.
Opinion
As I mentioned above the match was terrific. The fact that these two have never wrestled each other before, it felt like you were watching something special. It was special. These two worked well together and I still kind of wish they kept these two apart until working a program together during the Summer or something. I have the feeling they had them wrestle now because there might be plans to draft Styles to Raw in the possible upcoming draft in June or July. Also it ties all the loose ends in this very complex storyline they have had going in the last couple of weeks. I find it to be an interesting fact that it took Randy Orton to do what took John Cena 7 months which was to defeat AJ Styles and it only took one RKO just like Orton claimed it would. However, it makes sense considering the stories being told on Smackdown. Orton needs to move forward as Bray’s opponent. Styles needs to get more frustrated and start targeting Shane-O.

Final Thoughts
I thought this show was good and accomplished what it needed to accomplish on the Road to Wrestlemania. The power couple storyline progressed and got more heated. The direction for the Women’s Divison heading into Wrestlemania has become clear. The Ambrose/Corbin rivalry progressed. Other stars announced they’re going to be in the Andre the Giant battle royal. Randy Orton is officially headlining Wrestlemania against Bray Wyatt and Styles had a confrontation with Shane McMahon in the gorilla position after the show went off the air which was shown to us on Talking Smack. The only flaws were the tag division storyline had no progression and both American Alpha and the Uso’s were not even featured on the show. Also, Bray Wyatt (and Luke Harper) didn’t even appear of the show. I’d assume they got back together to go fix the compound that Orton destroyed but that’s just my imagination. Although, Smackdown does have time constraints and I’d rather them not rush stuff to fit everyone on the show. Raw did have the better show this week, but Smackdown was still solid and fun to watch.
Rating – 7/10

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