Smackdown Live Review 09/04/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. Last week we saw things heat up between The Miz, Maryse, Bryan and Brie Bella. This week we’ll see how the two couples get at each other leading to their big match at Hell in a Cell. The Bar has advanced to the match next week to name the new number one contenders for the tag team championships but who will they face? This week we find out when The Usos, SanIty and Rusev Day face off against each other. What will happen between Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton this week? Will Samoa Joe show up at AJ Styles house? Will the mind games in those two feuds continue? Will Charlotte Flair accept Becky Lynch’s challenge for Hell in a Cell in a Womens Championship match? Lets find out.

Smackdown comes to us live from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI.

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

Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella
Renee Young shows Bryan and Brie footage of Miz and Maryse asking them to come down to the ring before the arena was open. Miz says they are trying to save them the embarrassment of being beaten in front of an arena full of people Miz and Maryse say Brie and Bryan are scared of them. Both Miz and Maryse drop the mic and walk away. Bryan says Maryse and Miz are nothing but a couple of cowards. Brie says cowards talk. They didn’t come out here to say what they would do to Miz and Maryse. They don’t want to wait until Hell in a Cell. Bryan and Brie demand Miz and Maryse come out now. Renee tells them both that Miz and Maryse are not in the building. Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega come out on the stage. Almas says he wants a match with Bryan right now.
Opinion
I loved how the empty arena promo that The Miz and Maryse cut. It was clever and really cowardish of them. I was hoping we would get a more intense promo bringing Miz and Maryse out but instead we get Almas and Vega. I really want Almas to get his feud instead of being a pawn in other feuds. Hopefully after Hell in a Cell he will. Solid way to kick off the show.

Daniel Bryan w/ Brie Bella def.  Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega
In a competitive match Daniel Bryan defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas after Daniel Bryan counters the hammerlock DDT with a headlock followed by a running knee.
After the match, Brie attacks Vega. Miz and Maryse appear on the ‘Tron. Miz says he an Maryse are taking the night off. They are going out on a date.
Opinion
This was another great match between these two and I would love to see a competitive angle between these two in the future. I appreciated how last week they protected Almas by having Miz and Maryse interfere but this week they allowed Bryan to pick up the win. I guess this helps with Bryan gaining some momentum heading into Hell in a Cell but I wish it wasn’t at the expense of Almas.

– Backstage, Bryan and Brie are on their way to to the restaurant Miz and Maryse are at.

Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch
Backstage both Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch are in separate locations for an interview. Flair says that Becky Lynch was the one to say to be the best you got to beat the best and because she lost she is blaming Charlotte. Lynch mocks Flair and Charlotte asks if this is another pity party. Flair says she looks at Lynch as an equal but Lynch put herself in Charlotte’s shadow. Flair says she won the Smackdown Live Women’s Championship but lost her best friend. Lynch has to know that if the roles were reversed she would have expected Charlotte to do the same thing. Flair says Lynch could have asked for a title match. Lynch tells Flair “screw you” and says she is not a charity case. Becky Lynch brings up taking out Charlotte last week and Charlotte challenges her to do it face to face. Lynch is done asking from here on out she is taking. Becky Lynch says it was a full time job being Charlotte’s friend, managing her insecurities, reinsuring Charlotte that she was good enough to wear that robe and carry that last name. The only thing that Becky Lynch cares about now is taking her title back and standing back on top of the mountain. Charlotte claps and says there is that straight fire she’s been talking about for a long long time and accepts Becky Lynch’s challenge for a match at Hell in a Cell. Charlotte says that Becky Lynch was never second best to her as a best friend but in the ring she is. Becky Lynch calls Charlotte delusional and Becky Lynch tells Charlotte to shine up the title for her cause she’s never gonna see it again. Charlotte asks Becky what her excuse is going to be this time when she beats her.
Opinion
I really liked this promo. It felt real and personal. Its everything the feud between Sasha and Bayley should be but it  isn’t. It’s still very clear that the fans are on team Becky even though Charlotte is supposed to be the babyface here. These guys took real shots at each other and I am looking forward to their match.

Naomi def. Peyton Royce w/ Billie Kay
In a quick match Naomi defeated Peyton Royce after hitting her with a sunset flip.
After the match the IIconics attack Naomi but Asuka came to the aid of Naomi. Asuka absolutely destroys Royce and Kay.
Opinion
Its great to see Asuka back. If you listened to our Squared Circle DNA podcast episode on Becky Lynch, I talked about how smart it would be to get Asuka teaming with someone such as Naomi to feud against the IIconics and thats basically what is going down. Hopefully, Asuka can redeem herself after her unfortunate losses to Carmella. At the same time, I want to see the IIconics prosper as well.

– There is a video package focusing on the Randy Orton/Jeff Hardy feud. It was very well done. These are two legends but I’m still trying to get myself hyped for it.

-Backstage, Miz and Maryse walk into Paige’s office and say they are looking for Bryan and Brie. Paige tells Miz that he has a match tonight against anyone who wants to face them. Paige tells Miz if he doesn’t have the match neither of them should bother ever coming back to SD Live.

-Backstage, R-Truth walks up to Maryse and thinks she is Carmella. R-Truth challenges (Carmella) Maryse to a match. Maryse says she’s not that Staten Island trash. Miz tells R-Truth to never speak to his wife again. Miz says R-Truth hasn’t been relevant since he tagged with Miz. R-Truth tell. (Carmella) Maryse that he doesn’t know what she sees in Miz and walks away.

Samoa Joe
Joe says hello to Wendy. Since Styles isn’t here he must be taking Joe’s threats seriously. Joe says he knows Styles is at home with the door locked and a baseball bat waiting for Joe. Joe isn’t a monster but he wants to make sure Wendy knows Joe keeps his promises. Joe’s actions have forced Styles to come home and actually care about his family. Joe wants Styles’ daughter Annie to get used to her dad being home. At Hell in a Cell, a very bad man is going to take her daddy’s title. Joe is going to make Styles go night-night. Styles appears on the ‘tron and says the talking stops when you threaten a man’s family. Styles’ music hits and he walks out on the ramp. Styles hits the ring and attacks Joe. Styles tries to take Joe’s head off with a chair. Joe ducks it. Referees come to the ring. Styles dives on to Joe. Paige comes to ringside and tries to talk Styles down.
Opinion
This was a great and I enjoyed it. This feud is super personal and seeing Samoa Joe successfully get in Styles head with these mind games is great storytelling. However, I still wish they had Joe actually show up at Styles house and them have pre-taped brawl. I feel like it would have been more creative and must watch. Although, it still could happen as the road to Hell in the Cell continues.

-Backstage, Tye Dillinger is with R-Truth. Dillinger shows R-Truth that Carmella is standing over there. R-Truth has no idea that Carmella is Carmella. R-Truth asks Carmella if she wants to accompany him to the ring in his match against The Miz tonight. R-Truth tells Not Carmella what Maryse said about her calling her Staten Island Trash. Carmella goes nuts calling Maryse a blonde barbie bimbo. Carmella says if she wasn’t married to The Miz, she would be bagging groceries in Montreal. Mella continues by saying she has more talent in left pinky finger than Maryse has in her entire uncoordinated body and that she wants to rip her hair out and feed it to her. Dillinger asks R-Truth what he could possible teach him if he can’t even keep this stuff straight. R-Truth smiles and says he can’t teach Dillinger how to get into the main event of SD Live! R-Truth laughs and walks away.

Rusev Day w/ Lana def. The Usos & SanIty
In a solid match, Rusev Day defeated The Usos and SanIty after Rusev hit the machka kick on Eric Young for the win. Rusev Day will now face The Bar next week to name the new number one contenders for the Smackdown Live Tag Team Titles.
Opinion
This was a really good match and to be honest, I was rooting for the Usos. I am totally fine with Rusev Day winning and think the match between against The Bar next week will be really good. I do feel bad for SanIty though. I really wish they could get involved in a more high profile angle soon. Besides the brief feud with The New Day they haven’t done much since being called up.

– They announce the teams for the second Mixed Match Challenge Tournament.

Miz and Maryse
Miz says he can’t believe that after eight years he has to show everyone that he is superior to Bryan. Miz shows the footage from last week. Miz says they are tired of chasing Bryan and Brie around town. Miz calls out Bryan again and no one comes out. Carmella walks out with R-Truth.
Opinion
I love this cat and mouse game between the two couples. Once again Miz and Maryse playing the smart cowards calling out Bryan and Brie when they know they’re not there. I really enjoyed Carmella with R-Truth. It was funny stuff.

R-Truth w/ Carmella def. The Miz w/ Maryse
In a fun main event, R-Truth defeated The Miz when Miz was going for the Skull Crushing Finale but was distracted by Daniel Bryan’s music allowing R-Truth to roll him up.
After the match, Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella attack The Miz and Maryse. Vega appears out of nowhere and pulls Brie out of the ring. Almas sends Bryan into the ring steps. Almas and Vega send Brie and Bryan into the ring. Bryan and Brie put Almas and Vega in stereo Yes Locks as Miz and Maryse look on.
Opinion
R-Truth was in the main event. What year is this? This was a fun match and the finish was surprising. I actually didn’t see Truth winning but the way he did made sense. I’m looking forward to see how he reacts to this victory next week on Smackdown and curious to see if Carmella continues to hang out with the Truth. The show went off the air in perfect fashion with Brie and Bryan standing tall. I do dislike the fact that once again it was at the expense of Almas and Vega but it is what it is.

Final Thoughts
Smackdown Live was a step down from last week in my opinion. It was still REALLY good and entertaining from start to finish but I feel like the insanity on RAW and the appearances of Shawn Michaels and Undertaker really made Raw stand out more to me than Smackdown. If Joe did happen to show up at AJ’s house tonight, I might think differently. I enjoyed the show following the angle between the couples from the beginning to end. The R-Truth stuff was entertaining. The Joe and Styles stuff was solid. Asuka returning was cool. Becky and Charlotte got more personal. Hell everything feels so personal on Smackdown Live and I’m looking forward to next week.
Rating – 8/10