Smackdown Live Review 06/19/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. Its the fallout from Money in the Bank and new number one contender for AJ Styles WWE Championship will be named. It will be determined in a five man gauntlet match between Big E, Rusev, The Miz, Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan. It was also announced that Sanity will be facing off against the Usos. Also what is next for Shinsuke Nakamura? How does Asuka react after being tricked by Carmella and the returning James Ellsworth? What is next for Becky Lynch as she was so close to becoming Ms Money in the Bank? Lets find out.

Smackdown comes to us live from the Huntington Center in Toledo, OH.

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

– Paige opens the show to tell us that MITB was great but now it the past. It’s time to focus on the next show, Extreme Rules. Tonight there will be a gauntlet match to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship. That match will feature The Miz, Big E, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and Rusev.

Carmella Promo
Carmella says when she was younger she delt with self-confidence issue. Carmella says she just wants every young girl and boy out there who think they are not good enough to take a look in the mirror and repeat these words: “‘Mella is Money!” Carmella says she has been moonwalking and trash talking since she was in diapers. The real lesson is everyone needs to just give up. No matter what you do, you will never be better than Carmella is. Carmella beat Charlotte Flair twice and on Sunday she beat Asuka. The best part is Carmella did it all by herself.
Carmella says she made the Empress bow down to the Princess of Staten Island. Asuka comes to the ring… but it’s not Asuka, its James Elsworth dressed as Asuka. Elsworth says nobody was ready for Elsworth, especially Asuka. Elsworth says he is bac. Elsworth is back to serve the greatest women in WWE history. Elsworth says Carmella is better than everyone. Lita, Trish Stratus, Mother Teresa, and Beyoncé. Asuka’s music hits again and the real Asuka power walks to the ring. Elsworth gets in Asuka’s face. Asuka kicks Elsworth in the gut. Carmella kicks Asuka in the head.
Opinion
MELLA IS MONEY. I think its still very weird for everyone see Asuka be on the same level as the other women on the roster and not as dominant as she was on NXT. Carmella continues to progress as a character which makes up for what she lacks in ring as a competitor. I still think this would have been cooler with her aligning with the IIconics but Ellsworth is doing just fine in the role he’s in.

– Shot of Becky Lynch backstage preparing for her match.

Becky Lynch def. Billie Kay w/ Peyton Royce
Before the match, the IIconics cut the promo making fun of everyone in the crowd by saying that they are all animals cause Toledo has a Zoo. That explains the smell. Kay and Royce make fun of Lynch for the promo she cut last week about being tired of saying she “was”. Royce says Lynch is never going to be anything. Lynch is better off being Charlotte’s troll of a sidekick.
In a quality match for television, Becky Lynch defeated Billie Kay after knocking Peyton Royce with a splash off the apron and making Billy Kay tap out with a disARMher.
Opinion
The IIconics continue to entertain me with their silly promos. However, this was a much needed victory for Becky Lynch and hopefully this means she’ll continue to climb back up the ladder. I would rather have Becky beat Carmella for the title over Charlotte or Asuka.

– Backstage, Jeff Hardy says he can’t forget when Shinsuke Nakamura did to him last week. Hardy says his eyes were closed before but now they are open. Hardy turns around and his face is painted and he has in strange contacts. Hardy says, “Nakamura… I see you”

– The shadows of Sanity appear as they finally arrive to Smackdown Live.

– They hype the Australia event where Undertaker faces off against Triple H.

– Backstage, Renee Young interviews Daniel Bryan about tonights match. Renee lets us know that Bryan is going to be the first compeitor in the match and asks how he’s going to survive. Bryan says he’s not going to survive but he’s going to win and that he proved on Sunday that size doesn’t matter. Bryan says he’s going to face three of the best superstar and purposely leaves out The Miz from his list. Bryan said he got here today by legs, lungs and heart and that he’s going to win tonight. Bryan turns it around to ask Renee a question and asks her if she think he’s ready to face the biggest and baddest superstars in WWE. He waits for her to say “yes” so he can start a yes chant.

The Usos vs. sAnity
The Usos come out and cut a promo about making a name for themselves they had to show their heart and sAnity talks about chaos but tonight they’re going to be in the Uso Penitentiary. Young, Dain and Wolfe make their way out. Wolfe gets a little too close to Jimmy Uso. Jimmy punches Wolfe. Dain, Wolfe, and Young beat down both Usos. Dain hits a Vader Bomb. Young and Wolfe blast Jey with their back suplex/second rope neck breaker. The match never starts and sAnity stands tall.
Opinion
This was perfectly fine for what it was. sAnity had to come in making a bang and this was a way to do it. I kind of wish it wasn’t at the expense of The Usos because we’ve seen that happen before with them when it came to the Bludgeon Brothers. Although if it leads into a feud between the two teams, I’m okay with it. The fact that we dont have separate PPVS for the brands make me wonder if it’ll be important enough to make the card though.

– Backstage, Anderson and Gallows cut a promo about their upcoming match by showing off their abs. Gallows calls Anderson Doube A for “Abs Anderson” which I got a kick out of. They show the Bludgeon Brothers as well.

– Backstage,Backstage, Renee says Nakamura requested this time explain his loss to AJ Styles this past Sunday night. Nakamura says the only reason Styles is still WWE Champion is because the referee counted very fast and didn’t count in Japanese. It’s all very unfair. Renee asks what’s Nakamura’s response to Jeff Hardy’s comments from earlier tonight. Nakamura says, “who”? Renee yells “Jeff Hardy!” Nakamura tells Renee she doesn’t have to yell. Hardy said his eyes were open now. If Hardy crosses Nakamura, Nakamura will close them for him. Heel Nakamura is still great.

Smackdown Live Tag Team Championship
The Bludgeon Brothers def. The Club
In a solid match The Bludgeon Brothers defeated The Club after a double sit-down power bomb on Anderson.
Opinion
I like that they are giving Anderson and Gallows a ton of offence and not making these total squash matches. It makes them look like viable opponents for the Bludgeon Brothers and keeps them as a strong tag team. There is a part of me that is already over the Bludgeon Brothers being tag champs as there are so many good tag teams on Smackdown Live. I could see the Bludgeon Brothers being involved in rivalries that dont involve the strap.

– Daniel Bryan makes his way out as the Bludgeon Brothers are heading to the back. They have a moment where they all stare each other down. It was interesting. It was a throwback to when Bryan had his feud with the Wyatt Family but it also made me wonder if there was some foreshadowing there.

– They show all the other participants in the gauntlet match backstage preparing.

The Gauntlet Match to determine the #1 Contender
In a competitive first round of the gauntlet, Daniel Bryan defeats Big E after he escapes a Big Ending and hits the running knee to get the pin fall victory to survive for the next round.
In yet another competitive battle between two guys I’d love to see have a lengthier feud, Daniel Bryan defeated Samoa Joe by count out, when he makes it back into the ring before Samoa Joe to beat the ten count.
Daniel Bryan is eliminated by The Miz after the Bludgeon Brothers return to hit the upside down on Bryan, allowing Miz to come out and just hit the skull crushing finale to put him away and eliminate him from the gauntlet.
In a back and fourth battle between the final two members of the gauntlet, Rusev defeated The Miz by making him tap out to the accolade receiving his first ever WWE Championship title shot.
Opinion
This was basically the last 45 minutes of the show and it was fun. Big E and Bryan had a good sprint which I enjoyed. It felt like we were stealing money from the WWE, by getting Bryan vs Joe on free TV even if it was just a teaser. I’d love to see them have a longer rivalry in the future. It was also the smart and safe choice to have their round end with a count-out. They really made it seem like Bryan was gonna go all the way at this point, so the Bludgeon Brothers returning to attack him was shocking and really got a reaction from the pro-Bryan crowd. The Miz was the right choice to steal that victory from Bryan as they have that never ending rivalry right thats being put on the back burner for the time being. It was also a smart way to eliminate Bryan while giving Miz some of his heat back. I actually was expecting The Miz to win from the point forward but marked out when Rusev did because he deserves it. It was definitely Rusev Day today. The match was filled with twists and turns and I enjoyed it.

– AJ Styles come out after the match and has a stand off with Rusev with the title placed between them. They shake hands and then Aiden English comes in for a handshake, but punks Styles on hand shake, leading to him getting punched in the face as Smackdown goes off the air. This was funny. I concur.

Final Thoughts
This episode of Smackdown was action packed and fun. There were still stars missing as per usual such as Lana, Charlotte, Almas, Orton and etc. However they did a great job with what they showcased tonight. There were new angles born and old ones revisited. It was another fun episode of Smackdown Live that flew by because I was entertained throughout the entire thing. They did a great job starting to build up towards Extreme Rules and making me anticipate next weeks episode. I want to know what the Bludgeon Brothers motive was to attack Bryan? Whats next for the Miz and was he involved with that happening? Will Nakamura and Styles cross paths? Will Becky Lynch continue her road to redemption when Charlotte is back around? Will Asuka get her revenge on Carmella and Ellsworth? Whats next with sAnity and will the Usos come back at them? Whats next for Almas? Smackdown’s doing a good job right now.
Rating – 7/10