Smackdown Live Review 06/27/2017

Hello Misfits. It’s time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. This week we are treated to a Women’s Championship match and the second ever women’s Money in the Bank match after the first one ended in controversy. Also The Viper is looking for revenge on The Modern Day Maharaja Jinder Mahal and what’s next for the likes of Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin. Let’s find out.

Smackdown comes to us live from Valley View Casino Centre in San Diego, California.

– Smackdown kicked off with a video package with all the controversy surrounding the Women’s Money in the Bank match and about Lana getting a rematch.

Daniel Bryan Hype
Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring and hypes tonight’s big matches, and says he is proud of the evolution of women’s wrestling on Smackdown Live. He is interrupted by Carmella, who comes down with James Ellsworth and calls herself the victim of the biggest injustice in WWE history. Melee claims the rules were black and white, and it was supposed to be the first woman to gain possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase who wins the match. Carmella calls herself more intelligent than every chick in the locker room, and that gives Bryan no right to take away what is rightfully hers. Bryan says she makes good points, but asks the crowd if they want him to cancel tonight’s ladder match and they give him a big “NO” chant. Ellsworth grabs the mic and tells the crowd to shut up, and calls them the villains that control the stupid puppet of a General Manager. He calls Bryan a gutless coward who made up his injury because he doesn’t have the balls to compete in the ring anymore. Bryan says he should fire James, but tonight isn’t about him, and instead bans him from the entire arena as security comes down and drags him away
Opinion
This was an entertaining segment and really set the tone for the main event. Of course I still expect Ellsworth to make an appearance in the main event.

If Hype Bros win they get a future title shot.
Usos def. The Hype Bros
In a quick match The Usos defeated The Hype Bros after Ryder got hit with a splash.
Opinion
Quick match which ended the hype around the return of the Hype Bros and tied the loose ends of them being number one contenders before Ryder got injured. I’m curious what happens to the Hype Bros next. It is possible they remain a tag team but I do see one of them turning heel betraying the other. Personally, I’d like to see Ryder turn heel because there hasn’t been a better time than now for him too.

– New Day arrives and challenges the Usos to a match at Battleground. The Usos say they don’t deserve a shot since they already took care of them. They will take a pass as whooping that as tonight, but at Battleground, they accept. Kofi says that the Usos are getting moody, and calls them booty. I’m not a big fan of New Day essentially booking themselves in a rematch, when the Hype Bros lost a shot that they legit earned months ago because reasons.

– Free agent John Cena returns next week on Smackdown.

– We get a new installment of Fashion Vice. Fandango & Breeze interrogate the Ascension, who deny doing anything wrong. Fandango tries to bribe them with Eddie Money tickets. Konnor wanted to accept, Breeze arrives, offering iced tea and a cheese platter. Fandango realize s they were both playing good cop and during the interrogation their office was trashed again. The Ascension enjoys the cheese plate and sneakily take the Eddie Money tickets.

WWE Women’s Champion
Naomi def. Lana
In a surprising squash match, Naomi defeated Lana after a split-leg moonsault to pick up the win.
Opinion
This was shocking because it was squash match and Lana is still a newer character. I didn’t expect Lana to pick up the victory but I still figured they would protect her character and allow her to continue to be a threat in the women’s division rather than her being easily defeated. This leaves me to believe that Lana falls to the bottom of the ladder and no longer a threat in the womens division unless they find a way to get in a rivalry against someone where she picks up some wins.

– Becky Lynch is interviewed backstage and praised Daniel Bryan for doing the right thing and giving the women of Smackdown a fair chance. She says all she needs is a fair chance to become Ms. Money in the Bank and finally get her hands on the women’s championship

Randy Orton/Shane McMahon/Jinder Mahal
Aiden English is out in the ring singing a terrible song, but he’s quickly cut off by a very angry Randy Orton. English refused to leave and took an RKO for his trouble. Orton brought a chair in the ring and sat down, claiming that he wouldn’t leave the ring until he gets a rematch for the WWE Championship. He says if he doesn’t get it, he’s going to find Jinder Mahal in the back and beat the holy hell out of him. And then if that’s not enough he’ll find him in the parking lot after the show and beat the holy hell out of him. And if THAT doesn’t work he’ll find him at the airport on the way to the next city, and next week on Smackdown Live, and every single day until he’s given a rematch against the champion.
Shane McMahon makes his way out and says they can’t have one of their stars threatening harm on their champion. Orton tells the Commissioner to fire him, so he can buy a ticket to every show and kick Jinder Mahal’s ass until he gets arrested. Shane says the Singh brothers crossed the line at Money in the Bank but Orton has used similar tactics in the past, and that’s led to them facing off in the ring together in the past. Even so he gives him his rematch at WWE Battleground on one condition – Jinder will pick the stipulation for their match. Out comes the champion, who trashes the fans and WWE management for supporting a “snake” like Randy instead of him. He says they’re all biased, and that’s exactly why he will choose the stipulation based on his personal hero, the Great Khali. It will be Orton vs. Jinder inside the Punjabi Prison at Battleground.
Opinion
This was great. Orton seemed fired up and passionate. I always mark out when Shane comes out. I almost thought Randal might have laid out Shane O’ Mac with a RKO to make a point but that never happened. I was hoping that when they were talking about family members being attacked there would have been reference to when Orton punted Vince McMahon in the head from Shane-O but that wasn’t the case. I predicted and it was heavily rumoured that Jinder Mahal would face Randy Orton and thats seems to be the case. I am excited for it even though the previous ones weren’t so great. Although those ones involved Great Khali, who quite honestly wasn’t the greatest and most mobile worker. I think Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal have the potential to tell a much greater story.

– Styles complains about the Owens Open Challenge to Bryan. Owns arrives and says that the challenge are for people he hasn’t beaten, and he already beaten Styles. Styles drop an Anchorman reference, leading to Bryan booking an Independence Day battle royal for next week, with the winner facing Owens at battleground for the US Title. Owens said that this was the worst idea ever, Styles told Bryan, “You’ve had worse, don’t worry about it.”Kevin Owens interrupts them and Styles calls him “Ron Burgundy’s definition of San Diego”. For those that don’t understand that reference, Will Farrell says in the incredible film Anchor Man that the German’s named the city San Diego because it means “a whale’s vagina”. Bryan can barely keep a straight face as they can’t explain the joke on TV, and instead announces an Independence Day Battle Royal for next week where the winner will get a shot at Owens and the U.S. title.

– Maria Kanellis and Mike Kanellis make their way out to their amazing rock ballad and introduce themselves. Before they can continue, Sami Zayn’s music plays and he comes out for his match, and apologizes for interrupting them. I loved it and glad the Kanellis’s got air time this week.

Baron Corbin def. Sami Zayn
In a competitive match Baron Corbin defeated Sami Zayn after hitting deep six.
Opinion
Well, this was a great TV match that could have gone either way. Personally I would have enjoyed Zayn picking up the victory because Corbin has nothing to lose because he’s still the Money the Bank holder. However, Corbin still went over and it is what it is. They need to build Corbin to a level in which fans believe in his potential as a future WWE Champion whether he cashes in the briefcase and wins or loses. I know with the sudden rise of Jinder Mahal that it seems like anyone can win the championship but lightning doesn’t always strike twice in the same place.

– Nakamura is interviewed and says Corbin is dangerous, but is afraid of what he can do.

Final Thoughts
Although there were two squash matches and not a lot of big stars featured in matches, this episode still felt important because of the main event and the women’s angles. A lot of storyline progression, another funny Fashion Police skit, the end of Lana/Naomi feud and Carmella officially crowned Ms. Money in the Bank. I wish when they put these episodes up on the WWE Network weeks after they aired on television they would be full episodes showing what happened even during commercial breaks, because it would have made the main event a lot more enjoyable than it already was. I’m intrigued by how they build up this Punjabi Prison Match going forward. Next week’s episode of Smackdown Live is on Independence Day which usually ends up being a throwaway episode of wrestling, which will make you appreciate this week’s episode so much more.
Rating – 8/10

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