This week’s episode of Smackdown Live kicked off with Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan joining the entire roster in the ring. Shane McMahon announced that on September 11th, Smackdown Live will have it’s first exclusive PPV entitled Backlash. Shane McMahon introduces Dean Ambrose as the undisputed WWE Champion and he joins the roster in the ring. Ambrose stated that he up for a new challenge and wanted to know who he will be defending the title against at Summerslam. Daniel Bryan announced that there will be a Six-Pack challenge match to determine the number one contender to the the title. John Cena, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and AJ Styles are chosen to be in the match. The sixth participant of the match will be the winner of a Battle Royal that will be the first match of the show.
Battle Royal to Join the Six Pack Challenge for #1 Contender
Kane dominates the Battle Royal. Simon Gotch was the first participant eliminated. Kane eliminated both members of The Ascension. Jey Uso was eliminated by Breezango. During the commercial break, Aiden English and Erick Rowan was eliminated by Mojo Rawley. Alberto Del Rio eliminated Mojo Rawley. Del Rio and Breezango were then quickly eliminated. It was down to Kane, Zack Ryder, Kalisto and Apollo Crews. The crowd was heavily behind Zack Ryder. Ryder went to hit the Elbrow on Crews but he slipped and had an ugly looking botch. Kane eliminated Kalisto. Kane Chokeslammed Ryder over the top rope. Kane went to charge at Apollo Crews by the ropes but he ducked and Kane went flying over the top rope.
Winner and the Sixth Participant in the Six-Pack Challenge: Apollo Crews
Reaction: Not a bad way to start off the New Era of Smackdown Live. Apollo Crews was a good choice to win the Battle Royal and between Raw and Smackdown Live, recent NXT call-ups are already making a major impact.
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Shelton Benjamin is coming to Smackdown Live soon.
Natalya vs Becky Lynch
Natalya was drawing some boos from the Buffalo crowd as she took it to Becky Lynch early in the match. Natalya went for the Sharpshooter but Becky got out of the hold only to wind up falling victim to a German Suplex from Natalya. Becky Lynch was able to regain control of the match and lock in the Disarmer for the submission victory. After the match, Alexa Bliss comes out and says that she is what the New Era of women’s wrestling. Naomi interrupts Alexa Bliss and tells her to stop bragging when she hasn’t even stepped foot in a WWE ring. Carmella then comes out and is quickly interrupted by Eva Marie who received some boos. Eva Marie didn’t say anything and simply posed at the top of the entrance ramp.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Reaction: Becky gets her revenge on Natalya after she lost to her at Battleground. The promo after the match was a good way to introduce the audience to the new female wrestlers on the roster. The Eva Marie intro was pretty ridiculous and amusing.
The Miz came out for a Miz TV segment. He announced that he will be interviewing himself. The Miz literally asked a question in one seat and then changed seats to answer his own question. The Miz claimed that he is everything the average person is not. He is a movie star and a WWE Superstar. The Miz then went to kiss Maryse, but was interrupted by Randy Orton. Randy Orton called The Miz an expert at playing with himself. Randy Orton once again stated that it only takes one RKO to send Brock Lesnar to “Viperville”. Randy Orton then challenged The Miz to a match. Predictably, the Miz rejected Orton’s challenge. Randy Orton then asked if The Miz was scared to lose a match in front of his wife. Maryse then grabbed the microphone and accepted the match on behalf of The Miz. It was quite clear that The Miz wanted no part of it but he had no choice at this point.
Randy Orton vs The Miz
The Miz immediately rolled out of the ring in an effort to avoid Orton. The Miz then rolled back in the ring and tossed Orton outside the ring. Orton had a rough landing on his injured shoulder. The Miz began targeting Orton’s shoulder and took complete control of the match. The Miz sent Orton flying into the steel steps outside the ring. The Miz rolled Orton back into the ring and then rolled in himself. As The Miz was getting to his feet, Orton grabbed him and hit an RKO out of nowhere. Orton then stalked The Miz and waited for him to get to his feet. Orton then hit a second RKO for the victory.
Winner: Randy Orton
Reaction: There has been a tremendous amount of talking on this show so far. The Orton/Miz match was solid and it set up the fact that Orton can take a lot of punishment, but all he needs to do is hit an RKO to win a match. Orton will face Lesnar at Summerslam and will most likely take a trip to Suplex City. However, if Orton hits an RKO out of nowhere, he could possibly defeat Lesnar. That pretty much was the point of this match, The Miz dominated but still lost due to the RKO. I would have preferred the New Era of Smackdown Live to start off with something other than the Intercontinental Champion being fed to Randy Orton, but it is what it is.
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Heath Slater interrupted the show and grabbed a microphone. Slater was enraged that neither Monday Night Raw or Smackdown Live drafted. Shane McMahon came out and Heath Slater claimed that he was looking at the hottest free agent in sports entertainment today (referring to himself). Shane agreed, but Slater was unaware that Rhyno had appeared behind him. When Slater turned around he was greeted with a Gore from Rhyno.
Six-Pack Challenge to Determine the #1 Contender to WWE Championship: Bray Wyatt vs Apollo Crews vs Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler vs John Cena
Bray Wyatt went right after Cena at the start of the match but the action was interrupted by a commercial break 10 seconds into the main event. When Smackdown Live returned, Bray Wyatt and AJ Styles were working together. Styles and Wyatt took turns beating down Apolo Crews. Their alliance didn’t last too long because Bray Wyatt laid out Styles. Apollo Crews then hit three German Suplexes in a row on Styles, with the third one sending AJ flying across the ring. Baron Corbin then took control of the match. After the commercial break, it once again was down to Corbin and Crews in the ring. Baron Corbin was beginning to get frustrated at the fact that he couldn’t keep Crews down. Apollo Crews hit Corbin with a Powerbomb and was about to win the match when Bray Wyatt pulled the referee out of the ring. Bray Wyatt then hit the Sister Abigail on Crews. Dolph Ziggler hit the Zig Zag on Wyatt. Cena then hit the Attitude Adjustment on Ziggler. Cena then hit another Attitude Adjustment, this time on AJ Styles and went for the pinfall. AJ Styles kicked out at the very last second. Cena then hit an Attitude Adjustment on Wyatt and another one on Apollo Crews. AJ Styles then hit a Phenomenal Forearm on Cena that knocked him out of the ring. When Styles turned around, he was hit with a massive Super Kick by Ziggler. Dolph Ziggler then pinned AJ Styles for the victory. After the match, Dean Ambrose came down to the ring and had a stare down with Ziggler. Daniel Bryan then came down to ring and raised both Ziggler and Ambrose’s hands. Shane McMahon then came down and joined the party.
Winner and #1 Contender for the WWE Championship: Dolph Ziggler
Reaction: It was pretty much impossible to follow the show put on by Monday Night Raw last night. While Raw was certainly the better show this week, I am intrigued by the direction of Smackdown Live. Hopefully, Dolph Ziggler will finally get the shot many in the WWE Universe have felt he has deserved for a long time. I thought for sure Bray Wyatt would win the main event, but Ziggler was a pleasant surprise. This week’s Smackdown Live was definitely better than most episodes of Smackdown in recent memory. Having said that, Monday Night Raw was the better show in the first week after the draft.
What did you think of this week’s episode of Smackdown Live? Which show did you enjoy more, Monday Night Raw or Smackdown Live? Let us know in the comments below.
