SmackDown Review 10/11/2019
WWE Friday Night Smackdown Review: October 11th, 2019
Author: Captain Charisma
Live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Welcome my fellow peeps to the second edition of the WWE Friday Night SmackDown review! First and foremost, I do want to apologize to my peeps for having this review late as personal situations popped up in inopportune time. Nevertheless, here we are! Screw dirt sheets and the fact that the historic night has surpassed already over forty eight hours prior to this review. I did not watch SmackDown this past Friday due to work but this review will be my first time watching the second episode on Fox! In addition as an FYI, you all will be getting a proper review with no knowledge of what has happened on the day of. From what was announced for the past several weeks, this episode is indeed night one of the WWE Draft and as advertised very heavily, Roman Reigns (who will be representing SmackDown) will be taking on Seth Rollins (representing Raw) to determine who will have the right to have the first pick in the Draft selection process. For those unfamiliar with the draft they have implemented this year compared to the 2016 Draft and has been stuck with the horrifying Wild Card Rule for less than eternity, the rules are simple: over 70 superstars have been placed into this year’s draft with 30 superstars eligible tonight and 40 superstars on Monday. While tag teams count as 1 pick (which is incredibly stupid), for every two picks SmackDown has because they are a two hour program, Raw will obtain three. Also on for tonight is the rematch we both want and did not want as Charlotte Flair defends her newly won SmackDown Women’s championship against Bayley in a rematch from the previous week. In all honesty, the excitement for Night One of the Draft is real but in terms of matches provided, there is nothing else I am too excited for. But hey, as a professional wrestling mark all my life, I have learned to enter every single episode of WWE programming with an open and clear mind. No spoilers but just me, the television screen, and this computer! Let us dive right in!
Match #1 – Interbrand Warfare – Roman Reigns (SmackDown) vs. Seth Rollins (RAW) – Winner Gets The Right to Choose First for Their Brand
As the bell rings, the self-proclaimed “biggest matchup of the night” kicks off between two former Shield brethren. Just a few moments into the match and Seth Rollins shows Roman Reigns a huge show of respect with a shield bump to get things started. Immediately, Rollins applies the front headlock like he has somewhat control over the Big Dog in the early goings. It is not long however when the strong start backfires and Reigns uses the Irish-Whip maneuver which transitions into a rough shoulder tackle to get the WWE Universal Champion off his feet. After another lockup, Rollins seems to have control yet again but Roman catches him slipping yet again! We see Seth reversing the Irish Whip after it was repeated earlier in the match but somehow and someway, Reigns finds the will to power out and bring Rollins up in the air. However, I did not see Rollins reversing that reversal if that made sense. This is real WWE 2K logic with unlimited reversals. While Rollins has Roman grounded with a headlock, Reigns reverses yet again and goes for the rollup which only counts for the referee’s one count. Both men get on their feet for a quick standoff. After another lockup which both struggle to gain a footing, Rollins quickly goes for a school boy cover which only dazes Reigns for a two count. He then sends Reigns to the outside and hits him with a apron springboard dropkick. Immediately, he thinks that he has Roman where he wants him and attempts a suicide dive but is wrong as Roman catches the champion with a right forearm. While Rollins is dazed on the bottom rope, Reigns attempts a running drive-by dropkick but Rollins catches him and attempts a move of his own as a counter. Roman rolls out of the way and Rollins catches himself, landing on his feet on the apron. He tries for the running flying knee but Roman moves out of the way. It seems that these top stars have each other’s numbers as they can identify which move they are about to do next. It is this logic that gets the WWE Universal Champion frustrated and stands nose to nose with The Big Dog in another standoff. Push comes to shove between the two and Rollins strikes with a right hand. This leads to a battle of trading hands. However, this ends with Reigns hitting a huge clothesline to Rollins and sends him over the top rope yet again to take us into the first commercial break of the night. Coming back, Rollins has the chin lock applied to Reigns as if James Ellsworth is receiving one from 2016. Reigns finds the power to kick out of it and both men try to hit a suplex to gain momentum, struggling for control. Roman Reigns has just enough strength to put Rollins up but The Beast Slayer gets out of it with a knee strike to the head. After a kick to the mid-section, Rollins goes for the Curb Stomp only for Roman Reigns to attempt a school boy roll up. After a two count, Reigns powers up and hits a superhuman schoolboy powerbomb to Rollins. Near falls after near falls, Reigns sets up for the Superman punch but Rollins catches him with an STO to the second bottom turnbuckle. He then hits Roman with a running clothesline, sending him over the top rope, and hits two consecutive suicide dives. Measuring Reigns, he connects with the Springboard Flying Knee followed by a Frog Splash in honor of the late and great Eddie Guerrero. Reigns fights on and kicks out at two. Rollins is extremely frustrated over the fact that he cannot put away Reigns and starts calling for the Stomp yet again with the annoying “Burn It Down” chants by the Las Vegas faithful. Another Stomp attempt goes by and again, Reigns reverses and meets Seth with a ruthless uppercut to the chin. Rollins bounces back with an step-up enziguri. After a back and forth exchange of rights and kicks, Rollins connects with a Buckle Bomb to the corner turnbuckle. Reigns bounces back with a Superman punch for another two count. After both men are laid out from exhaustion, Roman gets back on his feet. He sets up for the spear but Rollins meets him halfway and hits a pedigree in mid-air. This will lead into another two count. Rollins calls for the Curb Stomp once more but the lights in the T-Mobile Arena shut off. From literally out of nowhere, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt appears from underneath the ring and applies The Mandible Claw to Seth Rollins. Just when you think that this rivalry was done, Wyatt drags Rollins straight to hell underneath the ring. When the lights pop back on, we witness smoke coming from the hole that was made by Bray Wyatt. Just a few moments later, Rollins emerges and escapes from the smoke. However, we see The Fiend reappear from underneath the ring, staring at Seth Rollins. He then disappears and the lights go off once more. He is then seen once more on the entrance ramp, staring a hole into Rollins as a target for the foreseeable future.
Result: Seth Rollins via disqualification, thus RAW gets the first pick in the WWE Draft
My Thoughts:
YOWIE WOWIE BOYS AND GIRLS!! It looks like The Fiend does not understand the meaning of having the referee call for the bell as a disqualification. What does this mean? It means somehow and someway down the road, we will see these two cross paths again. Or it could be the final sendoff into this rivalry as over ninety nine percent of wrestling fans are pissed that Wyatt did not win the Universal title at Hell in a Cell a week ago. Aside from The Fiend looking as dominant as usual by giving me those vintage Undertaker vibes, Reigns and Rollins put on a phenomenal match to start the show. You can see that having Roman and Seth battle it out for the first time since the start of this brand split in 2016 was tremendous! This was not what I expected as both men laid it out all on the line…in the opening of Draft Night!! Color me surprised because I was intrigued by the chemistry both these gladiators had for one another. Over nine years wrestling in developmental and in the main roster together all culminated perfectly with this match. Sure, there was no decisive winner but it was a true show to watch.
A shot of the WWE Draft War Room is shown between Fox and USA Network executives on whom they want as their picks for their respective shows.
The WWE Draft Rules are laid out
With the first overall pick in the 2019 WWE Draft, Stephanie McMahon comes out to announce Becky Lynch as the first pick, staying on Monday Night Raw
With the second overall draft pick in the 2019 WWE Draft, Stephanie McMahon announces Roman Reigns staying on SmackDown
With the third overall pick, Stephanie McMahon announces The OC (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and United States Champion, AJ Styles) will stay on Monday Night Raw
With the fourth pick, Stephanie McMahon sarcastically tells FOX to be careful what they wished for as Bray Wyatt will be heading to SmackDown
With the last pick of Round 1, Stephanie McMahon announces that Drew McIntyre will be heading to Monday Nights as apart of the RAW Brand
My Thoughts:
Not surprised with these picks. Although Drew McIntyre heading back to RAW was interesting. I hope this means that he will be in the Universal title hunt!
Renee Young Welcomes the WWE Universe to the WWE Draft Panel with Booker T, Beth Phoenix, and Samoa Joe
Match #2 – King Corbin vs. Shorty Gable (aka Chad Gable)
Before the match begins, King Corbin cuts a pre-match promo on addressing the crowd that no matter what brand he will be on, he will share his wealth with himself and feeds off the filth of the WWE Universe in Las Vegas.
The WWE referee calls for the bell and we kick off this rematch from Hell in a Cell with King Corbin throwing Shorty Gable to the corner turnbuckle, which is then followed by a running clothesline and a Biel throw which sends Gable to the outside. Corbin then resents to throwing Gable onto the barricade, back first. Corbin attempts to powerslam Gable onto the outside but the maneuver is reversed with Gable pushing Corbin into the ring post, face first! He then uses a chop block on the left leg on Corbin, looking to take out The King early. Nonetheless, it is the King who takes advantage and takes control for a brief moment. That is until Gable hits a phenomenal arm drag which only leads to a huge boot fit for a King to knock down Shorty. After a kickout at two, Corbin taunts the crowd in arrogance. While looking for his vintage apron sweep rebound clothesline, Gable meets The King right down the middle with a baseball slide. The fight is then taken to the outside where Gable starts hammering down with consistent elbows to The King’s royal face. Corbin then takes him out by throwing him over the announce table. He follows it up with a chokeslam onto the announce table that brings us into more unnecessary Fox commercials. Returning once again, we see Shorty Gable in a very uncomfortable position on the top rope as King Corbin laughs with arrogance. Gable fights The King off and hits a moonsault to escape, landing on his feet. It looks like Corbin hits the Deep Six on Gable but Shorty reverses into a Bulldog, giving him momentum. He then hits two running rolling dropkicks onto the King in the corner until Corbin rolls out to regroup. Gable catches Corbin by hitting a running dropkick that sends The King over the barricade into the timekeeper’s area. Both men are back in the ring where Gable hits a beautiful flying moonsault which is only good for a two count. He then attempts a rolling German O’Connor Roll in the corner but is unsuccessful. Corbin plants Gable with a standing falling slam that is only good for two. Corbin attempts to finish off Gable with the End of Days but is reversed by Gable into the Rolling O’Connor Roll German Suplex for another two count. Gable attempts to be Brock Lesnar and hit two back to back Germans but is unsuccessful after the back of Gable gave way. Corbin attempts a chokeslam backbreaker but Gable reverses into a rollup. This transitions to multiple ankle locks and then to a roll up for another two count. He is then caught by King Corbin, who hits the End of Days to earn the victory over Shorty Gable.
Result: King Corbin via pin fall
My Thoughts:
THE KING HAS PREVAILED! ALL HAIL KING CORBIN! First and foremost, shout out to the almighty King of the Ring on yet another successful victory. Think about this ladies and gentlemen, in the past year, Corbin became a constable, an acting General Manager of Raw, a potential Universal champion, and now a King of the Ring. His transition from the Lone Wolf to the King has been absolutely incredible. His promo skills are never “short” of amazing and his in-ring abilities are flawless. Aside from the King, I believe this rivalry has been a fun one. Seeing Chad Gable do what he does best as an Olympic athlete is nothing “short” of spectacular, even if the “short” jokes are getting way too out of hand. If we are speaking on technical terms, Shelton Benjamin was the one who originated this mess. With all this said, I believe this feud has benefitted both competitors to boost their popularity increasingly. I do not look at this from the comedic aspect but from how great these two are in the ring. Unpopular opinion peeps – give me more of Gable vs. Corbin!
The Fox Sports NFL Panel give their thoughts on tonight’s festivities, giving their fantasy draft picks.
Stephanie McMahon appears and announces the second round picks
With the first pick of Round 2, Randy Orton is announced to be headed to RAW
With the second pick of Round 2, Sasha Banks is announced to be headed to SmackDown
With the third pick of Round 2, Ricochet is announced to stay on RAW
With the fourth pick of Round 2, Braun Strowman is announced to be headed to SmackDown
With the fifth and final pick of Round 2, Bobby Lashley is announced to stay on RAW
In-Ring Segment – Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Rey Mysterio, and Cain Velasquez
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman appear to the Las Vegas faithful. After introduces him and his client in vintage style, Heyman states that they could not pass up the opportunity to fight Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel. He states that normal human beings have nightmares about their fears, getting away from it. He questions Brock Lesnar’s fear. Lesnar’s fear was Velasquez’s first round TKO loss in the UFC back in 2009, stating that there was no excuse of that loss. Heyman revisits last week and states that Lesnar conquers his fears and will conquer his fear at Crown Jewel. He then states that he will conquer Cain Velasquez, saying it will be a spoiler. Rey Mysterio and Cain Velasquez cut off Heyman. Mysterio shows the footage of UFC 121 where Velasquez won the UFC Heavyweight title from Lesnar. Velasquez then goes onto say that he will beat him once again. Mysterio then translates that Velasquez will give Brock the matching scar on his face at Crown Jewel.
My Thoughts:
Despite popular belief that World Wrestling Entertainment are focusing too much on big Mixed Martial Artists as huge attractions to sell big venue, I like this new rivalry between Velasquez and Lesnar. I do not think that there is better marketing for Brock’s challenger other than his past. I get Kofi Kingston deserves a rematch after getting completely squashed in eight seconds but we have to look at the positives. Seeing The Beast Incarnate meet his match both physically and mentally is pretty unique considering that the only other time that this occurred was over fifteen years ago with Goldberg at WrestleMania XX. Velasquez does not need to cut a phenomenal promo in order to get over with the WWE Universe. I firmly have the belief that as a man of few words, it sets in this character of a ruthless SOB looking to take the title away from Brock, even though it is ninety nine percent not going to happen. Showing the UFC footage was interesting which sets the mood for where this rivalry is going! This is not a WWE rivalry but a personal rivalry more so. Expect this match to kill it come Crown Jewel!
The New Day’s Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E present Susan G. Komen WWE Women’s Championships to Breast Cancer survivors Samantha and Sarah Veilleux
Match #3 – 6-Man Tag Team Match – The New Day (Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston) vs. The OC (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and AJ Styles)
Xavier Woods and Luke Gallows start the match first after the bell is called for and immediately, Woods is met with a big boot by Gallows. Gallows follows up by taking out Kofi Kingston with a big right hand. On the outside while Gallows distracts the referee, Styles and Anderson go to work on Woods even further by Irish-whipping him into the steel steps to take us into commercial. Coming back to the action, Karl Anderson and Xavier Woods are both laid out inside the squared circle, looking for the hot tag to both of their respective teams. Both AJ Styles and Kofi Kingston are tagged in. Kingston hits a flying chop to Styles while taking out Gallows and then back to Styles with clotheslines. After Kingston’s signature double chop and dropkick combo, he hits the boom drop. He sets up for Trouble in Paradise but is interrupted by Gallows on the outside, who is knocked down. The former WWE Champion hits a crossbody onto Styles, which is then broken up by Karl Anderson. Big E comes in and hits a huge belly to belly. He is then met by a ruthless Gallows Karate Kick. Woods follows that up with a Apron Springboard DDT followed by a Springboard Flying Swanton Bomb to both Anderson and Gallows. Styles sets up for the Phenomenal Forearm but misses. This leads to Kingston to attempt an SOS. This also leads to an Styles Clash attempt. Kofi hits a dropkick. After multiple reversals, Kofi attempts to roll up Styles with a schoolboy. It is then when Kofi finally catches Styles with a Trouble in Paradise that gets the win for The New Day.
Result: Kofi Kingston via pin fall (thus the New Day wins)
My Thoughts:
This match was actually more fun that what I expected! I did not expect the New Day, even after what happened to Kofi Kingston just a week ago to put on a show tonight. Never count out the Power of Positivity to put smiles on faces. Also, the OC proving once again why they are the only club that mattes in phenomenal fashion. Key thing to note here, I did not expect Big Luke Gallows to shine in this match but he did. I applaud all six of these superstars on giving the Las Vegas faithful a show heading into the next round but does this mean this is the end of Kofi as a top contender for any title? I think it is honestly. What more is for Kingston to do? He is already a grand slam champion as a former WWE, United States, Intercontinental, and Tag Team Champion on both brands. I think Kofi Mania got the proper ending it deserved!
Stephanie McMahon appears and announces the third round picks
With the first pick of Round 3, Alexa Bliss is announced to be staying on RAW
With the second pick of Round 3, Lacey Evans is announced to be headed to SmackDown
With the third pick of Round 3, Kevin Owens is announced to head to RAW
With the fourth pick of Round 3, The Revival is announced to stay on SmackDown
With the fifth and final pick of Round 3, Natalya is announced to stay on RAW
Stephanie McMahon appears and announces the fourth and final round picks
With the first pick of Round 4, Erik and Ivar of The Viking Raiders is announced to be staying on RAW
With the second pick of Round 4, Lucha House Party is announced to be headed to SmackDown
With the third pick of Round 4, Nikki Cross is announced to head to RAW
With the fourth pick of Round 4, Otis and Tucker of Heavy Machinery is announced to stay on SmackDown
With the fifth and final pick of Round 4, The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) is announced to stay on RAW
Match #4 (Main Event) – Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley – SmackDown Women’s Championship
Before the match begins, Bayley reveals a new look and attitude. She then grabs a stick that I cannot identify and slaughters the inflatable tube men.
As soon as WWE official Jason Ayers calls for the bell, Bayley immediately starts striking the newly crowned SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair. Flair and Bayley go head to head but it is Flair who hits an hanging neck breaker from the turnbuckle that sends the challenger rolling to the outside. Flair then drives Bayley straight to the barricade. She then resorts to throwing her over the barricade, into the WWE Universe. Bayley comes back and hair pulls The Queen straight to the ground. After driving Flair’s head into the steel steps, Bayley takes control to take us into commercial break. After so many advertisements, Bayley has The Queen in a headlock for a brief moment, only for Flair to attempt a rollup. Bayley brings Charlotte to the ropes and starts a ring choke followed by a big boot to the back of the head. After putting Flair into the corner, she continues to wear Charlotte down with a side headlock. Bayley attempts a apron stunner but Flair pushes her towards the outside onto the floor. She follows up by hitting a apron crossbody, taking out the challenger. After vintage Flair chops, Flair hits an exploder suplex. She then aims for the left leg of the challenger. Bayley escapes anymore damage to the left leg by grabbing the bottom rope. Flair then hits a running big boot to send Bayley onto the outside. Flair transitions to a glorious moonsault off the barricade. As Bayley attempts to take out the left knee of Charlotte Flair, Flair looks for a backslide pin attempt, which is reversed into the Bayley to Belly. After being frustrated that she could not put Flair away, she resorts to running, which she is caught by Flair with a back breaker STO. Flair attempts another moonsault which is caught by Bayley by putting both her legs up. Flair recognizes this and catches the legs for a Boston Crab submission maneuver. Not getting her positioning right, Flair switches to The Figure 8 submission hold which is unsuccessful. This leads to Bayley hitting an STO on the turnbuckle and even with two feet on the second rope is still unsuccessful. She then hammers down with ground and pound, followed by a back suplex and a running knee. She then hits a Macho Man Randy Savage elbow drop for yet another two count. While Bayley is complaining to the referee, Flair hits Natural Selection and attempts to put the nail on the coffin with the Figure 8. However, Bayley rolls Flair up for the win and we have a new SmackDown Women’s Champion. In the post-match, Bayley calls the WWE Universe bitches and says to screw all of them to end the night.
Result: Bayley via pin fall, new SmackDown Women’s Champion
My Thoughts:
There is only one other time that I have ever been referred to a bitch by a WWE wrestler and that individual is no longer with the company. Aside from that and my own personal bias towards Bayley, I think the match itself was the proper way to end night one of the WWE Draft. Both women gave it their all (more than their match at Hell in a Cell) and everything worked out perfectly! For example, the idea of Bayley’s new badass character is intriguing to me. Of course she is not a Becky Lynch but give her a straight black jacket and some Raven clothing and you will have me hooked! To me, I feed off the vibes that this Bayley was long needed, especially aligning herself back with Sasha Banks. Breaking little kids’ hearts and making them cry over the fact that their hero is long gone is phenomenal. However, I am more interested in knowing when the hell is that theme song releasing? It sounded fire but maybe we have to repackage Bayley completely in order to do that? I have no idea whatsoever. All I understand is that we got a new SmackDown Women’s Champion and let us hope we get a reign to remember rather than the shit that we got from her previous reign. I have full confidence in World Wrestling Entertainment to ride like the wind with the Heel Bayley. In terms of Charlotte “10 Time” Flair, I think that this is not the end of the road for her. Remember that joke by Big E a couple of years back that Charlotte Flair will become a seventeen time world champion before her father? I truly that will become a reality sooner rather than later.
Final Thoughts
Night one of the WWE Draft is completed and surprisingly, it has still left me with a lot of questions. Why has nothing changed? I thought the draft was supposed to bring new and elite superstars to different brands so that we can have some sort of ratings war between the two shows. Apparently, that was not the case at all. The first overall pick was RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and has much as I am a fan of Becky, there should be no excuse on why she shouldn’t have got drafted back to SmackDown. Yes, there were a few changes but was it really a surprise to see The Street Profits drafted to Raw? I mean, they have been on each and every episode prior to this! Here is another confusion of mine – is Seth Rollins not a top pick? He is the Universal Champion after all right? He just competed and won the right to choose for RAW. Other than that, the action was absolutely spectacular! Reigns and Rollins, despite a disqualification finish, put on a tremendous show to start off the night. Same goes for the six man tag team match, Shorty versus King, and in the main event women’s championship match. All matches proved themselves worthy of match of the night honoree. However, the moment of the night for me personally was having Heel Bayley call everyone in Vegas bitches and ending the show with screw all of you (which probably represents Fox telling us that when they showed Troy Aikman and Joe Buck). Overall, I give night number one of the WWE Draft an 8/10! Until next time my fireflies (oops, wrong guy)…until next time my peeps, stay passionate and see you all this upcoming Friday for Friday Night SmackDown!
