Smackdown Live Review 11/01/2016

Survivor Series is just 3 weeks away and for the first time Raw and Smackdown Live go head to head in three traditional Survivor Series tag team wars. There is really no way to oversell this, it’s going to be the only night (hopefully) in the year where both brands compete in 3 inter promotional matches for brand supremacy. Will we get the full teams tonight? How will the Ambrose-Styles-Ellsworth storyline play out? Let’s find out!

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WWE brings Smackdown Live to you from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

This week’s episode begins with James Ellsworth making his way to the ring as the broadcast team recap last week’s events when Ellsworth got Dean Ambrose disqualified. Ellsworth thanked Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon for letting him come out to say goodbye and apologize to Ambrose. Dean Ambrose made his entrance and called Ellsworth his pal and his special little boy and said he thought about ripping his head with his bare hands but he can’t stay mad at him as Ellsworth insisted he needed to apologize.
The WWE World Champion AJ Styles came out and told Ellsworth he didn’t need to apologize as Ambrose was just using him and being selfish, this went on until AJ pushed Ellsworth into Ambrose, tossed Ellsworth to the outside and hit the Phenomenal Forearm on Dean Ambrose.
Opinion: Still feel like WWE is over using Ellsworth and isn’t even that funny anymore. I predict a heel turn from Ellsworth on Ambrose just like Colin Delaney on Tommy Dreamer back in 2009.

Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga and JBL hype Randy Orton vs Kane in a No DQ Match for later tonight.

Daniel Bryan approaches James Ellsworth and Dean Ambrose backstage to tell Ambrose he’ll get another shot at AJ Styles to become the number one contender tonight but told Ellsworth to stay backstage and do not interfere in the match under any circumstance.

2) Randy Orton vs. Kane. No DQ Match.
In an underwhelming short match, Randy Orton defeated Kane by pinfall after he hit the RKO after a distraction from both Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper.
Opinion: This is the second biggest storyline for Smackdown and it gets a 2 minute match, literally. Randy Orton looked a bit sloppy or unwilling to do the match to me.

After the match, Luke Harper hit the Discus Clothesline and Bray Wyatt hit Sister Abigail on Kane as both posed over Kane and Orton posed on the ropes.

A Baron Corbin promo is aired about him not needing friends and not giving a damn. It shows him in the ring and riding his motorcycle.

2) Becky Lynch & Nikki Bella vs. Alexa Bliss & Carmella.
In again, a short match, Alexa & Carmella defeated Nikki & Becky after Alexa pinned Becky with a DDT which apparently is now her impact finisher.
After the match, Dasha Fuentes tried to interview Bliss but she pushed her away. Carmella took the mic to take some shots at Bayley and Charlotte before advising Nikki to stay out of her way while they have to team for Survivor Series. Alexa Bliss warned Becky Lynch that she’ll take her title next week when Smackdown Live comes to us from Scotland.
Opinion: I like seeing women get a chance, and in a sense it’s a shame we only got a 5 to 6 minute match but in the other hand it was great seeing Carmella and Alexa get mic time consistently every week. I loved the digs at the Raw women’s roster.

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon are backstage congratulating Naomi on being the final member of the Survivor Series team along with Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch. Naomi thanked them until Natalya came in and asked to be the coach of the team and Bryan said yes after Natalya read the lyrics to “Respect”.

3) American Alpha vs. The Spirit Squad. Survivor Series Qualifying Match.
In a typical length Smackdown Live match, American Alpha defeated Mickey and Kenny in 2 minutes after Grand Amplitude.
Opinion: It’s awesome to see the Spirit Squad on small roles on Smackdown and it feels so good seeing how well American Alpha have been doing since getting to the main roster. I personally think if it wasnt for the Heath Slater storyline, American Alpha would have been the tag team champions right now.

The Miz and Maryse are in the ring for Miz TV as Daniel Bryan is introduced as their guest. Bryan came into the ring. The Miz and Daniel talked trash to each other for a bit until Daniel said there are two more qualifying matches for the tag team Survivor Series team. Bryan then announced the men’s team and announced that the participants representing Smackdown Live are Randy Orton, Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles. The Miz was visibly pissed about not being the captain or even being in the team.
The “conversation” turned a bit more personal with the Miz taking more shots about Bryan not being able to wrestle. Bryan flipped and threw a chair and bashed The Miz for declining a shot at Dolph Ziggler’s IC Title last week and announced a IC Open Challenge right now.
Opinion: As always, great exchange of words between these two. The Miz is pretty much flawless on the mic and his ongoing feud with Bryan works for both of them even if we don’t get a definite finish to it.

Curt Hawkins makes his (Awesome) way to the ring to accept Ziggler’s open challenge.

4) Dolph Ziggler vs. Curt Hawkins. Intercontinetal Championship Match.
Do you remember what I said about short matches on Smackdown?…Dolph Ziggler defeated Curt Hawkins by pinfall in 6 seconds after a Superkick.
Opinion: I thought Hawkins was getting a legit push after his vignettes aired but apparently he now is exactly the same as Jinder Mahal on Raw. Nothing. Irrelevant. He could even not be there and it would make absolutely no difference.

After the match, Ziggler got interviewed by Renee Young and told the Miz, who was on commentary, that now his rematch was going to be on his terms and then made an Open Challenge to anyone on Raw for his Intercontinental Title.

Backstage Dasha Fuentes (Discount Renee Young) interviews Ambrose about his upcoming match and called James Ellsworth “James Ellis” which Ambrose corrected and said there was no way he was interfering tonight.

Backstage, Bray Wyatt is talking with Randy Orton about skepticism about him joining his family. Orton said he was born with the devil whispering in his ear and he didn’t want to fight it anymore. This segment was filled with cheesy music and a cheesy effect on Randy’s eyes so let’s just kind of skip it.

5) The Usos vs. The Headbangers: Survivor Series Qualifier.
Hey! Look! Another short match! The Usos defeated The Headbangers in one minute and thirty seconds after Jimmy rolled up Mosh(I think).
Opinion: I don’t mind seeing the Headbangers once every two months, but it just made obvious that the Usos were winning.

AJ Styles is interviewed about his match and said Ellsworth is crawling back to the bargain bin he came out of. Still backstage, Ambrose is leading Ellsworth to the door and says “Every man with two hands can call an Uber”.

6) AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose.
In average time for a main event, Dean Ambrose defeated AJ Styles in 14 minutes by pinfall after he hit Dirty Deeds on Styles to become the No. 1 contender for the WWE World Championship.
Opinion: Great match as always between these two. I get why people are saying they are getting tired of the matches between the two but honestly, I could watch them wrestle all day every day. They have amazing chemistry with each other. That being said, Shane announced that their match at TLC would be a TLC Match which is a nice variation and will definitely present a different match between the two. I would have loved to see less Ellsworth involvement but he redeemed himself for costing Ambrose the match last week.

After the match, James Ellsworth was shown smiling as security dragged him away until Ambrose came in and then let security drag him away.

Final Thoughts
That’s how Smackdown Live goes off the air! Personally I think this is one of the most interesting and “moving forward” episode we’ve had. The Survivor Series teams were pretty much filled, Ziggler hinted another Raw vs. Smackdown match for Survivor Series and the Ambrose-Styles-Ellsworth angle moved forward. A really solid episode. I’m still a bit pissed about the treatment to Curt Hawkins.
Final Rating: 8.3 out of 10.

That’s my take on this week, what did you think? Anything missing? Too much of something? Let us know what you thought!.

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