Smackdown Live Review 12/20/2016

Now that AJ Styles vs James Ellsworth apparently is actually happening tonight, the road to the Royal Rumble hasn’t been set really and the John Cena return being just a week away, this episode of Smackdown actually has potential to be special. Will Alexa Bliss get a new contender? Will Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper actually be good? Let’s find out!

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WWE brings Smackdown Live to you from the Joe Louis Arena at Detroit, Michigan.

The show starts with James Ellsworth and AJ Styles making their entrances and the normal championship pre-match stuff.

1) AJ Styles vs. James Ellsworth. WWE Championship match.
So, the match started, AJ threw Ellsworth into the ring post, Ellsworth tried a surprise super kick, AJ caught him and hit a combination of punches which has enough to pin Ellsworth. AJ Styles defeats Ellsworth in quick fashion.
After the match, AJ continued the assault on Ellsworth by smashing him into the barricade and the announce table. As he is heading up the ramp, he comes back and hits a snap suplex on the barricade.

Styles grabs a mic and said he was ready to move on to 2017. Dolph Ziggler interrupted him and said he was next in line for the title. They both exchange insults until Baron Corbin (of all people) interrupts and said it should be him facing AJ Styles for the WWE Title. Again, these two trade insults until Corbin tells Ziggler he doesn’t steal the show, he steals opportunities before hitting and End of Days to close out the segment.
Opinion: Now can this be enough of Ellsworth? That’s a good enough way to write him off TV, plus he doesn’t have much more to do in the active roster, so please, get him off my TV. Also, the addition of Baron Corbin into the Ziggler-Styles feud seems forced yet refreshing at the same time. I don’t expect fireworks but it will definitely be interesting to see where this goes.

The Miz makes his way to the ring with footage of his segment with Apollow Crews and Gabriel Iglesias at Tribute to the Troops.

2) The Miz vs. Apollo Crews. Intercontinental Championship Match.
In a really solid 10 minute match that seemed different from what these two regularly do, The Miz defeated Crews by pinfall with a Skull Crushing Finale after poking him in the eye.
After the match, Renee Young asked The Miz about his obsession with Dean Ambrose to which The Miz replied that maybe they should be talking about her obsession with Ambrose considering she is the one sleeping with Ambrose. Renee slapped The Miz and walked off.
Opinion: I was shocked to see WWE using Renee’s and Ambrose’s relationship for the first time in a storyline. I was in a shocked “holy shit” mode but now that I think about it, Renee’s credibility will just decrease so hard if she becomes a part of this storyline.

Natalya makes her way to the ring. Nattie asks Nikki Bella to come out so they can talk. Nikki Bella does come out but is followed by Carmella. They have the usual argument about who attacked Nikki until Carmella starts talking about things Natalya told Carmella, like she thought the Bellas only got there because they were beautiful and stuff. Natalya didn’t deny this and told Carmella she said that on private, Carmella then insulted Nikki which led to Nattie attacking chasing Carmella and throwing her into the Christmas tree and gifts on the set. Carmella then stands up and runs to the back. Nattie picks up a mic and says “Alright, I did it you bitch!”. She then cuts a heel promo about despising the Bellas and ended by saying that’s why John Cena will never marry her.
Opinion: Ok, Carmella is great, I don’t buy Nikki being such a victim but okay, whatever, but this Natalya should have been around for the entire year. Her promo was a mess and the Survivor Series attack storyline seems long gone by now but hey! It’s something new in the women’s division!

Alexa Bliss walks up to Daniel Bryan backstage limping and asks for a punishment. Daniel said she will be competing against Becky Lynch for the Women’s title next week and if she doesn’t compete tonight, she won’t be champion by next week.

Dean Ambrose makes his way to the ring followed by the Wyatt Family.

3) Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose.
In a pretty good match but where I expected so much more, Dean Ambrose defeated Luke Harper by pinfall with a Cradle.
After the match, the Wyatt Family attacked Ambrose and hit a combination from Sister Abigail to an RKO and posed over Ambrose. After this, The Miz’ theme hit and he hit Ambrose with Skull Crushing Finale,
Opinion: Again, I expected more out of the match and don’t want to see Harper again losing every week considering he’s proven so many times how damn good he is.

Alexa Bliss makes her way to the ring.

4) Alexa Bliss vs. La Luchadora.
In a 4 minute “Los Conquistadores” ripoff, La Luchadora defeated Alexa Bliss by submission with a disarmer.
La Luchadora then ran around ringside celebrating until she revealed she was Becky Lynch.
Opinion: I was more entertained with this match than I expected and that I probably should. It was one of those, so ridiculous is good moments.
Ryan Phillippe was backstage asking about Randy Orton. Mojo Rawley showed up and said Orton was different now so that may not be a good idea until Curt Hawkins shows up and mocks Rawley about Zack Ryder’s injury last week.

5) Curt Hawkins vs. Mojo Rawley.
In a…’Meh’ match, Mojo Rawley defeated Curt Hawkins by pinfall with a Running Haymaker Punch.
After the match, Ryan Phillippe, who was at commentary, celebrated with Mojo Rawley in the ring.
Opinion: What can I say? Nothing really happened, but good for Hawkins for being on the actual show.

Backstage, James Ellsworth is interviewed backstage about his match with AJ Styles, Carmella walks in and offers to take care of him, being excessively kind for some reason.

Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin make their respective entrances.

6) Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin.
In a match that definitely surpassed my expectations, the match ended in a draw after a double count out.
After the match, AJ Styles hit both Corbin and Ziggler with a chair until Daniel Bryan came out. Bryan announced that Corbin will be in next week’s main event for the WWE Championship as it is now a triple threat.

Final Thoughts:
That is Smackdown Live for this week and its the second week in a row where not much happened, yet still we had two pretty enjoyable hours of pro wrestling. The Becky Lynch-Alexa Bliss didn’t move forward much, the Miz. Ambrose thing introduced Renee Young and Corbin was added to the world title feud. So, this show was better than expected and overall a good show but next week’s show looks like it could be epic with all 4 titles on the line.
Final Rating: 8.8 out of 10.

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