Smackdown Live Review 10/16/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. ITS SMACKDOWN 1000! It is the thousandth episode of Smackdown Live meaning this will be an episode full on nostalgia and unforgettable moments. I’ve been here watching Smackdown since it kicked off in 1999 so its crazy to think we finally made it here. Unfortunately this is not a 3-hour show and still a two hour show but there is a lot confirmed. It is confirmed that Evolution, Rey Mysterio, Edge and Undertaker are confirmed for this show. There are two more qualifying matches for the WWE World Cup confirmed as well with Mysterio taking on Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev facing off against The Miz. Many people question if The Rock will make an appearance since the show was named after one f his catchphrases. Will there be any other surprise appearances? How will they continue to build the storyline and angles going into Crown Jewel and Evolution? Lets find out!

Smackdown comes to us live from the Capital One Arena in Washington DC.

Smackdown Live opened with a special video package highlighting a lot of its greatest moments with Panic At The Disco!’s “Victorious” song. Nostalgia hit me right off the bat. I love you Smackdown. LOL

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

Truth TV
R-Truth welcomes us to Truth TV on Smackdown Live 1000. Truth starts talking about all the memorable Truth TV moments. Carmella reminds Truth that they only had one episode and got cancelled. Carmella and Truth break into a dance break. The fans chant “one more time” for another dance break. Truth starts to introduce his guest who he said doesn’t need an introduction before they break into another dance break. They finally introduce Stephanie McMahon.
Stephanie McMahon thanks Truth and Carmella for the introduction. Stephanie reminds us all how she was the first ever general manager of Smackdown. She says she had a vision and its so great to see that vision come to life on the 1000th episode of Smackdown. Truth goes to ask a question but Shane McMahon’s music hits. Shane McMahon gets a hell of an ovation and Stephanie asks why she never gets any love. Shane welcomes everyone to Smackdown and the crowd goes wild. Shane McMahon says Smackdown 1000 would not be possible without all of the fans both in attendance and all around the world. Stephanie starts complaining saying Shane is pandering and the fans just buy into it. Shane welcomes Stephanie to the “A” show. Stephanie says that Smackdown is “a” show but Raw is first. Steph says they hold things to a higher standard on Raw and they wouldn’t kick it off with Truth TV. A Truth TV chant breaks out. Shane says that what they do here on Smackdown live if put on things that people want to see..Vince McMahon music hits. Vinny Mac comes out next. The fans sing along with his theme song. Vince says that nobody wants to see Shane and Stephanie bicker and fight and they want to be entertained. Vince says the “E” stands for entertainment. The fans are doing the “what” chant, but Stephanie reminds them that they dont need to what because Vince is wearing a hearing aid. They break out into another dance break.
Opinion
TRUTH TV IS BACK BABY and I enjoyed every random dance break. I still enjoy the pairing of Truth and Carmella.  It was great to get some banter between Stephanie and Shane again. Its crazy how much more the fans love Shane over Stephanie. Clearly anytime Shane is gone for a period of time we miss him. Vince coming out was a pleasant surprise and I knew right away this was gonna end in another dance break. I enjoyed it. Carmella is a babe.

– AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan make their way out to the ring.

AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan def. The Usos
In a competitive match, The Usos defeated Bryan and Styles after Bryan hit Styles by accident allowing the Usos super kick both guys for the win. 
Opinion
This is one of those great matches that I never thought about before. Styles and Bryan as a team is great and to put them against a great team like The Usos is awesome. We haven’t seen the Usos much on Smackdown Live as of late but I feel like they’ve really been a huge part of Smackdown since the 2016 draft so I’m glad they were involved with this show. I loved the part where Styles and Bryan both had their submissions on the Usos before a commercial break. I actually thought the match was over then cause they must have a lot they want to put on this show with only two hours. I was shocked to see the Usos pick up the win but it made sense with the way they had it go down to build tension between Bryan and Styles heading into Crown Jewel.

– Backstage. we see Paige with Vickie Guerrero. Teddy Long appears dancing and then does John Laurenitis appears. Vickie yells EXCUSE ME! The point is that they were all Smackdown GM’s at some point.

Evolution
Evolution’s music hits and they make their way out. All four guys looking dope. Randy Orton and Ric Flair are suited and booted. Triple H and Batista dressed in their own unique style. They get a great reception from the crowd. Triple H starts talking about 1000 episodes and asks the fans how you get here. He says you epitomize it with Evolution. Flair takes the mic and “WOO”s and says he’s more familiar with that 10,000 number. Randy Orton speaks about how he started with these gentlemen and it was great walking down to the ring to that music with these men. Orton then goes to insult Triple H, Ric Flair and Batista by saying while Trips is running the show, Flair is living through his daughters accomplishments and Batista is spending time in a make-up chair, he is still busting his ass day in and day out.
Batista speaks to a huge ovation. Dave says he wanted to enjoy this night and that he is going to ignore what Randal said. Batista said he wants to say four things. He wanted to be here tonight because its Smackdown 1000. The blue brand and a brand he’s proud to say he helped build. Batista said the second thing he wanted to say was one of the reasons he wanted to be there is because its in his hometown where he grew up as a poor kid who saw more violence than any kid should see and now he’s standing in the ring on Smackdown Live. Batista said the third thing us that he wanted to be there for all of the fans whether they loved or hated him, called him Bluetista, called his Bootisa or whatever. He said he loves all the fans and all he wanted to do was entertain us and wanted to be here for us. The last thing he wanted to say is that the final reason he wanted to be here is for these three guys he’s in the ring with. He pumps up Evolution and says it has never been done before and hasn’t been done since. Batista says Orton is a thirteen time World Champion and says the first time he laid eyes on him, he knew he was special. He said everyone knew he was special. Batista said Orton has more talent in his pinky than half of the guys who stand in this ring. Batista starts to hype up Flair. He starts quoting so many of Flairs catchphrases and saying. He says there is nothing he can tell the people about Flair that they dont already know or can he. Everyone starts laughing and Batista tells Flair to keep that thing in his pants. Batista than gets to Triple H. Batista says that this man is a 14-time World Champion and that he is this business. Batista says there is nothing that Triple H hasn’t done in this business…but beat him. The fans start chanting YES and ONE MORE MATCH. There was a moment of tension until Triple H and Batista hugged. Flair WOOS one more time.
Opinion
This segment gave me chills from the moment their music hit. I am such an Evolution mark that I couldn’t contain my excitement. Its also rare that we get all four members on the same page. Everyone played their roles perfectly. I loved that Orton reverted back to being that arrogant prick and the other guys just rubbed it off as if its just typical Orton attitude. Batista being on this episode felt extra special since he’s rarely there these days. I love how they gave him time to address everything he wanted too. Also the foreshadowing of a potential Batista/Triple H match at this upcoming Wrestlemania by mentioning that Triple H has never beaten him which lead to an awesome moment between the two. I loved every moment of this segment. This was Evolution’s first time all together on Smackdown and they made it memorable.

– They share a tweet from The Rock about Smackdown 1000. I guess he’s not showing up.

WWE World Cup Qualifying Match
The Miz def. Rusev w/Lana
Kurt Angle joins the commentary team for the match. Angle is a former Smackdown GM and huge part of the blue brand back in the day. In a quick match, The Miz defeated The Miz when Aiden English got involved allowing Miz to roll-up Rusev by pulling the tights. Lana gets in English’s face and kicks him in the balls. Rusev attacks English after the match.
Opinion
I knew with all these nostalgic talking segments booked for this show that a lot of the matches were going to be cut short. They did it smartly with this match though continuing the angle between Rusev and English to allow this match to be short. Miz moves forward in the World Cup tournament and Rusev murders English. It was also a smart way to get Angle on the show to have him on commentary. Angle has already advanced and qualified for the tournament.

– Curt Hawkins is backstage with Zack Ryder and they have Zack Ryder on the phone.

Cutting Edge w/ Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Edge makes his way out to a huge ovation. One of Smackdown’s biggest stars. Edge said he’s glad to be here and that Smackdown always felt like his show. He said some of his greatest accomplishments happened here. He cashed in the MITB on the Undertaker, he wrestled Eddie Guerrero in a match that people still talk about today, he married Vickie Guerrero, he divorced Vickie Guerrero. The fans reacted accordingly. He says the show means something to him and he said the last couple of weeks he’s been watching the show and he had to address it. Edge said for the first time ever the Rated R Superstar is going to try to be Smackdown’s moral compass.
Edge introduced Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. The fans chant for Becky Lynch. Edge said he’ll get to Charlotte but first he wanted to talk to Becky. Edge said Becky reminds him a lot of himself. Becky said she appreciates it as she model a lot of her career behind Edges. Edge said he understands what Becky is going through because he wasnt supposed to be in the main event, on the posters and he had to fight, claw and bite for every opportunity he got in this company. Becky tells Edge that he gets it as a “YOU DESERVE IT” chant breaks out. Edge then tells Becky that he understands that she thinks that she made the right choice by throwing away her friendship with Charlotte but he says she didn’t make the right choice. Edge said he stepped and crushed on all of his friendships and relationships that got in his way to the top and he burned all of the bridges. Edge said that you can win all the championships and be on all the posters but in the end its going to stain her soul. Edge said he still sees a good person in Becky and how it ends is with her sitting at home staring at all her accomplishments on the wall all by herself. Edge said the kicker is that she won’t even like herself. Becky says that Edge is right and she doesn’t like herself…I LOVE MYSELF. Becky tells Edge to get out for he champions ring and to be careful that he doesn’t hurt his neck again getting through those ropes. Charlotte’s music hit.
Charlotte asked Becky if she had to go there but actually it doesn’t matter because all Becky cares about is that Championship. Becky proudly holds up her belt. Charlotte mocks Becky for running in their last two matches. Charlotte asks Becky asks Becky if she loves who she has become because she’s going to love what she is going to do to her next. The two start brawling.
Opinion
It was so great to see Edge on Smackdown again. I would have loved for him to be the GM one day. The promo between Edge and Becky Lynch was great. It was the first time I noticed the comparisons between the two. They continue to try to make Becky Lynch seem like a selfish heel but the fans continue to love her and boo Charlotte. They even had Becky Lynch insult Edge about his neck injury that forced him to retire but the fans just love this more selfish version of Lynch. I can agree that Becky with a chip on her shoulder only made her more badlass. This ended in a brawl as the rivalry continues. I really loved the Edge and Becky part of this segment and the brawl was a good way to close it out. Smart use of Edge and the Cutting Edge.

– Backstage, we see Rey Mysterio heading to the ring and stopping to have a conversation with Jeff Hardy.

Smackdown Live Tag Team Championship
The New Day (C) def. The Bar
Jerry Lawler and Booker T are on commentary for this match with their own special  New Day announce table decorated with Booty-Os and pancakes. In a helluva tag team title match, Sheamus and Cesaro defeated The New Day when The Bar was going to put Kofi Kingston through the special announce table as The Big Show’s music hit stopping them which lead to the Big Show choke slamming Kofi Kingston through the table. This lead to Sheamus being able to hit the brough kick on Big E for the win. The Bar are the new Smackdown tag team champions.
Opinion
HAHAHA it would not be a stroll down memory lane without a Big Show heel turn. This was great tag match and I almost thought it was the main event before I remembered that Mysterio still had a match. The Bar has had a lukewarm run on the blue brand and this win was long overdue. It also gives Smackdown 1000 that one moment for the history books. I am a fan of The New Day but I have said a million times they’re so over they dont need the titles but at the time the titles needed them when The Bludgeon Brothers got hurt. I’m glad they’re on The Bar now. I couldnt be happier. LOL BIG SHOW TURNED AGAIN…WHAT A LEGEND

– We get a video message from John Cena talking about Smackdown 1000 and the importance of Smackdown. He talks about how it gave new kids opportunities such as Dave Batista, Randy Orton and himself. He talks about how far he’s come since making his debut on Smackdown. He thanks all the fans and says he is so grateful for being invisible for so many years on Smackdown and thanks the fans again. Remember the days when Cena would mock the Rock for joining us via message or satellite. LOL good times.

WWE World Cup Qualifying Match
Rey Mysterio def. Shinsuke Nakamura
In a fun and innovative match, Rey Mysterio defeated Shinsuke Nakamura after a 619 to qualify for the WWE World Cup tournament.
Opinion
Well that was super fun. Mysterio is back and looks like he hasn’t lost a step. The fans chanted “you still got it” making me question if they know that he hasn’t stopped wrestling but just hasn’t been in the WWE for months. This was a dream match in many ways. To think we had all these rumours about Mysterio wrestling in NJPW in a singles match some point down the line and his first match back with the WWE he worked against Shinsuke Nakamura. This was fun and there were some innovation forms of offence that we haven’t seen from Mysterio before in the WWE. Its crazy that for a World Cup tournament, all the participants are from America. LOL

The Undertaker
Undertaker’s gong hits as Rey Mysterio is still in the ring celebrating. Everyones clears the ring as The Undertaker makes his way down. The announcers go over how Smackdown was Undertakers yard for so many years and promote the tag match at Crown Jewel. Undertaker says at Crown Jewel, he has three words for DX…REST IN PEACE. Undertaker’s music hits and he bounces. Undertaker does his one arm pose at the top of the stage.
Opinion
LOL. Hey at least everyone got to see the Undertaker. It was short and sweet and no more had to be said.  I got worried when I looked at the time but he said his piece.

Final Thoughts
Smackdown Live was filled with nostalgia and memorable moments. It really could have benefitted from being three hours because some things did feel rushed. However, the stuff that mattered didnt. Seeing Evolution and the moment between Batista and Triple H took me back to being a teenager. The Cutting Edge segment was money and Edge helped elevate the feud and Becky Lynch’s character by creating a comparison between the two. The opening segment was fun and made the night feel special. Miz qualified for the World Cup tournament and so did a returning Rey Mysterio in a dream match against Shinsuke Nakamura. The Bar finally won the tag team titles and Undertaker sent a message. Those are a lot of amazing things that happened for one episode of Smackdown even if it did feel rushed. If you didn’t check it out, do it! Enjoy the ride with this special 1000th episode.
Rating – 8/10