Smackdown Live Review 11/06/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. Its the fall out of Crown Jewel and the road to Survivor Series begins. The WWE has two weeks to build towards Survivor Series and they have already confirmed the Raw vs Smackdown theme. Its the return of the brand wars and matches between champions have already been announced. Becky Lynch will be facing Ronda Rousey, Seth Rollins will be facing Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles will be facing Brock Lesnar. There will also be two traditional Survivor Series elimination matches for both the men and women. Will we find out who will compete on these teams tonight? What will the fallout of Shane McMahon winning the World Cup tournament be? Will Charlotte captain the Smackdown Women’s team? Who will captain the mens team? Lets find out.

Smackdown comes to us live from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

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

Paige and Shane McMahon
Paige kicks off the show by introducing Shane McMahon to a hugely negative reaction. Paige suggests that since Shane McMahon is the Best in the World they need to have a picture with the trophy. CM Punk cants break out. Shane says whatsup to Manchester and is met with boos. Shane says he may not be Best in the World and that the trophy belongs to SmackDown Live and not him. Shane says he acted on instinct. They announce that The Bar vs AOP will take place at Survivor Series. Daniel Bryan is announced as the captain of Team SmackDown and he makes his way out. Bryan tries to give Shane some credit for admitting he’s not the best in the world and Bryan goes on talking about being honoured to be the captain. The Miz comes out and says he should be the captain. Miz said he’s not even angry but just disappointed. Miz said that two thirds of the trophy is his and that together with Shane they are the best in the world aka co-besties. Miz said never his career has he ever been so injured that he couldn’t compete unlike Bryan and says he should be team captain. Shane & Paige agree and make Miz & Bryan co-captains. They also announce a handful of qualifying matches and matches to name team leaders for Survivor Series for tonight.
Opinion
They kicked off the show with addressing a lot of the questions that we had. Shane McMahon got a negative reaction from the fans after the stunt he pulled at Crown Jewel.  Shane-O is still playing the babyface even though his actions would have you believe he would be an egomaniac heel. They do their best to hype of Survivor Series and get the build up for the event started in high gear. Bryan and Miz as team captains is great because they have great chemistry with each other as polar opposites. Shane being added to the team was expected but I wish he wasn’t personally.

– Bryan and Miz argue backstage with Shane McMahon. Shane-O says that Bryan and Miz bring the best out of each other even though they hate each other and thats why they will work great together. The Miz and Bryan agree that Shane must be part of team blue at Survivor Series. Shane agrees. Miz and Bryan oddly get along and both find it weird.

– Rey Mysterio vs Andrade Cien Almas is announced for later

Winner’s Captain Smackdown Live Tag Team Survivor Series Team
The Usos def. The New Day
In an awesome tag team match The Usos defeated the New Day after Jimmy Uso followed a top rope power bomb with a Uso Splash making The Usos the captain of Smackdown Live’s tag team Survivor Series team. The Bar were watching backstage.
After the match, The Usos get on the mic to address The New Day and say real recognize real and say there isn’t a Smackdown Live tag division without the Usos and The New Day. The Usos pick The New Day to represent the team at Survivor Series and two teams shake hands and hug.
Opinion
Its great to see the Usos still being valued as a top tier tag team as they should be. These two teams always put on bangers. I was not surprised with the Usos asking The New Day to join the team. I think both teams deserve to be on the Survivor Series team.

– Backstage, Miz is on the phone about his new Marine movie and he’s trying to find out what talk show he’s supposed to be one whether but then gets upset when they say they want Becky. Bryan chooses Rey Mysterio as his next pick as their latest team member. Miz is against it but Bryan reminds him that Rey beat him a couple of weeks ago. Miz says Rey had better impress him tonight against Almas before making his final decision. Bryan pitches an idea for picking their last teammate. They both pick a person who face each other and the winner is on the team. Miz likes the idea and they have another weird moment because they agree with each other.

– They show Becky Lynch backstage tearing a Ronda Rousey shirt to show her shirt as they announce she’s coming out next to address Ronda Rousey.

Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch comes out to a great reception for a promo. Becky asks Ronda who the hell she thinks she is to tell the champ anything. Becky says its true that Ronda holds a championship but she is not a champion. Becky says Ronda isn’t a champion yet because she hasn’t had a real test. Becky says to Ronda winning comes easily to but at Survivor Series her titanium body will be brought down by her weak mind. Becky says she has been tested her entire life and she is the most relentless person that Ronda has ever met. Becky says that Ronda mocked her for the road she has taken but here she is. Becky said she wasn’t meant to be the main event but here she is. Lynch said she wasnt meant to be the talk of the entire industry but here she is. Becky doesn’t care about getting Ronda’s respect in the match, only her arm. Becky says she is The Man and she doesn’t care if Rousey is the baddest bitch on the planet because Becky will make Rousey her bitch at Survivor Series. Lynch says she wants a fight tonight, and Nikki Cross accompanied by Sanity answers the challenge. Nikki tells Becky that she’ll play with her and continues to taunt her into playing. The champ says she doesn’t play but she fights.
Opinion
I love Becky Lynch. The one act I was looking forward to seeing on Smackdown Live tonight. This was another solid promo by “THE MAN” Becky Lynch on Ronda Rousey. Ronda Rousey may come off as a badass in her promos but Becky comes off as this calm. cool and collected competitor who is confident she can take care of Rousey and doesn’t need to resort to cheap shots or comparing the two. Its not about respect but its about proving who’s best. SanIty bringing Nikki cross out was a surprise to me. I loved their short interaction.

Becky Lynch def. Nikki Cross
In a competitive match, Becky Lynch defeated Nikki Cross by making her tap out to the dis-arm her.
Opinion
I wonder if Nikki Cross on the main roster is going to be a permanent thing now. This match was fun and it was great to see the twisted sister face off against Lynch. Becky got the big win to prove she’s the man and the casual fans got a taste of Nikki Cross. Also if this means SanIty might start making a bigger impact, I’m excited. This was cool to see but whats next?

– Backstage, Daniel Bryan picks Jeff Hardy for his Survivor Series team, while The Miz wants to pick Samoa Joe. Joe walks up and says may the best man win.

– Shinsuke Nakamura cuts a promo about Seth Rollins. Nakamura says it is burning down for Seth Rollins with him losing his friends. Nakamura says at Survivor Series Seth Rollins will forget about all of his other problems which he can only find in the United States of Nakamura…knee to face.

Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match
Rey Mysterio def. Andrade “Cien” Almas
In a solid and very competitive match Rey Mysterio defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas after a 619.
Randy Orton comes out after the match and drops Mysterio with a RKO.
Opinion
This was a dream match of sorts and I would love to see these two have a long term feud sometime soon. Almas still seems to be an upper mid-card guy that works in various roles to advance other storylines but not really be involved in anything important himself nor does it seem like he has any goals. It does look like Smackdown is moving forward with the Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio feud.

– Backstage, Daniel Bryan is watching on a monitor and Bryan accuses Miz of sending Orton out there. The Miz agrees to add Mysterio to the team. Miz asks Bryan how he could accuse him of sabotage? He questions if Bryan can keep his emotions in place if Joe wins.

– AJ Styles cuts a promo about Brock Lesnar. He says life as a WWE superstar is unpredictable. He said in the past couple of weeks he defended the WWE Championship multiple times over multiple different continents and reminded everyone that this reign started here in Manchester. England last year. He says his award for being WWE Champion is going toe-to-toe against the Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series again. Styles said last year hit Brock Lesnar with everyone he had but it wasnt a enough. AJ Styles says that once again being a WWE superstar is unpredictable and he will beat Brock Lesnar. Thats not a prediction but spoiler because he is phenomenal.

Smackdown Women’s Team
Paige confirms the Survivor Series Women’s Team will be Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka and Charlotte Flair. Each one is introduced as they come to the ring. When Charlotte was set to come to the ring, Mandy Rose comes out instead and takes the opportunity to ask why she was passed up in favour of the other women in the ring especially Sonya. Mandy says she eliminated Sonya at Evolution in the Battle Royal. Mandy Rose calls Asuka yesterdays news. Mandy tells Carmella that her dance breaks are just like her title reign, short and meaningless. Mandy says she didnt forget about Naomi and asks if anyone is still feeling the glow…like her husband Jimmy. Naomi attacks Mandy Rose. The girls separate them and Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville have a brief stare-down. Charlotte Flair doesn’t make an appearance.
Opinion
This was interesting to say the least. I mean Charlotte didn’t appear but Mandy Rose did. I think the team is very strong and I understand they’re in a rush to build towards this event but I am also curious to where they’re heading with this Mandy Rose angle. I have felt for weeks that without the introduction of the Women’s Tag Team Championship that the partnership between Rose and Deville was getting old and odd. They both are two completely different characters and Deville walking down to the ring with Rose to her music always threw me off.

Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match
Samoa Joe def. Jeff Hardy
Daniel Bryan and The Miz were on commentary for this match. In a solid main event Samoa Joe defeated Jeff Hardy by making the charismatic enigma tap out to a coquina clutch to earn the final spot of the mens Suvivor Series team.
After the match, Joe taunts Bryan which leads to Bryan attacking Joe. That gets Miz involved. Shane McMahon is out to break them up but but himself gets nailed by Bryan as we go off air.
Opinion
This was another great match between the two as we saw this match a couple of weeks ago when they two men fought to qualify for the World Cup tournament. It seems like they’re moving forward with this angle where Hardy has lost a bit of himself since feuding with Orton. Joe wins and it adds conflict between the members of the Smackdown Survivor Series team since there is fresh tension between Joe and Bryan. Shane McMahon getting knocked out adds to the story as well. Is Bryan well enough to lead the team? We’ll have to see what happens next.

Final Thoughts
Smackdown Live was all about building towards Survivor Series this week. It was an entertaining episode with a few surprises and solid matches. The WWE is in this weird place right now where a lot is going on but it doesn’t feel like anythings clicking just yet. Also a lot of major angles get put on hold or stretched longer so we can have this brand warfare for Survivor Series. I think this week was just to get the wheels turning. I’m looking forward to seeing business pick up next week. This episode was entertaining and Smackdown delivered.
Rating – 7/10