Smackdown Live Review 05/16/2017

Its time for this weeks Smackdown Live review with just five days away from Smackdown’s next exclusive PPV, Backlash. Its weird because last year this event was later in the year but this year its right now. I’m not complaining though, its just a random fact. Hey! At least the event isn’t named “Great Balls of Fire.” This being Smackdown’s go home show to the PPV, I’m expecting an action packed fun episode of Smackdown Live. The matches announced before the show were AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton vs. Baron Corbin. Also, Rusev announced that he was going to appear to demand his championship match from Shane O’ Mac. I expect more Fashion Files and drama in the Women’s Division. Lets get on with my review.

Smackdown comes to us live from SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

– Smackdown intro followed by pyro and ballyhoo.

Kevin Owens Highlight Reel
United States Champion Kevin Owens came out to start the show. He had the Y2J 6000 TV monitor set up in the ring that said “Kevin Owens Highlight Reel” with the old Y2J graphics running behind it. He called himself the “Face of America” and talked about ending Jericho’s career, before turning his attention to his WWE Backlash opponent. Owens started speaking French to introduce his guest for tonight until AJ Styles interrupted him. AJ said that he watched KO steal everything from Jericho for a year, but never thought he’d actually stoop to stealing the man’s show. Styles said he can’t speak French, but he’ll tell everyone in English – because he can – that he’s going to win the United States Championship at Backlash. Jinder Mahal cut them all off, accompanied to the ramp by the Bollywood Boys. He complained that he was supposed to be the guest on the Kevin Owens Show, and ran a video package from his reign of terror over the last few weeks. Jinder started quoting Gandhi in Punjabi, which got some boos from the crowd, then claimed that AJ will lose tonight, just like Randy Orton will lose on Sunday. Owens laughed and said that Styles is going to have a bad week, losing twice to Jinder and himself in one week. AJ chased him out of the ring and told Jinder to get ready for the AJ Styles Highlight Reel
Opinion
This was an awesome way to open the show. I loved Owens still playing off his rivalry with Jericho by taking over the Highlight Reel. It still feels weird having Owens on Smackdown but he does fit right in. This was most likely my favourite segment on the night. Jinder Mahal fits right in as a major player on Smackdown among Owens and Styles. Owens and Styles have great chemistry with each other too on the mic. Big fan of all three guys, so I enjoyed it.

Jinder Mahal w/ The Singh Brothers def. AJ Styles
In a competitive match Jinder Mahal defeated AJ Styles by pinball. The finish came when Styles set up for the Phenomenal Forearm but the Bollywood Boys distracted the referee, and Kevin Owens blasted AJ from behind with the title belt. Jinder hit him with a cobra clutch slam for the pin.
Opinion
This was a very competitive and entertaining match that came with a controversial finish like it should have. I mean as much as I am behind Jinder Mahal, it would have been a mistake to have him get a clean victory over Styles and on the other hand, as much as I’m a Styles mark, it would have been a mistake for him to beat the number one contender clean. Having the Singh Brothers and Owens get involved was the perfect choice. The match was good and the finish made sense. Jinder goes into Backlash with this momentum and Styles goes in wanting to kick Owens ass even more.

– Dancing Lana is coming soon. I really don’t care about her wrestling, but I guess thats what she’s going to be doing. I would rather her be Smackdown Live’s equivalent to a Nitro girl. LOL

– Fashion Files. This week, Fandango is up to his ears in fashion felonies. Breeze arrives, under cover, and run down Sami & Corbin’s merch. They then say the Uso’s hair is so well conditioned that they don’t have a chance, but Fandango had to snap Breeze out of it. Come Sunday, they will be wearing the tag team titles. I’m glad that there two are getting to show more personality.

– Randy Orton is interviewed backstage.

Breezango def. The Colons
In a lengthy solid TV tag match, Breezango defeated The Calons when Fandango pinned Epico after a Falcon Arrow.
Opinion
This was a solid tag team match for TV. I like that the Colons have officially dropped that Shining Stars gimmick and I see them becoming more important in the near future. If you think thats unlikely just rememeber who the number one contenders are right now…its the same team that just beat them in Breezango. If you asked me months ago if Breezango would be getting this push right now, I wouldn’t have expected it. However, I can’t be happier for Breezango with the position their in right now. The Fashion Files are hilarious and this string of victories in making it believable that they found their groove and could possibly win the tag team titles. They’re really under-appreciated for how talented they are.

– The Usos make their way out to the ramp and talk about “that day one ish”. They ramble about cowboys and Indians, then cops and robbers, then cops and inmates… The Usos say that this isn’t the Fashion Police’s presink, and go on to read them their rights for WWE Backlash. I love heel Uso’s and honestly they they’ve gotten so much better as heels. I do miss American Alpha but I’m glad these two deserving teams are killing it with this program.

– Becky Lynch, Naomi and Charlotte on their way to the ring for a contract signing

Women’s Division Contract Signing
Smackdown Commissioner Shane McMahon is out, and asks the Manchester crowd how they’re doing. He calls Smackdown the premiere brand of the WWE, featuring the premier women’s roster before introducing the Welcoming Committee: Natalya, Tamina and Carmella, with James Ellsworth. He then brings out Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and the WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Naomi. After all the introductions are through, Natalya says it’s funny to see the three of them pretending to be best friends. Nattie calls them pathetic, and tells Becky she missed her chance to join the WC. The heels all sign the contract.
Becky Lynch says there was no chance in hell that she would join Natalya and her goon squad, and said she’s going to slap the taste out of all of them at Backlash. Naomi says they should be worried about their next hair opponent, because come Sunday she’s gonna snatch them all, then says she’s gonna snatch Ellsworth’s balls. Charlotte is next to talk, and says the WC has done nothing but whine and complain since she arrived on Smackdown Live. Char says after they deal with the WC at Backlash, the Queen is coming for her crown. Shane says the match is official, but he’s cut off by James Ellsworth, who rambles about how much Becky is in love with him. Shane straight up says that he has no idea what Ellsworth is talking about. He goes on to say that Charlotte doesn’t have a chance with him either, because he’s always going to be the Prince to the Princess of Staten Island. Ellsworth than brings up how Carmella has pinned Naomi twice and that she is going to steal her glow. Naomi tries to go after him but Carmella throws her into the table, and Shane gets in between all of them. McMahon makes a match between Carmella and Naomi, right here, right now.
Opinion
I immediately questioned why this needed to be a contract signing. I mean its just a random six woman tag match but whatever I guess. I think it would have made more sense if they just scheduled it to be a debate between the two teams stating their arguments and defending their issues with Shane McMahon as the mediator. It actually wasn’t bad. I know Natalya portrays the leader of the WC but I would have loved for Carmella to get on the mic. It got really cringeworthy when Ellsworth got on the mic but overall it was a decent segment.

Carmella def. Naomi
Carmella picked up the victory over Naomi by rolling her up and grabbing the tights. The finish came when Naomi headed up to the top rope but was cut off by Tamina Snuka. The referee ejects Tamina and Natalya from the match but instead of just leaving they go after Charlotte and Becky in a big brawl on the floor. Ellsworth was already ejected from ringside. Naomi drops Tamina with a kick through the ropes, but Carmella rolls her up from behind with a handful of tights for the pin
Opinion
Solid TV match with a chaotic finish to progress the angle going into the PPV this Sunday. Carmella picks up another pinball victory over the Champion, which leads you to believe she’s next in line for a Women’s Title match.

– New Day coming soon.

Dolph Ziggler Backstage Promo
Ziggler says he never understood the hype of Shinsuke Nakamura. He calls him a fraud and a “nobody”, but says he did his research and is ready for WWE Backlash. He says he has a video of all the things Shinsuke Nakamura has done in WWE, but it’s just a slide that says “footage not found”. He then rolls a video of his career over the last eight years (so we’re forgetting that Spirit Squad existed), with him winning Money in the Bank and all his various championships. Ziggler says that for all his accomplishments, nothing will bring him more joy than spitting in the face of all the fans that turned their backs on him by beating Nakamura.
Opinion
I get it now. Shinsuke Nakamura is an attraction, so he won’t be booked to be on the show every week. He’s Smackdown’s Brock Lesnar but on a full-time contract who wrestles dark matches after or before the shows unlike Brock who just isn’t there 90% of the time unless he’s booked. I dig it too. I mean if he’s not wrestling on the show and youre saving it for the PPV, then keep him off TV. Plus, lets not play out his awesome entrance on the main roster yet. I love the way they’re having Ziggler attack Shinsuke. I thought tonights promo was clever. We all know Nakamura is going over but I just hope the match is so good, it puts Ziggler over too.

– Sami Zayn is interviewed backstage and says he will face Corbin at Backlash. Corbin attacks him and says he will end him at Backlash. Alright,

Randy Orton def. Baron Corbin
In a back and forth match, Randy Orton defeated Baron Corbin by pinball after one RKO. After the match, Jinder Mahal came out and distracted Randy Orton by cutting a promo, so The Bollywood Boys could come out from the crowd and ambush the champion. Orton managed to fend them off for a bit, but Jinder hit the ring and dropped him with the cobra clutch slam. Jinder stood tall as Smackdown went off the air.
Opinion
The match was a solid main event for TV. I still think last week’s six man tag main event was a lot better though. It’s kind of brutal seeing Corbin take the L cleanly before going to face Zayn this Sunday. However, it was against the champion and Randy Orton, so I guess thats fair. The amount of times we’ve seen Jinder stand tall against Orton makes me fear that it’s a sign that he won’t win this Sunday. I have this weird idea that usually the superstar standing tall at the end of the go home show, usually never wins at the PPV. Hopefully, that is not accurate.

Final Thoughts
The show was pretty average overall. I mean the opening segment was great and all the matches were decent, not bad at all but nothing stood out. A lot of the same happened. The same video packages for New Day and Lana. The same Jinder attacking Orton segment and Corbin attacking his opponent for the next PPV, which in this case was Zayn. More drama between the Smackdown women which led to a match that ended in a controversial finish. Rusev never did appear, which was disappointing. It was a pretty lacklustre go-home show and didn’t really get me super excited for the PPV but it wasn’t a horrible episode either. A lot of this you can just save yourself time and watch on either Youtube or on other Social Media. This was a low week for Smackdown but you can’t always hit home runs when you go up to bat. Plus, everyone must be jet lagged after the European tour.
Rating – 5.5/10

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