Smackdown Live Review 05/30/2017

Its time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. It’s late and I got work early in the morning, so lets just get right into it.

Smackdown comes to us live from Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

– Smackdown begins with all five women involved in the number one contenders match later tonight in pre-taped promos talking about why they deserve to win.

Kevin Owens Highlight Reel
United States Champion Kevin Owens makes his way to the ring for another edition of the stolen Highlight Reel. He brings out Shinsuke Nakamura, who gets a great reaction as the crowd sings along with his theme song. Owens says Nakamura is “shrouded in mystery” and the fans want to know who he is, and what he’s capable of. He calls him a rockstar, and tells the story of what happened to the last rockstar, Chris Jericho, who tried to get in his way.
Before things can go further, Baron Corbin cuts them off and says nobody cares what they have to say. Since this is the Highlight Reel, he shows some highlights of his post-match assault on Sami Zayn last week. KO says that’s nothing to brag about, because he’s been beating up Sami Zayn for the last 15 years. Corbin calls him Eric Cartman again, and claims he will be Mr. Money in the Bank by this time next month. Nakamura reminds Owens that he beat him last week on Smackdown, and reminds Corbin of all the times he lost to Sami. The heels go after him and beat down Shinsuke in the ring until Zayn eventually makes the save. They clear the ring, and Sami issues a challenge for a tag team match right now.
Opinion
This was a great opening segment. I love Kevin Owens and how they’re continuing his feud with Chris Jericho through these small details. Its still so crazy seeing Shinsuke Nakamura on the main roster as regular weekly star. I kind of wish he was a special attraction that appeared every other week but at the same time, I would most likely be annoyed with that too. It’s just because Shinsuke Nakamura has that larger than life feel. Finally, I’m glad Sami Zayn actually matters on Smackdown Live compared to when he was on Raw. I do wish they started the show differently as it feels like we’ve seen this before in the past month. I wish they could just get a little bit more creative. It seems like to their go to scenario to open a show.

Shinsuke Nakamura & Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens & Baron Corbin
In competitive match, Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn defeat Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin after Nakamura hits Corbin with a kinshasa knee strike for the pinfall.
Opinion
This was a competitive match and fun to watch. I always get excited seeing Owens and Nakamura in the ring against each other because it gives me throwbacks to their ROH match before either of them got signed to the WWE. It’s insane that we’re getting them against each other next week. I also really enjoyed seeing Zayn and Nakamura team together. I was there for Zayn/Nakamura at NXT Takeover Dallas and it is still one of my favourite matches of all time so I can’t wait to see them go at it again. I kind of wish Corbin would have taken the fall because Owens took the fall from Nakamura last week too but I guess it really doesn’t hurt Owens. Owens might just beat him next week giving Nakamura his first main roster loss.

The New Day Returns
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Usos make their way to the ring, and ask why the fans don’t look happy to see them. They wonder if it’s because they thought Breezango was going to beat them last week, just like they thought the Atlanta Falcons were going to beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Huge heat for that. They say there’s nobody in WWE that can beat them for the titles…. Atlantaaaaaa! Don’t you dare be sour! The New Day is back!
Xavier Woods says it’s good to be back in his hometown of Atlanta (big pop), and shouts out his mom in the crowd. The Usos tell them they have Smackdown on lockdown, and welcome them to the Uso Penitentiary… Big E tells them to hold on, because he knows what happens in the penitentiary and he doesn’t want none of it. But what he does want some of is the WWE Tag Team Championships. Woods tells them they can do this the easy way, or the hard way, then announces that they have been confirmed as the #1 contenders to the titles, and will face the Usos for the belts at Money in the Bank.
Opinion
It was great to see the New Day back but it is unfortunate that Breezango’s push was over. It’s also refreshing that the New Day went of a brief hiatus because of Kofi’s injury. It was a blessing in disguise because it actually saved them from the fans getting sick of their act, feeling that it was stale because instead we actually missed it. I do however think there potential here for the fans to switch sides and cheer for the Uso’s over the New Day but we’ll see. I also like how this is a fresh start for the New Day since this is their first appearance on Smackdown Live since the brand extension. They’re immediately launched in the tag title picture and I’m not disappointed about it.

– There was a replay of Jinder Mahal’s “Punjabi Championship Celebration” from last week’s show. This time also including the media coverage Jinder Mahal got for his victory and celebration. It made me think Jinder Mahal wouldn’t be on the show.

-A Fashion Files video aired about Fandango. It was shot in black and white. He walked up to some door that said Fashion Police Department on it. It had broken tables and various pics of WWE superstars. There was a silhouette of a woman. It was Tyler Breeze dressed as a woman. Fandango: “Why is he still undercover?” Breeze: “He thinks I’m still undercover.” They could hear the other guy. They found some cologne, Fandango complimented Breeze in the dress and Breeze said they found their next case.

Fatal Five Way Match to name #1 Contender
Charlotte vs. Carmella vs. Natalya vs. Becky Lynch vs. Tamina
ends in a no contest
A brawl starts out the match with all five women going after each other, and the action immediately spills to the floor. Becky goes flying off the barricade to take down Carmella in the timekeeper’s area. Snuka goes crazy and starts ripping apart the commentary table, throwing monitors everywhere. Charlotte takes her out from behind and hits a huge moonsault off the top turnbuckle, all the way to the floor to take down three of them. Carmella flies over the barricade with a splash on the Queen, but turns around into an Exploder Suplex from Becky. Natalya spears Charlotte and it’s absolute chaos, as the match technically hasn’t even started yet. Multiple referees come out and try to get control of the match, but it has zero effect. Natalya tries to put Charlotte through the commentary table, but the Queen throws her into the steel steps instead, then puts her through the table with a powerbomb. A loud “holy s—” chant erupts as all five women are down.
Shane McMahon comes out and applauds the women for creating an awesome moment for the fans. He says they all want to become #1 contender so badly, that this can’t end in just any match here tonight. And so, there will officially be a five-way Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match at the upcoming pay-per-view!
Opinion
This was fucking awesome. It was a perfect way to showcase the fire and level of competition in the Smackdown Women’s Division. It involved the entire SD Women’s roster excluding the champion. It was way better than anything that happened with the women’s division on Raw last night. Every woman had their moment to shine in this brawl, with Charlotte having the two most memorable spots with her moonsault and powerbombing Natalya through a table. I love chaos and this segment had it. I think this was a really clever way to book the first ever Women’s Money in the Bank match and it involves more than two women making history. I’m really looking forward to this match and curious who will become the first Miss Money in the Bank. I expect there to be more brawl and chaos between the women leading up to MITB.

Breezango def. The Colons
The match went back and forth until Breeze, dressed as a janitor, hit the unprettier on Primo for the victory. 
Opinion
This was your average television tag match. Most of the time this would come off as filler but the Smackdown team has got us so invested in Breezango these last couple of months, it actually had my attention and I looked forward to it. I really hope Breezango continue to stay over and continue being involved in intriguing storylines because they’re entertaining as fuck.

– Renee Young is backstage with AJ Styles, who is informed that he will be facing Dolph Ziggler in tonight’s main event. AJ says that great teams play great teams to get better, and to build up their momentum. He talks about beating Ziggler tonight, and going on to win Money in the Bank next month. Ziggler shows up and taunts the Phenomenal One, who takes off his shirt and is ready to throw down now, but of course the Showoff just walks away.

Randy Orton Promo
Randy Orton made his way to the ring in street clothes, to address what happened at last week’s pay-per-view. The Viper said in case anybody has been living under a rock for 17 years, his name is Randy Orton and he’s a 13-time world champion. He mentions how he’s beaten some of the best this business has ever seen and he names the likes of Mick Foley, Undertaker and Shawn Michales. He talks about his father Cowboy Bob Orton being in the very first main event of WrestleMania, and how his grandfather would slap him in the face for losing the WWE Championship to a guy like Jinder Mahal. Orton says Jinder believes he’s earned the fans respect, but he’s earned nothing but an old fashioned Orton family American-style ass kicking. He talks about the Gagne family and Harley Race as men who went out and got things done, and said he was going to become a 14-time champion at Money in the Bank. Jinder Mahal appears on the Titantron with the Singh Brothers and cuts a promo about being the WWE Champion, the Modern Day Maharaja and about being the future of the WWE.  Jinder says that Orton is living in the past, reminiscing about his glory days where in reality his on downward spiral like America itself. Randy Orton poses on the ropes to end the segment after Jinder finishes his promo.
Opinion
This had to be one of the best Randy Orton promos I’ve seen in a while. I think the last good one was when he burned down the Wyatt compound. Orton actually looks and sounded like he cared. This is the badass Orton I grew up being a fan of. There is a part of me that think Orton and Mahal are friends backstage and Orton is really motivated to help get Mahal over, therefore he’s actually trying in this rivalry. I’m not saying Randal doesn’t try. I’m a huge Orton mark but this past year it sometimes feel like he’s in a happy place in his life and just happy to be there working but that fire has been gone. That fire which makes it evident that he cares about having the best program or best match seems gone but with this promo it felt like he did have that fire to make this rivalry get over. Jinder Mahal played his role perfectly with a promo that worked really well. I like how he used Orton being there for 17 years against him, telling him that he’s living in the past like America does and what not. I think that it’s smart how we haven’t had a face to face confrontation yet because I think they need to build this up slowly going into MITB.

Dolph Ziggler def. AJ Styles
In really good main event, Ziggler picks up the shocking victory over AJ Styles in AJ’s hometown after crotching Styles off a springboard and hitting him with a super kick.
Opinion
 This match was really good. Both guys are uber talented and you’d expect nothing but a good match between the two, yet I’m still shocked Ziggler picked up the victory. It really feels like Styles has been losing a lot in singles matches. This makes me think he might just get the briefcase at MITB or something big is in store for him in the near future. I predict a big match for Summerslam. I think they believed Ziggler beating Styles in his hometown would give Ziggler major heat but it didn’t feel like it made difference. I want Ziggler to matter, but I don’t know how they can do that again. I fucking loved Styles new red attire. Red is my favourite colour so its not a surprise. I wonder if we’re going to see a rematch soon.

Final Thoughts
This was a really entertaining show. I really don’t remember a part of the show where I found myself bored or zoned out. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t the greatest Smackdown episode of all time but I do think it was above average. There wasn’t a ton of wrestling but there was a ton of storyline and angle progression. I feel like thats what Raw and Smackdown should be used for. Raw and Smackdown’s should be used for storyline and angle progression and the PPV’s should be the place for the big matches and main events. As per usual there were people missing. For example there was no Tye Dillinger, American Alpha or even Naomi but it’s understandable since it’s a two hour show. Randy Orton did great tonight. The tag division gets a breath of fresh air with the Smackdown Live debut of The New Day. Jinder Mahal continues to be the most hated heel. The Women’s MITB match was announced and got me excited. For the wrestling that was there, it was solid. I enjoyed this episode of Smackdown Live a lot.
Rating – 7.5/10

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