Smackdown Live Review 06/12/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. This is the go-home show for Smackdown Live heading to Money in the Bank. I believe that focus will be mainly put on the superstars involved in matches this Sunday. Therefore, I dont think we’ll be seeing the likes of The Bar, Andrade Almas, The Club, The Bludgeon Brothers and so on. The matches announced for tonight were Samoa Joe vs. Rusev and Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura which are both solid matches. It was announced that the women involved in the Money in the Bank ladder match this Sunday will meet for a summit hosted by general manger Paige. Daniel Bryan is expected to appear this week. Lets see how it went down.

Smackdown comes to us live from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.

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

Women’s Summit
Paige is in the ring with Charlotte Flair, Lana, Naomi, Becky Lynch. Paige says the women in the ring are the best Smackdown Live has to offer. Paige fully expects one of them to come back with the Women’s MITB briefcase. Lana and Naomi argue. Charlotte says she has done everything there is to do. Next, she is going to win the MITB ladder match. Lynch says she was has been the first to do a lot but she is tired of talking about the past. Lynch wants to be able to say she is the now. Not the past. Billy Kay and Peyton Royce come out on the stage and make fun of everyone. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville also walk out to the ring. Rose and Deville say the talent outside of the ring is way better than the talent in the ring. Lynch, Flair, Lana, and Naomi attack Deville, Rose, Royce, and Kay. Referees break it up.
Opinion
I enjoyed them opening Smackdown this week with the women’s summit. The four women participating gave great arguements about why they think they will win. Lana’s confidence is always funny but I’m shocked she’s fully dropped the Russian accent. I was worried that we wouldn’t see the IIconics until after Money in the Bank but I’m really glad they came out tonight and did their thing. I actually found myself enjoying their imitations tonight when many of their impressions before I’ve found cringeworthy. This of course set up a match for later tonight but it was well down and put over the women’s Money in the Bank much, as well as how stacked the Smackdown’s women’s roster is.

Daniel Bryan def. Shelton Benjamin
In a competitive opening match, Daniel Bryan defeated Shelton Benjamin when Benjamin tapped out to the heel hook.
Opinion
This was an awesome match between two really athletic and talented wrestlers. I expected Bryan to pick up the victory here as it will give him some momentum heading into MITB. However they did it in a way that also made Benjamin look like a challenge for Bryan. It made both guys look strong and it was a solid match for TV.

– Backstage, Asuka asks Paige for Carmella tonight. Paige says she can’t do that, but she will add them both to the tag match later tonight so Asuka can get her hands on Carmella. Paige runs into Miz. Miz is wearing a referee shirt. Miz asks to be the special guest referee for the Rusev/Joe match later tonight. Paige says she knows Miz is just trying to stir the pot. Miz says that isn’t the case. Paige gives the Miz what he asks for. I dont know why but I love the chemistry between The Miz and Paige’s characters.

– They aired a video package for the Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles feud.

Kings Court with AJ Styles
Lawler says Styles slapping Nakamura last week was great. It was like when Lawler slapped Andy Kaufman. Styles says he lost his cool. Styles says he should apologize. Styles thinks about it and says nah. Styles wishes he knocked Nakamura’s head off his shoulders. At MITB Styles is walking out of MITB the same way he walked in: as WWE Champion.
Opinion
It was cool for the WWE to bring out Jerry Lawler to do a segment in Memphis Tennessee. I appreciate that he whipped out the classic gear. I also appreciate that Smackdown Live is still running with the throwback interviews on the stage like the good ol’ days. This was what it was and AJ Styles cut a decent promo to hype his match this Sunday.

– Backstage, Miz is learning the art of refereeing.

Rusev w/ Aiden English def. Samoa Joe
Special Referee – The Miz
In an awesome match that involved some fun drama due to Miz being the special referee, Rusev defeated Samoa Joe after hitting him with a machka kick when Joe was distracted by The Miz.
After the match, English pulls a ladder from under the ring. Rusev hits Joe with the ladder. Rusev starts to climb the ladder but Miz pulls Rusev off the ladder and hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Rusev. Miz pulls down the MITB briefcase and parades around the ring with it. Miz puts the MITB case on the announce desk. Miz opens it and tells Saxton to read the contract because it’s going to have Miz’s name on it. The briefcase is full of pancakes. Miz goes nuts. The New Day is shown in the back pointing and laughing at a monitor.
Opinion
This was another really good match. The shenanigans with the Miz before the match, during the match and after the match tell you why he’s such valuable asset to Smackdown Live. Its weird to say but he’s slowly getting into that established star spot that just has a presence overtime he’s around similar to Randy Orton and John Cena. The great thing about Rusev and Joe is that they are both big guys but are both super athletic and agile. I wouldn’t mind seeing a series of matches between the two under the right circumstances in the future. The New Day weren’t actually there so they made their presence felt with pancakes and pre-recorded video. Yet we still dont know which New Day member will be participating in the ladder match.

Jeff Hardy def. Shinsuke Nakamura
In a great match that definitely could have been the main event, Jeff Hardy defeated Nakamura by DQ when Nakamura low-blowed Jeff Hardy as Jeff called for a second Twist of Fate.
After the match, Nakamura hits the Kinshasa. Nakamura counts Hardy out as if this was the last man standing match.
Opinion
This was another great match. Smackdown delivers yet again with solid matches, that don’t feel as long as the one we get on Raw. This easily could have been the main event. Similar to what I said about Joe/Rusev, I wouldn’t mind seeing these two face each other again, as I felt like they had some decent chemistry. I love how we didn’t get a clean finish here because we just saw Jeff Hardy lose to Daniel Bryan a couple of weeks ago and he’s the United States Champion. There was also no way Nakamura could have lost here because he’s the number one contender for the WWE Championship and a loss here wouldn’t have helped his stock at all.

– Backstage, Renee Young asks Carmella if she is concerned about being in the ring with Asuka tonight in the ten women tag match. Carmella laughs and says Flair beat Asuka and Carmella beat Flair twice. Carmella is better than both of them. Carmella is ready for Asuka because ‘Mella is money.

– Backstage, Big Cass tells Renee to hit the bricks. Cass says he made an appearance today that he got paid 25 large for. Cass took his money and he also took a souvenir. Cass shows us the height requirement board from the clown ride. Cass says Bryan couldn’t get on any of the rides because he doesn’t meet the height requirement. Cass says if Bryan tries to come up to his level at MITB Bryan is going to come crashing down.

Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Naomi & Lana def. Carmella, Peyton Royce, Billie Kaye, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville
In a solid main event, the team of Asuka, Charlotte, Becky, Naomi and Lana defeated Mella, Royce, Kaye, Rose and Deville when Asuka made Carmella tap out to the Asuka lock.
After the match, the four women involved in the MITB match stared at the briefcases while circling around Asuka.
Opinion
This was an extremely fun main event which showcased all the strengths of the Smackdown Women’s Roster. The women involved in the MITB ended up standing tall in the end which showed that the women superstars representing Smackdown this Sunday are the strong bunch. Carmella tapped out quick to Asuka which is similar to what we saw on Raw with how fast Nia Jax tapped out Rousey. I don’t know if there is anything behind that more than it just being a coincidence but I found it interesting. The way it ended with Asuka in the middle of the MITB participants gave you the impression that she might win this Sunday, but who really knows? This was fun and its crazy when we live in a time where the women can main event the weekly shows on a regular basis and it feels normal. Imagine that ten years ago. I’m a happy fan.

Final Thoughts
This episode flew by and featured a ton of great wrestling matches. The blue brand always provides us with quality matches. Last week they put a lot of emphasis on the men that will represent Smackdown Live in the Money in the Bank match and this week they did it with the female superstars while still shining a light on the talented women on the Smackdown women’s roster who aren’t involved. There wasn’t anything extremely special that stood out to me on this episode but there were a lot of little things that made it extremely enjoyable. It was a solid two hours of quality wrasslin’ on a Tuesday after work. Check it out.
Rating – 6/10