Smackdown Live Review 11/13/2018

Hello Misfits. It is time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. Its the go home show to Survivor Series. Lets find out. Last year on the road to Survivor Series we saw a lot of last minute changes with titles changing hands to change the final card. I wonder if we’ll see any huge changes tonight. There were rumours going around all day that Becky Lynch might not be able to compete against Ronda Rousey after the women invaded Raw and Becky Lynch took a nasty hit from Nia Jax that broke her face and gave her a concussion. The question now is if Lynch will relinquish the championship or how will they choose a replacement for Becky Lynch. Also, will Raw try to retaliate and invade Smackdown Live before Survivor Series? Last week the show went off the air with tension between Team Smackdown. Will Daniel Bryan remain on the team? Lets find out.

Smackdown comes to us live from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

–  Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves are on commentary. They kick off the show having the announce team break the news that Becky Lynch is unable to compete at Survivor Series due to the broken face and severe concussion she received on Raw.

AJ Styles
Styles says he has defeated every opponent that has been put in front of him. The only one left is Brock Lesnar. Styles is going to do more than survive this Sunday. Paul Heyman appears in the crowd. Styles see Heyman and tells the ring announcer to give Heyman a mic. Heyman says he came here tonight to tells Styles again that there is no one Lesnar wants to fight more than Styles. When you think of all of the legendary workhorses in WWE history you have to put Styles on that list. Styles is just this close to being number one behind Daniel Bryan. Heyman says we know we will never see Lesnar in the ring with Bryan. Styles isn’t a consolation prize but still. Heyman congratulated Styles for being the second best in-ring performer in the WWE.
Styles says he knows what Heyman is trying to do but it isn’t going to work. Styles says he tapped Bryan out and is going to do the same to Lesnar. This Sunday is going to be all about Styles. Daniel Bryan power walks to the ring. Bryan says he isn’t quite sure why they are talking about him. What Styles said was true. Bryan says if Styles brings up his name again he is going to punch Styles in the face. Styles says he thought they hugged this out. Styles says Bryan’s name. Bryan decks Styles. Shane McMahon and a few officials break up Bryan and Styles.
Opinion
This was very interesting and I definitely didn’t expect to see Paul Heyman appear on Smackdown Live. They kicked off the show hot and stirred things up. There is a part of me that wouldn’t surprised if this leads to a huge title change tonight with Bryan going forward to face Lesnar this Sunday. I mean I do want to see Styles beat Lesnar but at the same time, we saw them face each other last year. It would be super rad to see Bryan face off against Lesnar as it was a match we thought we would have never see since Bryan was still retired earlier this year. This is an intriguing go-home show.

– Backstage, Shane stands between Styles and Bryan as they try to tear each other apart.

Jeff Hardy def. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega
In an competitive match Jeff Hardy defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas after a twist of fate followed by a Swanton Bomb.
Opinion
Its great Jeff Hardy find his mojo and pick up a victory after a series of losses but it does suck that it was at the expense of Andrade Cien Almas. This was  competitive match and I wouldn’t mind to see them face off against each other again in the future. I would have preferred to see Almas on the Survivor Series team rather than Jeff Hardy. It could have been a break-out moment for Almas if he had a good showing in the match.

– Backstage, Paige tells Miz that Bryan is off the Survivor Series team. Miz is now the sole captain. Miz adds Hardy to the team. Miz tries to kick Rey Mysterio off the team since Mysterio was Bryan’s pick. Paige tells Miz that if he wants Mysterio off the team he has to beat him tonight.

– Backstage, Shinsuke Nakamura says he is upset because Seth Rollins says he doesn’t care about him. Nakumara says all he has been thinking about is Rollins. Rollins broke Nakamura’s heart so at Survivor Series Nakamura is going to break Rollins’ face.

Rey Mysterio def. The Miz
In a solid match Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz by roll-up to keep his spot on the Smackdown Live Survivor Series team.
After the match, Randy Orton came out again to RKO Mysterio from behind but Rey dodged it this time and Orton hit the RKO on The Miz instead.
Opinion
These two work really well against each other and since they have faced each other a handful of times already since Mysterio returned they find ways to make the matches different. They even did a call-back to the spot that led Miz to victory at Crown Jewel. In the end, Mysterio overcame the odds to stay on the Smackdown Live team. Orton once again tried catching Mysterio off guard but this time Rey Rey got away and Miz took the hit. Will Orton cause Mysterio’s elimination this Sunday?

– Backstage, they show Becky Lynch getting ready to come out to address the crowd.

Becky Lynch chooses Charlotte Flair
Paige calls for the SD Live women’s roster to join her in the ring. The women all come out one by one. Paige says Lynch is going to handpick her replacement for her match with Ronda Rousey. Lynch makes her way out to the ring to a standing ovation. Lynch says she is angry as hell right now. Lynch took a good beating last night but that’s never stopped her before. The medical team will not clear her to compete at Survivor Series. Last night, Lynch got a taste of blood last night and she kicked the entire Raw rosters ass. Even with a concussion and a broken face, Lynch could still kick “Ronni’s” ass. Rousey isn’t the baddest bitch on the planet. Rousey is the luckiest. Lynch says she now has to pick her replacement. Lynch goes up to Charlotte and tells her to make Rousey tap out like Lynch was going to. Lynch shakes Flair’s hand. Flair and Lynch stare at each other. Lynch hugs Flair and whispers something in her ear. Lynch leaves. The SD Live woman’s roster embraces Charlotte.
Opinion
First thing first, Becky Lynch may be injured but her performance on Raw was badass and if youre gonna go out, thats the way to do it. The blood elevated the moment on Raw but it was done the hard-way which will cost us the match most of us were looking forward to the most at Survivor Series. At least I know the match I was looking forward to the most. Becky went out for the time being but she went out in a blaze of glory with infamous images that remain iconic. Becky is more over than she already was after what happened on Raw and I couldn’t be happier that they decided to not strip her of the Women’s Championship and they just let her choose her replacement. Charlotte and Asuka were the obvious favourites I think for people at home and the live crowd. I had a feeling that they were going with Charlotte but in the moment I found myself rooting for Asuka. I dont know when we’ll ever get a better moment to book Asuka vs Ronda Rousey and I already had it in my mind that Wrestlemania was going to be Rousey vs Charlotte. This made sense though and the moment between two former best friends who went to war against each other for the last few months embracing and showing mutual respect towards one another was solid stuff. I’m looking forward to Charlotte vs Ronda Rousey. They needed a match that seemed big enough to be a suitable replacement. This was it.

– Backstage, Flair says she has spent half her career fighting Becky Lynch. Last night, Flair fought alongside Lynch. This Sunday, Flair is going to fight FOR Lynch. Charlotte says its going to be an honour at Survivor Series when the Queen beats Ronda Rousey to prove that Smackdown Live is the superior brand.

Big Show & The Bar def. The New Day
In a fun competitive match, Big Show and The Bar defeated The New Day after Big Show laid out Kofi Kingston with a WMD as he was coming off the top rope.
Opinion
I enjoyed this match. The New Day has great chemistry with a lot of teams because all three guys work unique styles. It’s no different when they face The Bar. The Big Show being involved added another dynamic of a big mean angry giant that they had to find ways to overcome. It might be a forgotten match on this show because so many major things happened but I thought it was a fun match.

– Backstage, the Usos give SAnity, the Colons, and the Good Brothers SD Live shirts. This Sunday they are going to welcome Raw to the Smackdown Penitentiary.

WWE Championship
Daniel Bryan def. AJ Styles (C)
In an AMAZING main event, Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles to become the WWE Champion after a low-blow and running knee.
After the match Daniel Bryan attacked AJ Styles even more.
Opinion
This was a PPV quality match. Minus whatever they did in the commercials, this could have been the main event of any PPV. I recall looking at the clock and seeing only 5 minutes left with Bryan having Styles in a Yes Lock fairly close to the ropes and thinking they can’t end it like that. Yet they still managed to have a couple of counters and transitions before Bryan hit the low-blow and running knee. On top of that, they still had a couple of minutes to have Bryan celebrate and tell the story of potentially turning heel by viciously attacking Styles more after the match. Whoever is timing the show in Gorilla nailed it this week and so did everyone involved with the main event. It was really unexpected and a complete swerve. The only thing I can say I predicted was that WWE has been known to change plans last minute prior to Survivor Series because they did last year and now they did it again. I know the fans will be split on this decision but to me it makes things feel fresh on the blue brand and there is an angle ready to kick off right after Survivor Series between Styles and Bryan. If there was a lack of story in their angle prior to Crown Jewel, they have a story to tell now. AJ Styles had an amazing run that cemented his legacy in the WWE history books and as a future Hall of Famer but I felt like we needed this. It’ll be great seeing Styles chase the title once again. Wow.

Final Thoughts
What an emotional ride of an episode of Smackdown Live tonight? Becky Lynch had to pick a replacement for her match this Sunday but fortunately she did not have to relinquish her championship. The Return of the Dragon story has been kicked in high gear now as the “American Dragon” Daniel Bryan is once again the WWE Champion. The teams are set for Survivor Series. Although who will fill the last spot for Womens Smackdown Live team? We were surprised by Paul Heyman showing up but there was no Raw invasion to make this year feel different from last year. I mean I do wonder if Becky never got hurt if the Women were going to retaliate tonight but they had to change plans and have the segment be Becky picking her replacement. I also have to let it sink in that AJ Styles won’t be on Survivor Series but boy will he be angry next week on Smackdown Live when this battle of the brands is over. Who’s excited for Survivor Series?
Rating – 9/10