Smackdown Live Review 08/15/2017

Hello Misfits. It’s time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. This is the last show before WWE’s biggest show of the Summer, “Summerslam”. This WWE has announced ahead of time that Jinder Mahal will face John Cena and that Natalya will take on Becky Lynch. Also another segment between Shane McMahon and AJ Styles, where Styles is supposed to apologize for accidentally hitting Shane McMahon last week. I also would like to add that my best wishes, thoughts, prayers and good vibes are going out to Ric Flair and his family. Ric Flair has been hospitalized since Saturday and under went surgery yesterday for existing health conditions that got worse. I hope he has a speedy recovery. This also makes me believe Charlotte wouldn’t be on the show and most likely missing Summerslam this year which is 100% understandable. Lets get to the show.

Smackdown comes to us live from Duncun Donuts Centre in Providence, RI.

–  Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and JBL are on commentary.

Jinder Mahal’s India Independence Day Celebration
The Singh brothers formerly introduced Jinder Mahal, who made his way to the ring in formal attire. The champion announced a celebration to honor Independence Day, which brought out a host of dancers and drum players similar to his championship coronation. A woman came out to sing the national anthem of India, as the crowd rained down boos. After they were finished, Jinder claimed that he would defeat America’s hero John Cena, and a loud “USA” chant broke out. He continued his tirade against the fans and spoke to his people in Punjabi until…
Shinsuke Nakamura came out to ruin the party. Jinder called him disrespectful. Nakamura agreed that today was Indian Independence Day, however today in Japan it’s the day that they commemorate those who have died in war, and pray for peace. And Sunday in America, at SummerSlam, will be the day Jinder loses the WWE Championship. The Artist made his exit as his music played and the Singh brothers went crazy screaming at him.
Opinion
This was a great opening segment. The WWE is still trying to take advantage of having a large fanbase is India and hosting segments like this celebrating India’s Independence Day was super smart. I like how Shinsuke mentioned it was a holiday in Japan as well but for a different reason. I think everyone assumed it was going to be the GREAT AMERICAN HERO Cena taking down the foreign bad guy in Jinder Mahal but I like that they went this different route. They’re both foreigners but theres a good one and a bad one. I liked the edition of bringing the bhangra dancers back and stuff too. I don’t know what else you could have asked for in this segment rather than maybe some sort of physical interaction but it wasn’t necessarily needed.

Natalya def. Becky Lynch
In a decent TV match, Natalya defeated Becky Lynch when Becky missed a leg drop and Natalya locked in the sharpshooter to make Becky tap. Naomi was on commentary. Following the match Natalya tried to continue the assault on Lynch but Naomi came in for the save. This was followed by Carmella making her way to stage with James Ellsworth to remind everyone thats she’s got the Money in the Bank briefcase and wishes both Natalya and Naomi luck this Sunday. Ellsworth says it doesn’t matter who wins the match because Carmella will be walking out of Summerslam the Womens Champion.
Opinion
This was basically angle advancement at the expense of Becky Lynch who has nothing to do this Sunday. Natalya goes into Summerslam looking strong and Carmella reminded us of what possibly could happen this Sunday if she decides to cash in. Solid stuff. I wish Becky had something to do this Sunday. Carmella is a babe.

– Tamina Snuka approached Lana in the locker room and wanted to know what happened last week. She said the game plan was to put her in line for the women’s title. Lana simply said that she wasn’t ready, and Tamina obviously took offense that. Lana said she wasn’t ready…yet. She said that people walk past her in the halls and nobody sees her, because the people don’t fear her. Lana reveals her plan is to turn Tamina into the most dominant, most feared woman in the world, by using her beauty and popularity to manipulate the world around them. At which point, she will be ready to become the most powerful champion of all time. Intriguing.

– The Usos catch up with Daniel Bryan, who tries way too hard to be hip and says he’s been working on his “sick beats and hooks”, and wants to be the third member of their rap group. The Usos want Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston tonight in a tag team match ahead of their bout at SummerSlam.

Rusev vs. Chad Gable
It a match that really didnt get started, Rusev bulldozed over Gable with a brutal attack that ended with him having the accolade locked on him on top of the announce table. Rusev grabbed a microphone and got back into the ring. He barely got the word “Randy” out of his mouth when Orton came flying out of nowhere and dropped him with the RKO!
Opinion
Gable started off strong but it didn’t last long before Rusev brutally attacked him tossing him into the steel steps like a rag doll. Rusev looked motivated and focused on making a point and this showcased that. Orton coming with an RKO outta nowhere is all Orton had to do to claim his point. This was to help build their match this Sunday. It was simple but worked. Orton stood tall in the end…does that mean Rusev does this Sunday.

Shane McMahon/AJ Styles/Kevin Owens
AJ Styles made his way out to a huge reaction from the fans, and called down Shane McMahon, who promptly joined him in the ring. Shane O’Mac said there’s no reason to apologize for what happened last week, as his entire job as special guest referee to their match at SummerSlam is to be a guy who can take a hit and keep going. Styles still held that his kick last week was an accident, and wanted to know if Shane had any plans to screw him over at SummerSlam. McMahon agreed that it was an accident and simply said that on Sunday, he’ll remain impartial but if anybody puts their hands on him again he’ll retaliate in kind. Kevin Owens wandered out and tried to stir the pot between them, sucking up to Shane and saying he would never intentionally put his hands on the GM. Owens and Styles started brawling and Shane got between them. AJ almost inadvertently decked him but held up at the last minute, then ducked out of the way allowing Owens to superkick the Chairman in the face.
Opinion
This is just stirring the pot even more with this angle of Shane McMahon being the special referee. Shane claiming that if anyone puts his hands on him this Sunday that he’ll react in similar fashion really made you intrigued on what drama we might see this Sunday. This segment ended with Owens hitting Shane, so now both guys have accidentally hit Shane in the shows leading up to Summerslam. It was a quality segment and builds more suspense for this Sundays match. Once again another solid segment for angle advancement with three very talented guys. I still think this will all lead to Shane McMahon vs Kevin Owens down the road.

The Usos def. The New Day
In a competitive tag match The Usos defeated The New Day members, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, when Woods went up looking for an elbow drop but got thrown hard into the top rope. Kofi was limping, selling his knee and turned around into stereo super kicks to get pinned.
Opinion
I think with the way Kofi was selling his knee that this Sundays combination most likely will be Xavier Woods and Big E. This was preview of what this Sundays match may look like but with The Usos picking up the victory here, leaves me thinking that won’t be the case this Sunday. WWE always rolling with that 50/50 booking.

– That’s right, it’s the final episode of Fashion Peaks. The bulletin board this week has a picture of Fake Diesel and Fake Razor Ramon, and a picture of Bob Backlund that just said “Wow Bob”. Fandango talked to his recorder about being abducted by aliens and probed. Breeze showed up wearing a blonde wig but wouldn’t eat any cookies because of diabetes. Fandango threw a “time rock” that the aliens left in his “back pocket” and hit one of the Ascension members. The Ascension returned a pie they said was terrible, before Viktor started screaming about them being gluten free. Fandango sorted through all the weird contents in the pie including a used bandaid and a note. They looked into space and said “oh no, it’s happening again.” Apparently the whole tag team division is in danger. The scene faded to black with a graphic that said “Fandango Will Return in 25 Years” but it changed to “In Two Weeks” which got a big pop from the crowd. I loved it.

Final Thoughts
This was a great episode of Smackdown that involved a lot of angle advancement for this Sunday’s Summerslam. It was exactly what it was supposed to be with the added drama and suspense at the end with the cash in. There were no Harper, Rowen, Zayn, Dillinger, English or the Kanellis’s among others on this episode but that is totally fine. Its a two hour show and they focused on all the angles they needed too. There wasn’t a segment on this show that felt unnecessary. It was fun episode and it made me look more forward to Smackdown’s matches for this Sunday.
Rating – 7/10

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