Smackdown Live Review 02/07/2017

Smackdown Live comes to us from the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.

The show kick off the program with Daniel Bryan in the ring, in his home state of Washington. Bryan talks about being grateful before Miz & Maryse cut him off. Miz mocks Bryan for not being able to wrestle and goes at it with the crowd for cutting him off before Baron Corbin interrupts. Corbin and Miz trade some words and Miz wants to recruit Corbin to team up at Elimination Chamber. Corbin wants nothing to do with him. Ambrose is out next and Styles comes out shortly after, prompting Daniel Bryan to make a fatal four way match.
Thoughts: Pretty good opening segment. Didn’t run overly long and let everyone interact with each other a bit before the PPV.

Match #1
Baron Corbin vs AJ Styles vs The Miz vs Dean Ambrose
Baron Corbin manages to get the victory in a hard fought match, hitting the End of Days on AJ Styles. The End of Days has yet to be kicked out of.
Thoughts: This was a great match and great way to get the crowd into the show. Corbin pinning Styles like that is an absolute shock in a good way. They’ve really made it seem like anyone can take the title on Sunday and they seem to be really bolstering the main event and midcard scene.

There is a Luke Harper promo backstage on Randy Orton. Harper explains how Orton stole his family from him and instead of cutting the head off the Viper, he’s going to make him suffer.
Thoughts: Luke Harper branching off on his own is perfect for Smackdown. He’s an entirely fresh face that hasn’t worked as a face yet, so everything is new for him. I’m very interested to see how his role plays out Sunday.

Natalya and Nikki Bella are live via satellite because their feud has become too violent for them to be in the same room together. Nattie verbally tears apart Nikki, telling her she has no friends. Nikki calls Nattie a crazy cat lady. Nattie responds by telling Nikki that John Cena will find someone prettier and smarter than her and that if Nattie weren’t married, Cena would be with her instead.
Thoughts: I love this. I absolutely love petty feuds and this one is about as petty as can be. Nattie is straight up mean and Nikki isn’t afraid to fire back either. Their brawls have been great and hard hitting and I expect their match to be the same.

Match #2
Dolph Ziggler vs Apollo Crews
Crews quickly defeats Ziggler with a rollup, causing Ziggler to grab a chair and beat him down. Kalisto runs in for the save but gets crotched on the ropes and hit with the chair as well. After a commercial break, Daniel Bryan tells Dolph Ziggler he’ll be facing both Kalisto & Crews at Elimination Chamber in a handicap match.
Thoughts: If Ziggler is to defeat both Crews & Kalisto at the same time, it could really put him back over as a threat. It could definitely hurt the reputation of Kalisto/Crews but they can easily re-establish themselves as well. This could be great or a nightmare depending on the booking.

Next up is a dual contract signing between Mickie James vs Becky Lynch & Naomi vs Alexa Bliss. Mickie talks about how Becky acts like she started the revolution despite Mickie starting it nearly a decade prior. Mickie claims she has seven years of built up rage. Becky responds saying she has a lifetime of fire. Alexa talks down to Becky and Naomi before Naomi stops her. Naomi says nothing will stop her from coming down the ramp at Wrestlemania 33, in her hometown, as champion. A brawl ends up starting and Naomi and Becky get the last laugh, standing tall.
Thoughts: They’re doing a wonderful job booking the women on Smackdown Live. Makes me wish Summer Rae was healthy and a member of the roster. Three women’s feuds at once, three matches on PPV and all three are being booked logically so far. That’s quite impressive given the terrible writing the women have been stuck with for years. Really strong segment.

Match #3
American Alpha, Rhyno & Slater & Breezango vs Ascension, Vaudevillians & The Usos
The Ascension manage to score the victory for their side as Viktor hits a diving knee to Rhyno.
Thoughts: As a huge Ascension fan, I’m still in awe over this one. Hoping this is a sign of things to come and we see Ascension rise to become a power house on Smackdown. Good little showcase for the division as a whole but after Elimination Chamber, I’m pulling for them to start having individual tag feuds rather than these multi team matches.

Match #4
John Cena vs Randy Orton
John Cena defeats Randy Orton after Luke Harper takes out Bray Wyatt and reverses an RKO, allowing Cena to hit the AA on Orton.
Thoughts: It’s happened quite a few times but Orton and Cena have great chemistry. This was yet another great week of introducing Harper to the main event scene of Smackdown. Given that we just got Cena vs Orton, I think we’re going to see a title change at Elimination Chamber. At the moment, there isn’t a very likely outcome, which I think is wonderful.

Overall:
Yet another episode of Smackdown that just gets the job done. Every match and segment tonight had a reason behind it. Also we got a great fatal four way match out of it. Smackdown is limited in time and manage to dole out varying amounts of time to different feuds each week, keeping everything from being overexposed. It’s a great system and it seems to be paying off.