Smackdown Live Review 10/31/2017

Hello Misfits. It’s time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. The road to Survivor Series continues and the war for brand supremacy between Raw and Smackdown continues. The speculation that Raw might invade Smackdown is at an all-time high since Angle mentioned doing so on Raw the night before and Bryan being attacked by Kane on Raw. It was also advertised ahead of time that Samir Singh will take on AJ Styles. Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler wrestle in a  two-out-of-three falls match to qualify for the Smackdown Survivor Series team. Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura will be also wrestling for a spot on the team. Also, how will Shane address his General Manager being attacked and in what role will Halloween play on this weeks episode of Smackdown Live.

Smackdown comes to us live from Norfolk Scope Arena from Norfolk, Virginia.

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

Shane McMahon
Shane welcomes everyone to the show, and hypes Survivor Series. He says that Smackdown attacked Raw because Raw has always looked at Smackdown as the inferior brand. He says that starts at the top, with his witch of a sister Stephanie. So, despite all the odds, and the draft being stacked against them, they went live and had fun. They created the land of opportunity. They had a meeting and developed their attack strategy, and put Raw under siege. He thanks the fans and the roster but then Daniel Bryan goes to Raw last night, and he was disrespected and attacked by Kane. Where was Kurt Angle and Stephanie then? There will be hell to pay for that attack. At Survivor Series, Angle can bring his gold medal and his monster, because you will be facing Randy Orton, Shane and three of Smackdown’s best. Shane names himself the captain of Team Smackdown.
Opinion
This was a solid opening segment where Shane addressed everything he needed to address. It would have been cool to see something more like someone like Owens interrupting and mocking his decision to make himself the captain and promote his match later in the night but this was just fine. I’m sure this was done the way it was due to time constraints. It also felt like a perfect opportunity for Kurt Angle to show up too.

Team Smackdown Live Survivor Series Qualifying Match
2-0ut-3 Falls
Bobby Roode def. Dolph Ziggler
In their best match yet which was super competitive Bobby Roode defeated Dolph Ziggler winning 2 falls to 1. Ziggler scored the first fall after a super kick. Roode got the second fall on Ziggler following a sunset flip. Bobby Roode gets the last fall as well after a Glorious DDT.
Opinion
This was their best match yet and the crowd was really into it. I would consider this to be the blow off of their feud. They had some elements from their last matches too which was cool. I wonder what Ziggler does now?

– Renee interviews Roode, who cuts a fiery promo about Survivor Series, proclaiming that Smackdown will win.

– New Day (Kofi as brother Love, Big E as Akeem, and Woods as Jimmy Hart) are backstage in costume and run into Rusev and English. Rusev insults them and Halloween, and dumps out their candy as English sings Rusev Day. Big E and Rusev will face off tonight. This was great and the costumes were truly memorable. Rusev keeps using the word elated and it really cracks me up because a couple of weeks ago he didn’t have an idea what it meant when Renee stated that he must be elated after defeating Orton.

– Becky Lynch tries to fire up the Smackdown ladies for Survivor Series and a Raw invasion. Lynch says they can’t take any chances and have to be united. Ellsworth is dressed as a dog and barks at her, so Becky sprays him with water. Natalya arrives to ruin the fun and unity, and none of them seem overly impressed with her. Natalya wishes she could captain but has to single handedly represent the brand when she faces Alexa Bliss. Natalya tries to ruin the unity, claiming that they have a weak link mainly singling out Naomi and Charlotte. This was great but I was disappointed this was the only time we saw the women on the show.

Sin Cara vs. Baron Corbin
This match ended with a double count out as Sin Cara really went after Corbin after the Lone Wolf tried taking off his mask mid match a couple of times.
Opinion
I just strongly feel like WWE is trying to pull in that hispanic demographic and sell mask merch with all these random pushes to guys like Kalisto and Sin Cara. Its nothing against them but there was no build up to them being put in these positions. It also makes Corbin who finally felt relevant after winning the US Title from AJ Styles feel meh again. Also considering they’re heading to a Miz vs. Corbin match at Survivor Series and both guys got ran off this week, doesnt make either one of them look stronger than the other….however Miz ran away from Strowman, while Corbin ran away from Sin fucking Cara who’s done nothing for god knows how long.

– Renee interviews the Usos. They have Smackdown on lock, and they will prove that they are the “a-team” of this so called “b-brand.” Gable and Benjamin arrive and inform them that they get their tag title shot next week.

AJ Styles def. Samir Singh
Mahal complains about being ejected from last week’s match. He then claims that Lesnar should be afraid of him. He will beat, victimize and conquer Lesnar at Survivor Series; he will be known as the beast master. As Jinder continues, AJ Styles cuts him off by making his entrance.
In a quick match AJ Styles finishes off Samir Singh with a Styles Clash.
Post match, Jinder Mahal attacks and beats down Styles. He posts Styles and then bends him around it as Samil lays the boots to Styles. Mahal hits the Khallas and stands tall. He then hits another Khallas.
Opinion
The promo this week covered all the bases that Mahal to. Tonights match, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar yet it wasnt anything too special this week in the promo. I guess its because he had nothing to respond to besides Heyman’s promo he already responded to from last week. Heyman and Lesnar arent on TV every week where as Jinder is, so some weeks he’s going to have to build the match a lone while having this rivalry with AJ Styles progress which just makes it all feel weird. I expected a squash and thats what the match was but I wasnt expecting the beatdown following the match. It makes Jinder look strong which is necessary since he is heading to face the Beast at Survivor Series. He needs to feel more legitimate.

– Sami meets with Owens, and they complain about Shane taking all of the best opportunities. Sami hilariously complained about Orton winning with a low blow, “what kind of man does that?” after he originally beat Orton with a low blow. Owens says he will beat Nakamura and lead Smackdown to victory, and Shane will owe them for it.

– Bludgeon Brothers Vignette airs.

Rusev w/ Aiden English def. Big E w/ Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
In a solid TV match Rusev defeated Big E after Big E got distracted taking out English only to be met with a super kick and three count.
Opinion
This was good match and both big guys worked great together. Rusev got the much needed victory which was long overdue. English’s antics outside the ring trying to get the fans sing Rusev day was quality stuff. I love the random pairing of English and Rusev and it gives a couple of dudes for the New Day to work against for a little while. If you listen closely you can hear Woods screaming like Jimmy Hart (who he was dressed as) anytime Big E was working from under.

– Sin Cara gets interviewed, and says that his mask is part of him and when he puts it on, he’s a superhero for his kids. He had a hard life, and went through hell to get his mask and will go through hell to keep it. I guess they’re trying to build something here with Cara which is cool but it doesn’t do any favours for Corbin who has already had a hot and cold year thus far. Maybe this will lead to a hair vs mask match?

– Aiden English meets with Shane-O, and Rusev bursts in and yells RUSEV DAY! Rusev wants on team Smackdown, and Shane cuts off English’s next song. Shane says Rusev will get a chance next week; he just has to beat AJ Styles to earn his spot.

– Time for Fashion Files: Strangerer Things. Tye Dillinger is in on the gag this week claiming that he’s not Eleven but the perfect Ten. The Eggos are called “Uggos” in the skit. Konnor dresses up as Kane, and they think Raw is invading and attack him. All the tag teams are on the bulletin board and the Bludgeon Brothers light up. The lights go out, everyone gets beat down, and when they come back the briefcase is there with a puppet like in Saw saying, “Let the games begin.” Quality stuff as expected but I’m starting to get curious what the outcome to all this is going to be and if they already know it or if they’re just going with it week by week.

Team Smackdown Qualifying Match
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Kevin Owens
In a really really good main event Shinsuke Nakamura defeats KO when Orton distracts Owens by attacking Zayn outside the ring allowing Shinsuke to hit Owens with the Kinshasa for the win. Nakamura joins Orton, Roode and Shane-O on the Smackdown Survivor Series team.
Opinion
The match was really good and they really made it seem like it could go either way. Once Sami came out, I had a feeling we were going to see Orton arrive too. KO tried helping Sami last week and it caused Sami the match and the same thing happened this week but just with the roles reversed. I’m glad Shinsuke is on team Smackdown but this leaves me wondering what Owens and Zayn do at Survivor Series? Will there be another tag match? Do Owens and Zayn continue to feud with Nak and Randal? This was a really good match though. I enjoyed it.

Final Thoughts
There was no invasion from Raw and the fans who tuned in for that have been fooled. I would use the boy who cried wolf analogy here but the thing is, we know the Raw holding Smackdown under siege is bound to happen before Survivor Series so we’re gonna tune in every week to see it. The show was average overall with the emphasis that nothing really spectacular happened. Yes there were solid matches and funny moments and skits but nothing REALLY happened that would have you talking about this episode of Smackdown next year at this time. If anything, the thing we might remember the most from this show was The New Day’s outfits. It was a fun watch and I do recommend checking it out if you missed it but its definitely not a must watch episode of Smackdown.
Rating – 6/10

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