This week’s episode of Smackdown kicked off with AJ Styles walking through the locker room and claiming that he is now the face that runs the place. Styles then made fun of Dolph Zigger for losing to Dean Ambrose at Summerslam. Ziggler and AJ begin to brawl but they are separated.
Daniel Bryan, Shane McMahon and several Smackdown superstars are now in the ring. Daniel Bryan introduced the new Women’s Championship for Smackdown. Shane McMahon introduced the new Tag Team Championship belts for Smackdown. Shane then revealed that both titles will be crowned at Smackdown’s first exclusive PPV Backlash. Heath Slater interrupted the party and said that he forgives Shane and Daniel for not giving him a contract. Heath Slater then stated that he wanted to be a part of the tag team tournament. Shane and Daniel then stated if he can find a partner by the end of the night, his team will be added to the tournament for the tag titles. Shane McMahon then added that the only way Heath Slater is getting a contract on Smackdown is if his team wins the entire tournament. AJ Styles interrupts and was about to complain to Shane and Daniel about Ziggler but he was unable to do so. Dolph came running out after Styles and the two began to brawl. The fight was once again broken up.
Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss
This was a solid back and forth match with Becky Lynch getting the victory via the Dis-Arm-Her. Alexa Bliss got in some offense but in the end it wasn’t enough.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Tag Team Title Tournament Match: The Ascension vs The Usos
It was looking like the Ascension were actually going to win a match but of course that was not the case. The Ascension controlled most of the match but it slipped away from them in the end. Jimmy Uso hit the Uso Splash for the win.
Winners and Advancing in the Tag Team Tournament: The Usos
AJ Styles comes down to the ring and cuts a promo about how he is now the face that runs the place. The crowd was cheering loudly for Styles but Styles said he sees a lot of angry faces in the crowd. Styles then stated that Dolph Ziggler is jealous of him because he defeated John Cena at Summerslam. Dolph Ziggler then emerges but is held back. Daniel Bryan then comes out and stated that Ziggler and Styles will have a match in the main-event tonight. Daniel Bryan also granted Styles a shot at Dean Ambrose’s WWE Championship at Backlash. If Ziggler wins his match against Styles tonight, he will be added to the WWE Championship match at Backlash.
Carmella vs Nikki Bella
Renee Young was set to interview Nikki Bella in the ring but Carmella attacked Nikki. This match never happened because Carmella beat Nikki down before the match.
Reaction: The first hour of Smackdown was entertaining in my opinion. I will be excited for either Championship match at Backlash. Ambrose versus Styles sounds good. I wouldn’t mind if Ziggler was added to the match either. The only thing I will say about Ziggler is that the WWE has made it impossible to believe that he has a chance at actually winning the title.
The new Women’s Championship on Smackdown is exactly like the title on Raw, except instead of red and white it is blue and white.
The new Tag Team Championship belts on Smackdown are also blue.
Randy Orton came down to the ring and stated that he was in one hell of a fight last Sunday at Summerslam. Bray Wyatt’s music hit and the arena went black. When the lights came back on, Wyatt was sitting in a rocking chair right outside the ring. Wyatt refers to himself as a God and stated that Orton is simply a man. Orton challenged Wyatt to get into the ring but the lights went out again. When the lights came back on, Wyatt was no longer there.
Charly Caruso interviewed Shane McMahon backstage. Charly was asking Shane about the F-5 he received from Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Shane stated that Stephanie McMahon only fined Brock Lesnar $500 for his actions at Summerslam. Shane also hinted at the fact that the issues he has with Lesnar are far from over.
Reaction: I’m interested to see where the McMahon/Lesnar angle goes. I’m not interested in the Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton feud for one reason. Bray Wyatt never wins matches. I wrote an article almost a year ago about how the WWE is wasting the Wyatt Family. Now, the Wyatt Family barely exists. If the WWE is finally going to build up Bray Wyatt, then I’m all for it. I have zero interest in seeing Randy Orton defeat Bray Wyatt at Summerslam.
Tag Team Title Tournament Match: American Alpha vs Breezango
This was a much better match than I thought it would be. Breezango looked strong in this match but eventually American Alpha took over and won the match.
Winners and Advancing in the Tag Team Tournament: American Alpha
Rhyno approached Heath Slater to be his tag team partner. Heath Slater was overjoyed that Rhyno wanted to be his partner.
Dean Ambrose was interviewed backstage by Charly Caruso. Ambrose seemed overly confident about his chances against Ziggler and Styles.
AJ Styles vs Dolph Ziggler
Dean Ambrose joined commentary for the match. Ziggler was showing a lot of aggression in this match but Styles seemed one step ahead in the beginning of this match. Styles was shouting at Ambrose at various points in the match. JBL asked Ambrose if he cared if Ziggler was added to the title match at Backlash and Ambrose responded with “nah that is cool”. Styles was dominating this match before the commercial break. He hit a Neckbreaker on Ziggler and Dolph fell to the outside of the ring. When Smackdown returned, Styles was still in control of the match. The crowd was getting behind Ziggler as he desperately tried to fight back. Ziggler hit a massive Dropkick out of nowhere and he finally had some momentum. The crowd broke out in dueling “lets go Ziggler” and “AJ Styles!” chants. Ziggler hit a massive DDT but Styles kicked out just before the referee’s hand hit the mat for the third time. The crowd was very into this match and broke out into a “this is awesome!” chant. Ziggler hit the Zig-Zag but Styles once again kicked out. Ziggler went for a Superkick but Styles moved out of the way. Styles then hit the Styles Clash on Ziggler for the win.
Winner: AJ Styles
Reaction: This was a great match. Ziggler once again came up short but in my opinion he looked a lot better in this match than he did against Ambrose at Summerslam. Styles and Ambrose had a stare-down outside the ring to close the show. As of now, I am enjoying Smackdown more than Raw. I think the only reason for that is the fact that the show is two hours. I don’t mind a three hour show but Raw features a lot of segments that I would describe as filler. In other words, segments that don’t really mean anything and there sole purpose is to just kill time. Smackdown is a more compact show and this week they put on a 20 minute main-event.
What did you think of this week’s episode of Smackdown? Let us know in the comments below.
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