Smackdown Live Review 09/25/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. Things continue to get personal on Smackdown Live. Becky Lynch and Charlotte brawled at the end of Smackdown Live last week. Will they face off again this week? AJ Styles and Samoa Joe will be face to face to sign the contract for their match at Super Showdown. Will they be able to remain professional or will things get personal yet again? The Miz and Bryan will be facing each other again at Super Showdown to earn the chance to face the WWE Champion. Will they have words for each other tonight? One week from Saturday is Super Showdown in Australia, it’s really going to be interesting to see what happens next. Lets find out.

Smackdown comes to us live from the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Colorado.

–  Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves are on commentary.

Truth TV
R-Truth and Carmella are in the ring. R-Truth’s first guest is Daniel Bryan. Bryan joins R-Truth and Carmella in the ring. R-Truth says he has a lot of questions for Bryan. R-Truth puts on a pair of reading glasses and asks a few questions. R-Truth asks Bryan how cathartic it would be if Bryan defeated Miz at Super Showdown and went on to compete for the WWE title. Bryan says that R-Truth asked a very insightful question and this show is way better than Miz TV. Carmella tells R-Truth to its time. Time for what? The seven-second dance party segment. R-Truth and Carmella dance for seven seconds and sit back down. Bryan says beating Miz will cover all bases and be cathartic. Miz interrupts. Miz asks R-Truth what he is doing. R-Truth says two weeks ago he beat Miz.
If Miz had a championship it would be R-Truth’s. Since Miz doesn’t have a championship, R-Truth took his talk show! Miz says he knows why all these people love him. Why? One of the reasons is because Bryan always fights fare. That’s why Bryan will never beat Miz. Miz will do whatever it takes to win. Miz says he will do anything to move onto the WWE Championship. Bryan is too proud to do what needs to be done to win. If Bryan cheats, Bryan will forever tarnish the name “Daniel Bryan”. R-Truth tells Miz he ran too long and killed R-Truth’s planned animal segment. R-Truth bans Miz from the show for life. R-Truth says if Miz wants his show back R-Truth will fight him for it. In the middle of Miz speaking R-Truth and Carmella have another dance break.
Opinion
This opening was unpredictable, entertaining and really creative. First things first, Carmella looks gorgeous with her new hair colour. Truth and Carmella surprisingly make a hilarious duo. I know they are paired together mainly due to the mixed match challenge but it works. Daniel Bryan is the complete opposite energy of Truth and Carmella so it worked perfectly. I loved the dance breaks. Miz came out as expected and challenged Bryan’s morality. I really enjoyed this segment and the creativity behind it.

– Backstage, Miz complains to Paige about R-Truth’s show. Miz wants it canceled. Paige tells Miz that if he wants it back he has to go out and fight for it.

The Miz  def. R-Truth w/ Carmella 
Daniel Bryan was on commentary for this match. The stipulation here is that if Miz wins he gets his show back. In a solid match, The Miz defeats R-Truth by using Daniel Bryan’ running knee.
Opinion
This was quality match and Bryan was fun to have on commentary. Truth got a victory over The Miz a week or two ago so and I didn’t expect lightning to strike twice. The fact that Miz used Bryan finish to pick up the victory mocking Bryan who was on commentary was great as well.

– Earlier today, Becky Lynch attacked Charlotte backstage while Charlotte was trying to take promo pictures. Becky Lynch says nobody wants to see Charlotte’s face but they want to see the champs face. Becky Lynch poses with her foot on Charlotte Flair.

Sheamus w/ Cesaro def. Big E w/ The New Day
Before the match, The New Day cut a promo on the Bar. Kofi admits he got beat clean last week by Cesaro. They said they usually like to play but this week they want to try something different by saying something nice about their opponents. This ended up being compliments followed by insults. Sheamus cuts them off before they finish off with him and say they’re here to fight.
In a really good match between two powerhouses, Sheamus defeated Big E after catching him with a brogue kick.
Opinion
This is the second week in a row where The Bar got one up on the New Day. This was actually a good match between two guys who were familiar with each other. I’m really looking forward to their tag team match at super showdown. I’m just glad that The Bar are back on television and in the tag team championship picture.

– Backstage, Paige is talking to AJ Styles about the contract signing later telling him to not destroy anything such as the expensive monitors. Styles says he is just out there to sign on the dotted line but if he has to destroy anything…it’ll be Samoa Joe.

– Backstage, Lana walks to Rusev’s dressing room. Rusev walks out and says Aiden is going to pay but first he wants to know why he did what he did.

Rusev/Aiden English
Rusev says English betrayed him on Rusev Day and that makes English a traitor. Rusev demands English come out and explain himself. English comes out and says he knows Rusev is angry. None of this is English’s fault. When English first met Rusev, Rusev was great but no one cared about him. English says he made Rusev the most beloved superstar in WWE. English shows a highlight reel of him singing for Rusev.
English says they were amazing together. They were destined to be legends. What happened? Lana happened. This whole mess is Lana’s fault. English plays a video that shows Lana getting in the way. Things were better when it was just the two of them. Lana says before English she got Rusev a tank at WrestleMania and Rusev was unstoppable. English is a glorified cheerleader. English says if Lana is so honest has she told Rusev about that one night in Milwaukee? English drops the mic and walks away.
Opinion
MILWAUKEE? What happened in Milwaukee? This was great segment to make things more personal between these three. This was a solid segment and I feel like Aiden has a point with saying Rusev Day started falling off once Lana got involved. However, Lana had a point to when pointing out that English was just trying to use Rusev to help his own career. Although, in the end the only question here is WHAT HAPPENED IN MILWAUKEE?

– Backstage, Asuka and Naomi are training for the upcoming match.

– Backstage, Lana is talking to Rusev saying that he has no idea what Aiden is talking about. Rusev questions why Milwaukee. Becky Lynch walks up saying Milwaukee is a fun town. Lana tells her to mind her own business. Becky Lynch says she now runs this Women’s Division now and since that is where Lana tried to perform that makes her Becky’s business. Lynch tells Lana to get Rusev to carry her bags to the car after she’s done with her cause she won’t physically be able to walk herself back through the curtain. Becky leaves but not without saying Milwaukee eh. Rusev questions the last time they were in Milwaukee and Lana asks if he is serious.

Asuka & Naomi def. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville
The IIconics try cutting a promo before the match but are cut off by Naomi’s entrance. They do however stay on commentary for this match.
In a quick match, Asuka and Naomi defeat Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville after hitting a double spinning heel kick on Deville.
Opinion
This was again to develop Asuka and Naomi as a team. The IIconics and Graves all teaming on Byron on commentary was fun as well. This was quick but good for TV. Asuka and Naomi work well together.

– Shinsuke Nakamura preparing for his match.

Tye Dillinger def. Shinsuke Nakmaura
In what started out as a surprisingly competitive match, Tye Dillinger defeated Shinsuke Nakamura by DQ once Randy Orton came from out of nowhere to ambush Tye Dillinger. Orton beat down Tye Dillinger and even hit him with a DDT to the outside. Shinsuke Nakamura followed it with a Kinshasa on on Dillinger into the LED board.
Opinion
This started out with Dillinger getting a ton of offence which I didn’t expect. It actually made me believe that this could be a really good match. Instead we had Orton come out and claimed his next victim which seems to be Tye Dillinger. If that is the case, thats huge for Tye Dillinger and his career to have an angle with Orton. I also feel the need to point out that it seems odd that both of Ortons victims were attacked during feuding with Nakamura. I wonder if there is any connection there.

– Backstage, Mike Rome asks Randy Orton if Tye Dillinger is his next victim. Randall says no but that Perfect 10 crap just pisses him off. LOL lawwe it.

– Lana is shown preparing for her match when Rusev walks up to wish her luck. Lana questions why Rusev believes anything Aiden is saying calling him a liar. Rusev says he’s obviously a lair and he doesn’t believe him. Rusev says he’s just a little frustrated. The fans chant Milwaukee which I found hilarious. I hope they do it during the match.

Becky Lynch def. Lana
In a solid but quick match, Becky Lynch defeated Lana after Becky Lynch hit the bexploder suplex and locking the dis-armher on Lana forcing her to tap out.
Opinion
This was what it was. It allowed Becky to continue looking strong and it allowed Lana to have a match. I loved that the fans chanted Milwaukee at Lana during the match. I also love this new aggressive Becky Lynch. I feel like they’re still trying to make her the heel in this feud with Charlotte but the fans are so strongly behind her.

– Backstage, Kayla Braxton is with Aiden English. She asks him if he can talk about what happened in Milwaukee. English says no because he has proof and we will see his visual proof on next week’s show

AJ Styles and Samoa Joe Contract Signing
Paige introduces AJ Styles and Samoa Joe for the WWE Title match contract signing. Joe never comes to the ring. Styles says Joe doesn’t have the guts to come down here, stand face-to-face and sign the contract. Styles knows Joe is going to try to attack him but Styles has eyes in the back of his head today. Joe appears on the titantron. Joe says tonight he found himself in a place he would have never expected. Joe is at AJ Styles’ house. Joe shows the mailbox that says Styles on in. Styles goes nuts in the ring. Styles starts asking Joe what he wants. Joe wants to know if Styles feels helpless. Joe tells Styles to get his phone out and call Wendy. Styles doesn’t have his phone in the ring. Joe says he has a present for Emily and holds up a baby doll. Joe asks if Styles rage has turned into fear yet. That feeling Styles is feeling is exactly how Styles will feel when Joe beats him for the title at Super Showdown. Joe rings the doorbell and says “daddy’s home” as the screen fades to black.
Opinion
This was FANTASTIC. I have been waiting for Joe to show up at AJ Styles house for weeks, possibly months. This was just the way to make things more personal and I’m actually glad they waited it out because we came to a point where I questioned how they were going to make it more personal. I can’t wait to see the fall-out next week. I’ve been waiting for AJ Styles to just blow his top.

Final Thoughts
Smackdown Live once again was an awesome show. There wasn’t a dull moment and they capitalized on the two hours they have by advancing all their major storylines. There were a handful of things that happened on this episode that made me want to tune in next week. I also feel like they hit on all their current major storylines this week. There are times when they focus on specific storylines on specific weeks but I felt like they got everything in this week. It was non-stop action both in and outside of the ring. There were entertaining moments, solid matches and great storyline progression. I dont even remember what happened on Raw last night but I can’t wait for Smackdown Live next week.
Rating – 9/10