Smackdown Live Review
(October 18th)
An anticipated episode of Smackdown and it wasn't because of the action, it was because of the recent heel turn from the beloved Bayley! Fans were shocked at her full blown heel turn last week and there's speculation as to why she did such a thing. A new look with a new attitude made Bayley the talk of the town and we were waiting to hear an explanation for her actions. Besides this, we had a Championship Match added to the card as well so let's take a look at what went down!
Shinsuke Nakamura (C) Vs. Roman Reigns (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
We kick off the show with an IC title match and it was good for what it was. With Sami Zayn being in his corner, Nakamura had the advantage over Reigns as Sami would get involved every now and then. Roman of course fights back through the whole thing and picks up steam along the way. Roman prepares to hit Nakamura with the Spear with suddenly King Corbin comes from behind and hits Roman with his scepter, causing a DQ finish! Corbin, Nakamura, and Zayn all then gang up on Roman til Daniel Bryan comes out and makes the save!
Chad Gable Vs. Curtis Axel
Let me start off by saying, I WILL NOT refer to Gable as "Shorty Gable". That just will not happen. He's Chad F'N Gable! The match itself was quick as Gable took care of Axel with his vintage wrestling maneuvers. Gable applied the Ankle Lock and Axel taps for the submission win. Afterwards, Gable was interviewed by Kayla Braxton as he addresses why he's now Shorty Gable. Gable basically states that it's because of his recent run in the KOTR Tournament he's referring to himself as Shorty. He's trying to show the world that no matter his size, he will be one of the best superstars in WWE today. He finishes off by saying that instead of just Shorty Gable, he wants to now call himself, "Shorty G". Lord......
Next we have an interview via satellite as Michael Cole and Corey Graves interviews Hulk Hogan! They talk about the upcoming 5 on 5 Tag Match at Crown Jewel as Team Hogan takes on Team Flair and Hogan hypes up taking down Flair once and for all. Cole mainly asked Hogan who will join his team as it already consists Rusev and Ricochet. Hogan states that the two guys who caught his eyes were Chad Gable and Ali. He then teases a big announcement he was going to announce at the end of the show and this had fans waiting as to what would the announcement would be. Instead of announcing it on TV, we would find out through Twitter that Hogan has added Ali to his team.
Next we have an interview via satellite as Michael Cole and Corey Graves interviews Hulk Hogan! They talk about the upcoming 5 on 5 Tag Match at Crown Jewel as Team Hogan takes on Team Flair and Hogan hypes up taking down Flair once and for all. Cole mainly asked Hogan who will join his team as it already consists Rusev and Ricochet. Hogan states that the two guys who caught his eyes were Chad Gable and Ali. He then teases a big announcement he was going to announce at the end of the show and this had fans waiting as to what would the announcement would be. Instead of announcing it on TV, we would find out through Twitter that Hogan has added Ali to his team.
The New Day & Heavy Machinery Vs. Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode & The Revival
Match was fine for what it was as it's a standard 8 man tag. New Day and Heavy Machinery were over as heel in this match and the momentum made them a force to be reckoned with. Otis hits the Caterpillar Elbow Drop on Roode then Big E and Xavier Woods drops him with the UpUpDownDown for the win!
Next was an anticipated MizTV segment with guests Sasha Banks and the new Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley. Bayley at first refused to explain her actions and this prompted Miz to go off on her. He talks about how she will always be second fiddle to Sasha no matter what her accomplishments are in WWE and so on. Bayley finally speaks up about her actions and she had quite a few things to say. She states how when she lost the SD Women's Title at Hell in a Cell, she was emotional and no one was there to hug her in grief. She also claims that she would be a role model to people's children all over the world but whenever she needed something in return, no one would give her anything. She outgrew her role and became her own new role. Lastly, she wanted to give the fans an inspirational message in which she decided to quote one of Vince McMahon's most iconic lines ever and that is, "Life sucks, and then you DIE!"
Next was an anticipated MizTV segment with guests Sasha Banks and the new Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley. Bayley at first refused to explain her actions and this prompted Miz to go off on her. He talks about how she will always be second fiddle to Sasha no matter what her accomplishments are in WWE and so on. Bayley finally speaks up about her actions and she had quite a few things to say. She states how when she lost the SD Women's Title at Hell in a Cell, she was emotional and no one was there to hug her in grief. She also claims that she would be a role model to people's children all over the world but whenever she needed something in return, no one would give her anything. She outgrew her role and became her own new role. Lastly, she wanted to give the fans an inspirational message in which she decided to quote one of Vince McMahon's most iconic lines ever and that is, "Life sucks, and then you DIE!"
Women’s Six Pack Challenge (No.1 Contender for Smackdown Women’s Championship)
The winner of this match would go on to become the new #1 contender for the Smackdown Women's Championship. To be honest, this wasn't a bad match as it was indeed all action from start to finish. Rose and Deville worked together as expected since they're a team but they would soon be overwhelmed by the other competitors. Dana Brooke even looked good as she took out the Rose and Deville at ringside with a Double Handspring Elbow! Back in the ring again Rose and Deville took over the match then suddenly every woman started nailing some of their big moves on one another. Rose takes out Carmella then Nikki Cross comes back in and executes the Swinging Neckbreaker on her for the win! Nikki Cross is the new #1 contender and will be challenging Bayley very soon.
Braun Strowman Vs. Drew Gulak
This was simply a squash match for Strowman to look dominant going into Crown Jewel for his match against Tyson Fury. He completely destroys Gulak then finishes him with the Running Powerslam. Sucks this had to happen with Gulak but it was what it was.
Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & King Corbin
Fine Tag match to close out the show. Bryan mostly worked over Nakamura and you know what it was pretty cool seeing them two in the ring together because that's a match I've always wanted to see. Hopefully Bryan would be next in line for a shot at the IC Championship. Corbin comes in and beats down Bryan while preventing Reigns from coming into the mix. His plan worked for a while til Bryan made the hot tag and Roman goes nuts over the opponents. Bryan tags back in and Roman continues to go after Corbin for the rest of the match then the big spot came where he Speared Corbin through the barricade! Bryan finishes Nakamura off with the Running Knee and picks up the victory for his team!
Show Rating: 7/10
Show Rating: 7/10
