Smackdown Live Review 12/05/2017

Hello Misfits. It’s time for this weeks Smackdown Live review. The road to Clash of Champions continue. Hopefully the card starts to shape up more after this weeks episode of Smackdown Live. A bunch of championship matches were named over the weekend such as Charlotte defending against Natalya and Corbin defending against Ziggler and Roode. I’m looking forward to see how they address these new matches and progress their stories. I went into this episode of Smackdown Live not sure what to expect since we’re kind of in that weird lull period before the Road to Wrestlemania kicks off, so lets see how it went.

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

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

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Owens welcomes the crowd to the Sami and Kevin Show. Sami says no, tonight is the Kevin and Sami Show. Owens says over the past few months he has learned that when you are a victim of a McMahon family vendetta they will stop at nothing to get their pound of flesh. Zayn and Owens name a few people who have been targeted by the McMahons. Bret Hart, Daniel Bryan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, so forth. Owens and Zayn are better than all of them combined. Zayn says Shane uses Randy Orton as a weapon just like Stephanie McMahon used to. Owens says Shane can’t get over the fact that they made him stupid. Zayn adds that the best part about all of this is that Shane’s plan didn’t even work. Owens says he beat Orton to the point where he can’t be used as a weapon against them
Zayn explains how what he did last week was totally within the rules that Shane set last week. Zayn demonstrates how where he attacked Orton is technically not ringside. Zayn ends up on the stage. Zayn says they worked within the system and they won. Orton appears out of nowhere and RKOs Owens. Shane comes out on the stage and tells Zayn that he doesn’t have a vendetta against them. Since Owens and Zayn are upset they were not featured at Survivor Series they will have a match against  Orton and a partner of his choosing at Clash of Champions. Shane books Orton vs Zayn for tonight. Shane says Owens is more than welcome to be at ringside. In fact, Shane insists. Owens will be handcuffed to the ring post.
Opinion
This was a fun opening segment and different from the usual Shane-O opening the show segment that we’ve been getting these past couple of weeks. I love the chemistry Zayn and Owens have together and there were a ton of little humorous  moments. Zayn slowly explaining how their planned worked last week in a witty, sarcastic and annoying fashion was entertaining all the way up to the point where Orton hit Owens with an RKO outta no where. It set up the main event and there wasn’t a dull moment.

– Backstage, Zayn tells Owens’ what happened just now. Owens says he knows how to fix this. Owens is going to go talk to Daniel Bryan.

Rusev & Aiden English def. The New Day
English tries to sing the “12 Days of Rusev” but is interrupted by The New Day. New Day comes out and gives the crowd big a$$ pancakes. Rusev and English picked up the victory when Kingston tries for a springboard but Rusev kicks the ropes and Kingston wipes out. Rusev kicks Kingston in the back of the head. Rusev gets the pin.
Opinion
It’s Rusev Day everyday!! MACHKA! The match was really good and I was shocked with Rusev and English actually picked up the victory. However, I’m definitely not disappointed. This added Rusev and English in the tag team title match at Clash of Champions. Now the Usos will be defending their championship against The New Day, Rusev/English and Benjamin/Gable.

– Backstage, Mojo Rawley says everyone is getting on him for what he did to Zack Ryder last week but why isn’t anyone talking about what Ryder did to him? Rawley won the André the Giant Battle Royal. Rawley was on the rise until Ryder came back to pull him back down. Rawley adds that if there is anyone in the arena who has a problem with it they can shove it.

– Backstage, Carmella, Lana, and Tamina are all lobbying for a women’s title match. Daniel Bryan tells them the match for Clash of Champions is already set. Carmella could be in the match if she is willing to give him the Money in the Bank briefcase. Carmella says nope. Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan barge in. Riott wants to know why if she pinned Charlotte last week she isn’t in the match. Riott asks Bryan if her tattoos make him uncomfortable? After a bunch of useless words, Bryan tells them they will all be at the PPV because the title match will be a lumberjack match.

– Backstage, Baron Corbin asks Bobby Roode if he is ok with management adding Dolph Ziggler to the match. They both complain about their mathematic chances going down. Ziggler walks in and said he was added because he is a two-time World Champion, five-time Intercontinental Champion, and a former United States Champion. At Clash of Champions Roode and Corbin’s chances drop to zero percent.

The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowen) def. Adam James & Josh Carl
In a quick match, Harper and Rowen as the Bludgeon Brothers defeated the two local enhancement talent after hitting their finish. 
Opinion
This Bludgeon Brothers continue to remain dominant and as they should be. I’d wait until after Clash of Champions or even until the New Year before they go after the tag team titles.

– They try to get a interview with Mojo and all he says is that the landscape has changed.

Bobby Roode def. Baron Corbin
Dolph Ziggler is out on commentary for this match. Remember when he was the number one contender for the WWE Championship in the Summer of 2016. Yeah, same. The match comes to a DQ finish with Roode getting the victory after Ziggler entered the ring and hit the zig zag on both guys.
Opinion
This was storyline progression. It was to start building intrigue for this match. Ziggler said some funny stuff on commentary and Roode’s entrance is still special but all of this just kind of fell flat to me. I hope it picks up in the coming couple of weeks. It kind of feels weird that Ziggler was thrown into this randomly when it appeared like we were heading to a Roode/Corbin rivalry. I’m not complaining about it but I hope we get a proper promo or something between these three.

– Backstage, Natalya tries to get Carmella, Lana, and Tamina on her side for the lumberjack match. The Riott Squad walks in and Natalya glad hands them. Natalya tries to convince the Riott Squad to attack Charlotte.

Charlotte Flair def. Tamina w/ Lana, Carmella and Natalya 
In a decent television match Chartotte defeated Tamina by making her tap out to the figure eight.
After the match, Natalya says she is going to win back her title. Before Natalya can finish, The Riott Squad interrupts and it breaks down into a brawl.
Opinion
This was a typicaltelevision match but also felt like more storyline progression. I think it was kind of a bummer to see Tamina tap. I feel like a powerhouse like her looks better losing by pin fall rather than tapping out. I would have wanted this match to end in a DQ but that just happened in the match before this. The Clash of Champions match between Charlotte and Natalya is going to be a Lumberjill match and this helped to show us how quickly that match might break down into a giant brawl.

– Backstage, Owens and Zayn find Bryan. Owens thanks Bryan for considering his plea. Bryan says he agrees with Shane.

Kevin Owens handcuffed to the ring post
Randy Orton def. Sami Zayn
In an entertaining main event filled with shenanigans Randy Orton defeated Sami Zayn when Zayn rolled up Orton from behind but Orton kicks out. Zayn goes for a Helluva kick but misses allowing Orton to roll him up for the victory.
Following the match, Owens and Zayn attack Orton. Shinsuke Nakamura hits the ring and makes the save. Kinshasa by Nakamura to Owens. Orton RKOs Zayn. Orton and Nakamura shake hands. Nakamura picks up Owens and tosses him to Orton for an RKO. Orton holds up Zayn so Nakamura can obliterate him with the Kinshasa.
Opinion
This was another solid main event. Smackdown Live usually delivers with their main events but this one wasn’t as memorable as others. I will say I do think Zayn and Orton have great chemistry and could work a solid series of matches against each other. Their styles with one another sort of remind me of the Orton/Christian matches from 2011. The finish was kind of anti-climatic. The beat down on Orton that lead to Shinsuke coming out after the match was over was the best part. This now means at Clash of Champions we are getting Orton and Nakamura vs Owens and Zayn. This is the first relevant thing we’ve seen Shinsuke do since his rivalry with Mahal. Decent match with better post match shenanigans.

– Backstage, Bryan asks Shane if he is done punishing Owens and Zayn. Shane says he is just starting Shane names himself the referee for the tag match at Clash of Champions. If Owens and Zayn lose not only are they fired from Smackdown, they are fired from WWE as a whole.Whos turning heel here? Shane-O or Bryan?

Final Thoughts
I found this show to be very entertaining but still nothing unforgettable. AJ Styles and Jinder Mahal only got a video package on this episode to build their match which is fine but I kind of wish there was more. It looks like we’re getting Orton/Nakamura vs. Owens/Zayn at Clash of Champions. It was a match we saw a couple of weeks ago on Smackdown but I expect them to take it up a notch at the PPV. Shane has inserted himself as the referee which really changes the story of this match. Similar to what we saw throughout the Summer during KO’s rivalry with Styles but this time I feel like Bryan will play a bigger role in the outcome. This had to be one of the most whatever episodes of Smackdown in a while. I’m sure things will pick up as we get closer to Clash of Champions. Dig It?!
Rating – 5.5/10

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