Smackdown Live Review 07/02/2019

Live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio,Texas.

– Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves are on commentary. They discuss what happened to Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley last night on Raw while also giving us medical updates on them.

The Kevin Owens Show w/ Shane McMahon, Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler
Kevin Owens welcomes his guest tonight, Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre. Shane McMahon gets Greg Hamilton to introduce him better than Owen did. Owens shows footage of The Undertaker’s return to Raw last night. Shane mocks Undertaker. Owens asks Shane if he is scared. Shane says he has no reason to be. He is on a hot streak. Shane has run through Miz, Reigns, and other. Shane can’t lose. The match at Extreme Rules is now a no holds barred match. McIntyre says everyone knows what he is capable of in a regular match but now its no holds barred. This will be a vicious, physical assault like no one has seen before. Owens asks the truck to replay the video. Footage of McIntyre and Shane running out of the ring when Undertaker showed up plays. Owens says in that video it looked like Shane may have been a tiny bit scared. He mocks Shane and Mcintyre for jumping into the crowd as soon as Undertaker’s music hit. Shane tells Owens to read the cards as they agreed upon. Owens starts to read the cards but Owens says he has a better question. Owens asks Shane how it felt to return to WWE after seven years just to lose to the Undertaker. McIntyre gets in Owens’ face. Dolph Ziggler interrupts but before he can speak Owens tells him to shut up about it “shoulda been him” and it should have been him eight years ago but he dropped the ball. Owens says it should be Owens. Ziggler and Owens both demand a WWE title shot. Shane says no. Shane books Owens and Ziggler vs. Heavy Machinery. The winner will be added to the Smackdown tag title match at Extreme Rules.
My Opinion
Kevin Owens using his cue cards to remember words like “world” and to finish off Undertaker’s name. This started off as a decent segment but lost itself near the end. Kevin Owens was clearly the star of this segment making everything just a bit more entertaining. I dont expect anything less from Mr. Entertainment. I also enjoy the fact that he technically is a heel but that doesn’t mean he has to get a long with Mcintyre and Shane McMahon who he has a long history with. They had the opportunity to book us a banger Owens vs Mcintyre match here which I dont think we’ve gotten yet but instead we had Ziggler come out. This led to the weird tag match booked for the main event. It’s weird only because I dont see any reason why Ziggler and Owens would even want to in to be included in the match for the tag titles when they both clearly wanted a WWE Championship shot.

– Kayla Braxton stops Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowen for a quick question as they head to the ring. Kayla asks Bryan  about their reaction to Shane McMahons announcement about the main event tonight and the match at Extreme Rules. Bryan says his reaction is that Shane McMahon has been making a ton of poor decisions as of late but that they have to accept them because their management decision. He says that Shane is making it mathematically more difficult for them to retain their championship at Extreme Rules but mocks Kayla by telling her that she knows nothing about math. Bryan says they will still walk out the planet’s tag team champions.

– Kayla approached Woods and Big E to ask them how they feel about the tag team title match at Extreme Rules becoming a triple threat match. Xavier Woods talks about how that means they don’t have to be pinned or submitted to lose and Big E talks about how they’re going to still win and get back what is theirs. Big E breaks into his New Day introduction to end the interview.

Daniel Bryan w/ Erick Rowen def. Big E w/ Xavier Woods
In a solid match up, Daniel Bryan defeated Big E after Rowen got involved getting the best of E and Woods, which eventually led to Bryan hitting the running knee on Big E for the win.
My Opinion
This was a solid match between two solid competitors. I enjoyed it and am totally fine with the finish. Rowen getting involved and allowing Bryan to pick up the win, perfectly defines their partnership. I am still waiting for custom planet friendly tag team title belts.

– Kayla Braxton interviews R-Truth who lost his 24/7 Championship last night on Raw to Drake Maverick. Kayla keeps trying to show the footage but Truth keeps telling her not to do that. They still air it. Truth starts talking about his honeymoon and how he never got to go on it. Truth said what’s better than two people on a honeymoon? Three people. Truth says he heard that Hornswoggle (Maverick) and his wife are right here in San Antonio and he’s going to get his 7-11 European Championship back. This was quality stuff.

– Alexa Bliss tells Nikki Cross that she is going to host tonight’s “Moment of Bliss” with special guest Bayley. Nikki says she’s not ready for that but Alexa convinces her that she is.

A Moment of Bliss w/ Bayley
Nikki Cross comes out to host “A Moment of Bliss.” Nikki starts off by saying she has nothing but love for Alexa Bliss. Nikki Cross says its an honour to host this show and that she is going to speak slow because she knows she has an accent. Nikki Cross introduces her guest Bayley. Cross first asks Bayley why she calls Alexa Bliss a liar. Bayley says its because Alexa Bliss is a liar. Cross defends Bliss by saying that she is nothing but genuine. Bayley brings up that Cross beat her last week and defeated Carmella on Raw when Alexa couldn’t. Bayley then asks Cross why she isn’t the one getting the championship shot rather than Alexa Bliss under those circumstances. Cross gets upset and asks Bayley why she isn’t in the ring right now facing her. Bayley says if that’s a challenge, she accepts it.
My Opinion
I can’t get behind Bayley on the mic like ever. This was alright but not great. It served its purpose. I thought we’d see Alexa come out at some point but that wasn’t the case. Nikki Cross hosted the entire show and it just led to a match. 

Bayley def. Nikki Cross
In a decent back and fourth match, Bayley defeated Nikki Cross after hitting a Bayley-to-Belly on Cross for the win. 
My Opinion
Bayley got her win back and now nobody can question why Cross isn’t getting a title shot over Bliss. It was alright. I’m just not invested into Bayley whatsoever to really care. The Smackdown Live women’s division feels meh right now.

– Kofi Kingston is shown heading to the ring for a face-to-face segment with Samoa Joe. He’s throwing pancakes around which I really wish he wouldn’t do after being choked out by Joe twice in the past week. Get serious champ. 

– Mustafa Ali promo about the chase and how its real. Ali says everyone chases the WWE Championship for fame, money and power. Ali says he wants to become champion to bring change. He wants to bring change to million of minds to who think where they’re from, what they believe in or what their name is defines them. He wants people who have a name like his, look  like him and has a story like his to have their minds change to destroy the lies that society has created. Ali says change is coming. I dig it.

Face-to-Face w/ Kofi Kingston & Samoa Joe
Joe tells Kayla Braxton to leave the ring so there isn’t any collateral damage. Joe says Kingston isn’t the nice guy everyone thinks he is. Kingston is using these people just like Joe is. In a few years, Joe wouldn’t be surprised if Woods wasn’t reduced to just being Kingston’s hypeman. Big E. can be Kingston’s butler. Kingston says he won the title and defended it all by himself. Kingston says they should talk about Joe. Kington reminds Joe that he lost the United States title to Ricochet. Joe is always running around hiding and attacking people. Kingston tells Joe that he ass is too big to be playing hide and seek. Kingston isn’t mad at Joe. Kingston gets it. Joe is jealous. Jealous Joe. Joe wants to do an experiment. Joe tells Kingston to shake his hand. If Kingston can put his ego aside. Joe says he will also guarantee the safety of Kingston and everyone he holds dear leading up to Extreme Rules. Kingston hesitates. Joe exclaims that Kingston is going to show everyone the man he really is. Kingston gives Joe the finger. Joe tries to attack but runs right into the Trouble in Paradise.
My Opinion
This was a really good face-to-face confrontation. Joe was being Joe, while Kofi didn’t seem phased by any of it. Kingston continued to get under Joe’s skin by playing it cool against his words and attacks. Joe tries to prove that he isn’t doing what Kofi expects him to do and offers to shake K0fi’s hand promising not to attack anyone that matters to him before Extreme Rules. Instead, Kofi flipped the bird at Joe just taunting him even more. I like what they’re trying to do here by showing this other more fearless side of Kofi Kingston. Once again the WWE seems to be pushing for a more edgier product with swear words and middle fingers.

– Sara Schrieber is backstage with Heavy Machinery. Sara asks Tucker and Otis about their match later tonight. They talk about how they’re not a team and how they have never won matches as a team like Heavy Machinery has. Tucker talks about how they scout all their opponents and do their research. Otis says at Extreme Rules that Heavy Machinery gets SMACK! As in the Smackdown Live tag team titles.

– Bobby Lashley talks about what happened with Braun Strowman last night on Raw. Lashley says that Braun knew exactly what he was doing and he got the worst of it as he should have. Lashley says next time he sees that son of a bitch, he’s not going to send him to the hospital but he’s going to send him to the morgue. This might have been Lashley’s best promo in ages, they’re still going for edgy which has Heyman vibes to it and I automatically thought of Arn Anderson with the morgue line. Who else remembers that promo about the NWO on Nitro?

Andrade w/ Zelina Vega def. Apollo Crews 
In a competitive match, Andrade defeats Apollo Crews after a hammerlock ddt. Zelina Vega did get involved to throw Apollo off his game and help Andrade pick up the win decisive victory.
My Opinion
This was a solid match with the right guy going over. Andrade needs to pick up more wins at any means necessary to regain his momentum and to move back up the card. I do want to see Apollo do better too but I think I am just more of an Andrade fan. I hope they don’t turn this into one of those feuds with 50/50 booking where Apollo gets his win back next week.

– Kevin Owens approaches Dolph Ziggler who his taping his hands to talk about their upcoming match. Kevin says that there is a very small chance that this going to work unless they have a game plan. Owens tells Ziggler to stand in the corner and look pretty while he does all the work. Ziggler tells Owens to let him do what he does best, show off while Owens stands on the side with no hot dogs. Kevin Owens brings up that maybe Shane McMahon has a point because both Ziggler and himself haven’t succeeded at their opportunties since returning and their track record hasn’t been great. Owens says they’re both pretty good on their own but maybe together they can be something. Owens says its worth a shot to actually try. Ziggler says he’s done way worse so they can go out there, be professional and maybe win. Ziggler says no hot dogs under his breathe, Owens comes back to say c’mon and Ziggler says maybe after.

– Ember Moon is heading to the ring to face Mandy Rose and is wished luck by Carmella for her upcoming match.

Ember Moon def. Mandy Rose w/ Sonya Deville
In a quick but good match, Ember Moon defeated Mandy Rose following an eclipse for the win. Sonya Deville consoles Mandy Rose after the match.
Opinion
How the tables have turned. Prior to Wrestlemania, it looked as if Mandy Rose was on her way to winning the Smackdown Women’s Championship but now Ember Moon seems to be picking up momentum on Smackdown Live. I still feel like the women’s division on both shows feels like its on a low right now even though they have plethora of talented women.

– Shelton Benjamin is shown backstage and an interviewer asks him who he thinks is going to win the WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules. Benjamin looks around confused only to see something and crack a smile. Very cryptic.

– The New Day and the Planet’s Tag Team champions are on commentary for this upcoming match. Graves asks why The New Day gets their own announce table while Bryan and Rowen who are the champions don’t. He apologizes on behalf of the WWE. Bryan talks about not wanting the New Day to win the tag titles again to make a joke of the division. Xavier goes back and forth with him about everything they brought to the tag team division during the entrances. Honestly, having Bryan and The New Day going back and forth on commentary was really entertaining. It led to the New Day attacking Rowen and Bryan at ringside causing a chaotic brawl. Rowen choke slams Xavier through the special New Day announcers table at ringside before we go to commercial break.

Winners to be added to Smackdown Live Tag Team Title Match at Extreme Rules
Heavy Machinery def. Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler 
The match gets restarted after the commercial break. In an entertaining tag team main event, Heavy Machinery defeats Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler after some msicommunication allowing Otis and Tucker to hit the compactor double team move to pick up the victory.
Following the match Owens hits Ziggler with a stunner and starts yelling that Smackdown Live is his show.
My Opinion
Heavy Machinery will now be added to the tag team title match at Extreme Rules which will be a triple threat including The New Day and the Planet’s Tag Team Champions, Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowen. I think this was the smart choice because it allows Heavy Machinery to continue to become more prominent as a tag team in the division. While Owens and Ziggler continue as single stars as they should. I dont think I could get behind Ziggler and Owens as a team and to be honest, I didn’t want to see it. The miscommunication that led to Ziggler super kicking Owens which ultimately cost them the match was a smart way to book the finish. I don’t know if this leads us into a Ziggler/Owens feud but I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next for both guys.

Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, due to personal family issues, Captain Charisma or better known as SockMonkeyMike was unable to write this weeks Smackdown Live review. I actually got excited at the opportunity to write it since last night’s Raw was really good and the first Raw I watched from start to finish since Wrestlemania. It flew by and really felt like it had Paul Heyman’s touch on it. The announcement that Heyman would be executive director for Raw and Bischoff would be executive director for Smackdown is not even a week old and the excitement is at a high after last nights Raw.
I thought tonight’s Smackdown would feel different under Bischoff’s rule but I am not even sure he’s even started in his new role and rumours are swirling that he won’t until after Extreme Rules. Tonight’s Smackdown was good but it wasn’t great. It had some decent matches and memorable moments but did’t feel that different. There was no new Firefly Funhouse, no follow-up on who knocked on Aleister Black’s door and continuation to what we saw with Finn and Shinsuke last week. I think after Raw last night, my expectations for Smackdown were really high. It was a good episode of Smackdown but not a great one and that is that. Check it out though, the main event and the face to face were enjoyable.