Smackdown Live Review 05/02/2017

Its time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. Things are shaking up on Smackdown Live as new United States Champion Chris Jericho takes on the self proclaimed “Face of America” Kevin Owens in a rematch from Payback with the title on the line. We’ll find out what happens next between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton. Will Shinsuke Nakamura make an appearance? Will Lana finally debut? What exactly is the Fashion Files? I’m looking forward to this weeks edition of Smackdown Live.

Smackdown comes to us live from Save Mart Centre in Fresno, CA

– The show began with a clip of Jinder Mahal holding the WWE Title while taking a photo shoot from “earlier today.” Shane McMahon showed up to tell him that the title doesn’t belong to him. Shane told him that he’s facing Sami Zayn later. Shane said he’s going to give the title to its rightful owner Randy Orton.

– Smackdown intro featuring the new superstars post super shake up followed by pyro and ballyhoo.

Chris Jericho Joins Smackdown
Shane McMahon makes his entrance and welcomes everyone to Smackdown Live. This is followed by him introducing the newest addition to the Smackdown roster Chris Jericho. Y2J makes his way down and announces that Tuesday nights are now the new “Show of Jericho!” He invites the crowd to “smack-it down, maaaan.” Shane announces that Jericho will defend his title against Kevin Owens later on tonight. They’re interrupted by AJ Styles. The Phenomenal One makes his way out and reminds Chris of their history together, and says a lot has changed since they faced off, calling Smackdown the “house that AJ Styles built”. Jericho says he made Owens tap out at WWE Payback, and threatens to put AJ on the list, but they’re interrupted yet again…
Kevin Owens makes his way out, avoiding walking over his own face graphic and says that the scene in the ring is the most pathetic thing that he’s ever seen. He trashes AJ Styles telling him that he shouldn’t even be standing in his ring and the crowd starts chanting “you tapped out” at the former champion. Owens says it doesn’t matter what happened on Sunday, because he’s going to finish what he started tonight. He tells Jericho that if he thought the Festival of Friendship was bad… As he’s talking, Styles leaves the ring and the two start brawling on the ramp, until officials make their way out to split them up.
Opinion
I absolutely loved this opening segment. Shane O’ Mac’s entrance music always gets me hyped. Jericho was gold as per usual. AJ Styles and Jericho in the same ring together was great to see after the great rivalry they had last year. Kevin Owens being Kevin Owens is always great. The way Styles rushed Owens, was kind of unpredictable and raw. It felt like something that wouldn’t have been scripted even though it was. It set up the tone for the rest of the night and the main event. 

– Jinder Mahal along with the Singh Brothers are shown heading to the ring.

Jinder Mahal def. Sami Zayn
In a competitive match Jinder Mahal picked up the victory when Zayn ran the ropes and Samir Singh grabbed his leg. The ref was on the other side and never saw it. Mahal went back in the ring and hit a Cobra Clutch Slam on Zayn for the pinfall win after 11 minutes.
Opinion
This was a good match involving four Canadians when you include the Singh Brothers. Is it me or is there a lot of Canadians on Smackdown? It continued to make Jinder look dominant while still getting the assist like any dirty heel by the Bollywood Boyz, now known as the Singh Brothers. I think this was Mahal’s first singles win all year. I didn’t like the lack of involvement of Baron Corbin who attacked Sami Zayn last week on Talking Smack. I understand he’s “suspended” but I would have still loved to see him continue the beat down on Sami following the match or something. Also, there was no Randy Orton which would have been awesome to see him come out following the match looking to revenge on Mahal for costing him his match this past Sunday. There was room for organized chaos here to progress storylines but it never happened. The match was solid but the aftermath was a missed opportunity in my mind.

– Becky Lynch is walking backstage and walk up to Natalya, Carmella, Tamina and Ellsworth. Becky says hello to the four ladies, which is a joke on Ellsworth. Natalya pointed out that Charlotte turned on Becky multiple times. Natalya said that they need Becky and Smackdown Live needs her. Becky said she’ll think about it.

– They show a  Shinsuke Nakamura video package. Dolph Ziggler was shown backstage watching on a monitor. He was taking to some random people backstage. Ziggler noted that Nakamura wasn’t there and hasn’t even had a match on Smackdown yet. Shane McMahon showed up behind Ziggler. Shane said that his name is Shinsuke Nakamura and he introduced himself to Ziggler last week. Ziggler told Shane to watch what he does to Sin Cara later.

Tye Dillinger def. Aiden English
In a quick match which might have only been a minute long, Tye Dillinger defeated Aiden English with a Tyebreaker. 
Opinion
I wonder how long it’ll be until Dillinger gets involved or put in an actual feud over these quick job matches he’s doing. I loved Aiden English’s break down following the match but it seems like his character is developing more than Dillinger’s. That says something.

– Chris Jericho was shown walking backstage with Renee Young there to interview her. Jericho called her “Ronnie.” Aiden English walked by him and he was crying. Jericho told him there’s no crying on Smackdown. Jericho pointed out how there’s no need to cry because Aiden’s a good looking man with a hairy chest. Jericho asked English if he knows what happens when you cry on Jericho’s new show. Jericho told English he just made the list and wrote his name down. Jericho put Renee on the list too. Aiden cried some more as the scene ended.

– Charlotte Flair was interviewed by Dasha Fuentes backstage. Charlotte said what the “welcoming committee” did last week was stop the inevitable because you can’t stop the “Queen” on Smackdown Live. Carmella, Natalya and Tamina showed up, so Charlotte tried to fight them off. The three women beat her down, so Natalya and Tamina tossed Charlotte into some boxes. Tamina said “welcome to Smackdown Live” and Natalya said they’ll see her out there.

Carmella & Natalya def. Naomi & Charlotte
In a match that started as a handicap match until Charlotte made her presence felt halfway through after the beat down backstage, Carmella and Natalya defeated Naomi and Charlotte when Ellsworth distracted Naomi and Carmella caught her with a roll up along with grabbing the tights on Naomi for the pinfall win.
Opinion
Decent TV match for the women with storyline progression. It also told a story featuring what seems to be a slow babyface turn for Charlotte against this new female heel stable.

– Post match, the heels attacked Charlotte and Naomi. The crowd chanted “Becky” and Becky Lynch’s music hit. Lynch slowly made her way down to the ring. Lynch looked at the women that were out on the mat. Lynch shook hands with Tamina, Carmella and Natalya. The crowd booed. When Lynch got to Ellsworth, she shoved Ellsworth into the other girls. Lynch attacked the heel women. Tamina recovered and hit Lynch with a superkick. The heels kicked Naomi and Charlotte out of the ring. Tamina and Carmella hit Becky with kicks to the head while Natalya held Becky. The crowd booed as the heel women stood together in the ring. Carmella’s music played to end it. They’re really making the heel women look strong here. 6-Woman Tag at Backlash?

– A video aired about The New Day trio, who are coming to Smackdown Live soon. That return will be whenever Kofi Kingston is ready after ankle surgery. JBL noted that a guy named Xavier Woods was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Draft last week. He was acting as if it was WWE’s Xavier even though it’s not. Plus, WWE’s Xavier Woods is just his character name.

Dolph Ziggler def. Sin Cara
In another short match which was quite competitive though, Dolph Ziggler defeated Sin Cara following a super kick.
Opinion
Ziggler has been in this weird place since he turned heel a few months back and this rivalry against the main roster debuting Shinsuke Nakamura is the most relevant thing he’s done since turning heel. I’d love to see Ziggler prosper but we know Shinsuke is not losing his first match on the main roster to Dolph. I understand they have to make Dolph look strong before officially accepting to face Nak at Backlash but I don’t think beating Sin Cara in four minute match does that. I’d love to see Ziggler get over on someone like Owens or Styles due to interference or something so it at least makes him seem legit. I don’t know. No signs of Nakamura tonight, but thats okay because over exposure could be brutal.

– The dancing Lana video aired to let us know she’ll be on Smackdown Live soon, Another one.

Fashion Files with Breezango
There was a video called “The Fashion Files” done the way Law & Order was shot at least in terms of the graphics. It featured the Fashion Police duo of Tyler Breeze and Fandango. They had pictures of people like Big Boss Man and Freddie Blassie on their desk. There were some funny pictures of Cena, Shinsuke Nakamura and Vince McMahon on the wall as well. Breeze called The Usos the “Uggos” and Fandango talked about the things against The Usos. I loved the entire Jey and Jimmy walking line. Fandango said their outfits hurt their eyes. Breeze said that the big bust goes down May 21st at Backlash in Chicago. They called it the Windy Apple, which is a Simpsons reference. There was a voiceover telling them about a guy walking around downtown with socks and flip flops. The Fashion Files graphic ended it.
Opinion
LOVED IT. I hope they keep it going and let these two get over even if its in whacky fashion similar to The New Day. They’re both good wrestlers and play really well into these current characters. I just hope the fans can take them seriously and we continue to see them succeed. I loved the corny jokes and the random pictures on the wall. I want more. 

United States Championship
Kevin Owens def. Chris Jericho (C)
In a highly competitive and badass match, Kevin Owens picked up the victory over Chris Jericho to become the new United States Champion when Owens hit a pop up power bomb. Jericho sold the DDT he got hit with earlier in the match on the hard black end part of the ramp, as he wasn’t the same after it making you sense he might have suffered a concussion. I mean at one point he was reversing the pop up power bomb with a hurricurana into a Walls of Jericho and the next he collapses when he’s thrown to the ropes.
Following the match, even though Owens looked sad about it, he went into the ring and hit Jericho with another Popup Powerbomb. Owens yelled at Jericho telling him he was never his best friend. When Owens tried to whip him into the ropes again, Jericho just collapsed. Owens left with his new US Title to boos from the crowd. The camera focused on Jericho in the ring getting helped out by paramedics and referees. Jericho had a stunned look on his face as referees helped him walk to the back. Owens ran back down to ringside with a punch to the head. Owens grabbed a steel chair from ringside. Owens put the chair around Jericho’s head and whipped him into the steel ring post. Jericho was getting looked at by paramedics at ringside while Owens walked away triumphantly. That was the end of the show.
Opinion
I really enjoyed this match and the story it told following the match. This was the farewell of Jericho for now while he heads off to tour with his band Fozzy. It was in the hands of Kevin Owens as it should have been. I really like how they played the fact that Owens really hurt Jericho and that Owens did feel sorry about it but still had to finish the job to make himself feel better. It also sets up a story for when Jericho does return to Smackdown against his rival Kevin Owens. This was quality stuff.

Final Thoughts
Overall, this was a decent episode of Smackdown. The Jericho/Owens stuff, as well as the United States Title picture involving Styles was the highlight of the show. I really enjoyed the Fashion Files and the stuff going on in the Womens Division as well. I do enjoy the two hour show but I hate the fact that even with a smaller roster a lot of the talent doesn’t appear on the show. There was no Uso, American Alpha, Baron Corbin, Randy Orton, Luke Harper or Shinsuke Nakamura appearances on this episode. I don’t even know what they have planned for Harper going forward. Orton could be selling the HOH’s match but could have made an impact on this show with utilizing very little time. Corbin falls into that same category as well. The tag division gets very little love on this weeks episode. I’m okay with Shinsuke being off this week as I consider him more of an attraction right now than a week to week guy. The show was good but could have been better. Jericho will truly be missed during his time off. He 46 years old and has been doing this nearly steadily with only a few breaks here and there for 27 years, he definitely deserves it. If you missed this episode of Smackdown its definitely one you can catch the highlights of on YouTube or The Wrestling Classic on Instagram. (cheap plug)
Rating – 6/10

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