Smackdown was live from Worcester, MA, with a pretty average show. Things happened but nothing that was WWE Universe changing. Shinsuke set his rules, 2 women qualified for Money in the Bank, have have a number 1 contender for the tag belts and someone is fighting Joe next week. Let’s get into it.
Miz TV
Miz TV kicked off Smackdown. He hyped his upcoming reality show before bringing out the New Day. The segment was meant to be played for laughs, but Miz put each member over, then crushed them with his promo. They eventually incense him to the point Miz says he can beat any of them.
The New Day wants a match between Big E and Miz right now, but Miz refuses since he didn’t get what he wanted. The member the New Day will be sending to Money in the Bank. They shame Miz all the way to the back with pancakes.
Miz immediately runs into Paige as he gets backstage. She forces him out to the match due to what he said.
MizerE
Miz comes back out and the match begins, Xavier is on commentary to start the match. It starts off funny with E playing around with E and Kofi and Xavier stopping the match to be E’s cut man. It’s back and forth throughout the rest of the match. Big E hitting Miz with 3 belly to bellys to set up a Big Splash. That starts off the counter fest, ending with a double knockdown. Cesaro and Sheamus come down and attack Woods as Kofi is on commentary.
He sprints over and plants off Cesaro’s shoulder, hitting Sheamus with a forearm. Cesaro and Kofi fight, but Sheamus recovers and hits Kofi with a Brogue kick. E comes over to hit Cesaro on the apron, giving Miz enough time to hit the Skull-Crushing Finale.1,2,3 and your winner, The Miz.
Wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen, but it was pretty basic. The comedy helped it a bit, but as Miz said in his promo, E could be more if he took himself seriously. The Bar coming down set up a 6-man for next week, so we will see if this is a thing.
Lana Day
In a Women’s Money in the Bank qualifier, Lana took on Billie Kay. Both women get an extended entrance. Lana gets a Rusev Day like entrance from Aiden English, while Billie Kay comes down with Peyton Royce and sing terribly. I guess it works for their gimmick, but damn was it bad. The match starts and English interrupts on the mic and holds up a Lana Day sign.
The crowd loves it, but Royce and Kay do not. They come over and slap English. Lana disposes of Royce, but Kay throws her back in the ring. She rolls in and is hit with a big kick. Lana hits a sit-out facebuster. 1, 2, 3 and your winner, qualifying for Money in the Bank, Lana.
The crowd loved it, and so did I. Neither one of these women really have a chance, but it’s nice to see the crowd give Lana some of that Rusev Day love. Maybe Vince will see it and not just drop her off the face of the earth after the pay-per-view.
Cien destroys Jobber
A real old school squash match. Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega cut a promo before the match about how last week was disrespectful. Putting him in a match with a nobody. Well they upped the ante this week. They didn’t ever give us the guys name so he gets called kid by the commentators. Cien just destroys the kid. Not giving him any offensive moves. He hits a spinning back elbow, then a double knee to the face, then the back of the head. Hammerlock DDT 1, 2, 3 and your winner, Andrade “Cien” Almas
I mean, it was like 2 minutes, but I liked it. We miss these old school squash matches against randoms. When you have someone on the roster get beat this fast it really hurts their brand and the brand of everyone they beat from then on. Hope to see more of these matches for incoming stars.
Smackdown Last Man Standing
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura had an interview, supposed to give us the stipulation for their match at Money in the Bank. It was supposed to be held by Renee Young, but AJ cuts her off and sends her out of the ring. Shinsuke still plays the “I don’t know english, routine.” He honestly started sounding like Kim Jong Il from Team America: World Police at one point, when he was taunting AJ. He says the stipulation is a pillow fight, and AJ tells him that he is the king of soft style. Aj then goes on to tell Shinsuke that he can never beat him when it matters, and you’re not the Shinsuke we wanted.
Shinsuke had enough and tries to sneak attack. AJ blocks it and starts a brawl. It spills to the outside and into the crowd. AJ has the upper hand for most the time, until Shinsuke counters a Phenomenal Forearm attempt with a chair. He lays him out across the table, then hitting AJ with a Kinshasa, He counts AJ out, and announces it’s a Last Man Standing match while standing on the announce table.
This worked for the most part. I see what they are doing, but Shinsuke playing dumb the begin it, really didn’t set it off for me. The brawl was good and a last man standing match could be a good one. I’m glad we stayed away from the Roshambo.
Gallows and Anderson, Number One Contenders
The Usos took on Gallows and Anderson in a number one contender match for the tag team titles. They don’t get televised promos and start in the ring. Anderson and Gallows start but the Usos steal the mic away and say that this is their house. Anderson somehow pulls a mic back out after getting it snatched away. They make a nerd joke, and the Usos jump on them. It’s quick and back and forth, luckily Jey decided to wear an arm sleeve so I can tell them apart.
It’s a fast paced match with very few breaks. Double team moves galore. The Usos eventually get the upper hand with a double superkick. They hit the Uso splash on Gallows but he kicks out. They go for a double splash, but Anderson saves Gallows from Jey, and Jimmy is grabbed by Gallows off the top. He hits another superkick, but Gallows hits the big boot. Anderson tags in and they hit the Magic Killer. 1, 2, 3 and your new number one contender, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They will face the Bludgeon Brothers at Money in the Bank.
It’s nice to see them get a chance to shine. If this was 20-30 years ago, I could see both Gallows and Anderson being over, like the Outsiders, but today they have to call people nerds.
Naomi Qualifies
Naomi and Sonya Deville went one on one to go to Money in the Bank. Deville was in total control of most of the match. Overpowering Naomi with strikes and powerful slams. Eventually locking in a rear naked choke attempt. Naomi shrugs her off put is immediately planted with a spinebuster. Deville fires off kicks as Maomi is trapped in the corner.
Naomi starts coming back, the girls trade kicks to the body, Naomi wins (Yeah,right) and they both hit an enziguri. Deville gets the clinch locked in and lands some knees. Naomi gets a really bad roll up, 1, 2, 3 and your winner, qualifying for Money in the Bank, Naomi.
She joins Lana, Flair, Lynch, Bliss, Moon in the Money in the Bank match. One spot is left.
You can really see Naomi’s limitations when in there with an actual striker in Deville. Her kicks look very soft. The difference between a trained fighter and a gymnast pretending to throw a kick, is huge. She is a good wrestler but her days near the top may be numbered.
Bryan defeats Hardy, faces Joe
In an apparent first, Daniel Bryan faced off against Jeff Hardy. Samoa Joe is on commentary but really doesn’t say much. The match starts with a handshake, both men showing respect for each other in separate promos. A very good match, we got a bit of everything. Bryan out wrestling Hardy. Hardy high flying and hitting his regular routine of spectacular moves.
Even a bit of a brawl between the two. It was very back and forth, with both men hitting signature moves. Bryan targeted Hardy’s knee and Hardy sold it for the rest of the match. Taking a second to climb and move when having the advantage.
Bryan hits his Yes kicks, but Hardy dodges out of the way on the last one. Hardy hits the twist of fate and goes back to the top and tries the maneuver, but Bryan gets his knees up at the last second. Bryan finishes the Yes kick to the head. He attempts the knee, but misses. A counter fight later and Bryan hits a dragon screw, transitioning into a heel hook. Tap, Tap, Tap, and your winner, facing Samoa Joe next week for a spot in the Money in the Bank match, Daniel Bryan.
Joe cuts off the celebration and tells Bryan he should quit celebrating, since he has to fight him next week. Mic drop and walk off.
I’m actually surprised this never had happened before, but I guess they were always not at WWE at the same time. This was pretty good, but it has much more potential. If you gave these guys 45 minutes and some weapons, it would be an awesome match. Hardy could use everything he has, while Bryan would be out of his element, adapting. Could be a good feud. But I bet we never see it. On a side note, Hardy had a ridiculous promo referencing the brain functions. It wasn’t the worst but when you have screwed up a show by being drugged up in the past, maybe try to seem sober at all times at work, just saying.
Results
Miz def. Big E
Lana def. Billie Kay to Qualify for Money in the Bank
Andrade “Cien” Alams def. Kid
Luke Gallows and Karl Andersond def. The Usos for the Number One Contendership
Namoi def. Sonya Deville to Qualify for Money in the Bank
Daniel Bryan def. Jeff Hardy to face Samoa Joe next week
For more news and opinions from the world of MMA and boxing, visit our combat sports page here. Meanwhile, follow us on Facebook for more opinions and analysis right to your timeline.