Smackdown Live Review 09/11/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. This is the go home show for Smackdown Live before Hell in a Cell this Sunday. Three matches were announced for this show ahead of time. Jeff Hardy will take on Shinsuke Nakamura and I am sure Randy Orton will be lurking around. Brie Bella will go one-on-one with Maryse before they wrestle this Sunday in a tag match alongside their husbands. Last but not least The Bar will face off against Rusev Day to find out who the new number one contenders for the tag teams titles will be. Last week we saw R-Truth end up in the main event against the Miz with Carmella in his corner and I’m looking forward to see if they move forward with that. Things got more personal between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe last week and I expect them to get even more personal this close to Hell in a Cell. Lets find out how things went down.

Smackdown comes to us live from the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana.

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

– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown opens live from the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana. Greg Hamilton is in the ring and he asks the crowd to stand for an 11-bell salute to remember the victims of 9/11. Fans start chanting USA after the salute.

Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy says he has had many demons over the years. This Sunday Hardy will face the serpent in his favorite playground. Orton may be a demon but Hardy is a daredevil. Hardy has no fear. Hardy will make Orton obsolete. tonight Hardy will cleanse a demon from his past, Shinsuke Nakamura. Jeff tells the fans to enjoy the show.
Opinion
This was a soft way to open the show heading into the match that followed. It addressed their feud since they didn’t do much with Hardy and Orton last week besides just a really well put together video package. They got one last promo out of Hardy before this Sunday.1

Jeff Hardy def. Shinsuke Nakamura
In a competitive match, Jeff Hardy defeats Shinsuke Nakamura by DQ when Randy Orton interfered as Jeff Hardy was going for the Swanton Bomb and pushed him off the top rope.
After the match, Orton slams Hardy’s head into the ring steps. Orton sends Hardy back into the ring. Orton hits Hardy with a chair over and over again. Hardy grabs the chair from Orton. Hardy wears Orton out with the chair. Hardy Twist of Fates Orton. Hardy crushes Orton with a swanton for good measure.
Opinion
This was a great match between two super talented guys. I expected Orton to get involved since Hell in a Cell is this Sunday. I was surprised that Hardy was the last one standing at the end of it. I’m also surprised that Shinsuke doesn’t have a match nonetheless a title defence this Sunday but thats alright. This was solid storyline progression.

– Backstage, Kayla Braxton is with The Miz and Maryse. Miz interrupts Kayla before she can finish the introduction. Miz wants Kayla to show some respect because his wife is taking the spotlight tonight. Kayla re-introduces them and says Maryse’s name first. Kayla asks if Maryse is ready for her first singles match in 7 years and they laugh at her. Maryse brags about how quickly she got back in the ring after giving birth and says she’s going to make her husband proud tonight. Miz takes shots at Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella’s marriage, and says Bryan can’t beat him. Miz says Maryse will slap the taste out of Bryan’s mouth if he thinks he can intimidate her. Miz says that would be… awesome!

– In a promo shot earlier today in an empty arena, AJ Styles says Samoa Joe knows his one weakness. Styles’ anger. Joe has gone out of his way to make this personal. After 20 years of friendship Styles knows a lot about Joe as well. Believe it or not, Joe has a family too. Styles would never go after a man’s family. When the bell rings no one has the upper hand on Styles. At Hell in a Cell, the talking stops and the intimidation ends. In five days Styles is going to show exactly how phenomenal he is

– Backstage, Flair says she asked for tonight’s match because she thrives on competition but unlike Becky Lynch, she goes out every night and doesn’t just talk about it. Flair goes on and says if there’s one person she would bet on, it’s herself. Flair says Becky will learn on Sunday at Hell In a Cell that it’s way easier to talk the talk than it is to walk the walk. Flair hopes her former best friend is watching tonight, she says. Flair delivers a “Wooooo!” and walks off.

Charlotte Flair def. Sonya Deville w/ Mandy Sacs
In a decent match, Charlotte Flair defeated Sonya Deville by making her tap out to the figure eight.
After the match, Charlotte was attacked walking up the ramp by Becky Lynch who was disguised as a fan.
Opinion
The match was to make sure Charlotte had momentum going into Hell in a Cell and it worked. The attack by Becky Lynch after the match was reminiscent to when Jericho did the same thing to Mysterio as she was disguised in the crowd as a fan. I really enjoyed it. I know it doesn’t really matter but why do I find Becky Lynch as a heel even more attractive. I’m looking forward to thieir match this Sunday.

– Backstage, Lynch says she is going break Flair’s arm after she takes her title this Sunday.

– We go to a previously recorded video by Samoa Joe. Joe has a story for everyone and it’s called Night, Night AJ, written by Joe. Joe reads the bedtime story about AJ and his family as we see recent highlights from the Joe vs. Styles feud. The last photo of the story has Joe with the WWE Title and AJ’s family. This was great.

#1 Contenders Match
Rusev Day w/ Lana def. The Bar
The New Day were at ringside for this match making pancakes and stuff. In a solid match, Rusev Day defeats The Bar when Rusev hit the machka kick on Sheamus for the win. Rusev Day celebrates after the match talking trash to New Day who are still at ringside.
Opinion
This was a great match, but I was shocked that Rusev Day won over the Bar. I was really hoping for the Bar to pick up victory here. It really sucks because The Bar hasn’t done much since being on Smackdown and I was hoping this would be their break-out moment. The match this Sunday between Rusev Day and The New Day will definitely be a good one. Looking forward to see whats next for the Bar though.

Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega def. R-Truth w/ Carmella
In a quick entertaining match, Andrade Almas defeated R-Truth when Truth gets distracted by Carmella pulling Vega off the apron allowing Almas to roll up Truth with a handful of tights.
Opinion
It’s great to see the R-Truth/Carmella pairing still together. I’m sure we’ll see more of them now that they are paired for the second mixed match challenge tournament. This was great for Andrade and Vega to get some momentum back after being used as pawns in the last couple of feuds with they were involved in. I read somewhere that Vince McMahon has been really impressed with Almas, maybe he’ll finally be able to have his own first reputable singles feud on the main roster. Hmm..maybe it’s with R-Truth? I’m a huge fan with Almas though so I’m glad to see him picking up some wins again.

– Backstage, Kayla Braxton is with Asuka. Asuka talks about returning last week to help Naomi and Naomi shows up, thanking her for having her back. They knock The IIconics and leave together to have dinner.

Brie Bella w/ Daniel Bryan def. Maryse w/ The Miz
Miz and Maryse tried stalling and having this match not happen saying they’ll see Bryan and Brie at Hell in a Cell while Brie Bella was ready for a fight. There were some words back and forth. In an exciting main event filled with drama Brie Bella defeated Maryse by DQ when the Miz got involved in the match once Brie got the yes lock on Maryse by pulling Brie out of the ring having her hit the ground hard. This led to Bryan attacking Miz and this turning into a brawl. Bryan and Brie end up standing tall in end celebrating in the ring while Miz and Maryse head up the ramp in defeat.
Opinion
This was more of a segment rather than an actual match. Maryse and The Miz played being coward heels perfectly. I’m actually okay with them not giving us an actual competitive match between these two because I think many of us are looking forward to see how they do this Sunday. I really liked Bryan and Bries matching gear in Seattle Seahawks colours. Maryse looks in great shape for just having a baby five months ago, Definitely looking forward to their match this Sunday. I like how they subtly allow the men and female get physical with each other with the women taking shots at the men. I wonder if Brie and Bryan getting the last laugh tonight Smackdown means anything for the result at Hell in a Cell.

Final Thoughts
Smackdown Live was once again entertaining from start to finish. It did make me looking forward to their contributions to this Sunday’s Hell in a Cell card. All of the feuds on Smackdown Live feel more personal and the ones that aren’t personal feel super competitive. There was a ton of storyline progression and angle advancement on this episode. Nothing really felt like filler or random. The two hours continues to be more entertaining format than the three hour marathon. If youre into the rivalries that have been going on Smackdown this past month, definitely tune into tonights episode. I’m ready for this Sunday.
Rating – 7.5/10