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WWE Smackdown Reaction (11/22)

Robert Lentini
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WWE Smackdown Reaction (11/22)

Shane McMahon kicked off the show. The Ottawa crowd greet him with a “Shane-O-Mac” chant. Shane gave a shout out to Jericho, Owens, Strowman, Rollins and Roman Reigns. The crowd booed Reigns once again. Shane McMahon thanked Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt for being the sole survivors of Team Smackdown at Survivor Series. Shane McMahon expressed disappointment that Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles couldn’t get along for an hour to help out Team Smackdown. Dean Ambrose interrupted and came down to the ring.

Shane McMahon was annoyed that Ambrose teamed up with Rollins and Reigns to Powerbomb AJ Styles through a table at Survivor Series. Ambrose then introduced James Ellsworth and called him the MVP of Team Smackdown. Ellsworth came down to the ring holding his back and wearing a neck brace. Dean Ambrose and Shane McMahon then announced that James Ellsworth is getting a contract with Smackdown Live. Shane McMahon then stated that Ambrose has been out of control lately and asked him to leave the building.

AJ Styles then came down to the ring and taunted Ambrose as he walked by him. Styles claimed that Ambrose doesn’t deserve an oppurtunity to face him for the title at TLC because of what he did at Survivor Series. Styles was also annoyed that Ellsworth got a contract and stated that Ellsworth doesn’t deserve anything. Styles then proposed a latter match with Ellsworth with a contract suspended above the ring. If Ellsworth climbed to the top of the ladder and grabbed the contract he will officially join the Smackdown roster. Ellsworth added a stipulation to the match. If Ellsworth wins, he gets a contract and also gets a future oppurtunity at the WWE World Championship. Dean Ambrose randomly showed up back in the ring and the segment ended.

Maryse and The Miz were in the middle of a photo shoot backstage when Daniel Bryan interrupted. The Miz berated Daniel Bryan once again. Daniel Bryan claimed that The Miz humiliated Smackdown by the way he won the match at Survivor Series. Daniel Bryan then made an Intercontinental Championship match between The Miz and Kalisto.

Shane McMahon walked Dean Ambrose out of the arena.

Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz (c) vs Kalisto

Kalisto started out match on the offensive. Kalisto connected with a Suicide Dive on The Miz outside the ring and Smackdown went to a commercial break. When Smackdown returned, The Miz was in control the match. The Miz mocked Daniel Bryan once again by doing the “yes!” chant. The Miz got caught up in mocking Daniel Bran and Kalisto regained the momentum of the match. Kalisto climbed to the top turnbuckle but Baron Corbin ran up to the ring apron. Kalisto jumped down and kicked to Corbin in the face. The distraction allowed The Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale and win the match. After the match, Baron Corbin hit the End of Days of Kalisto. The Miz and Maryse were standing at the top of the entrance ramp and were applauding Baron Corbin. Dolph Ziggler came up behind The Miz and hit him with a Superkick.

Winner & Still Intercontinental Champion: The Miz

Shane McMahon was backstage with Daniel Bryan. Shane stated that things were starting to get out of control at Smackdown. Daniel Bryan agreed and stated that he will take care of. Alexa Bliss then showed up and demanded a shot at the Women’s title. Becky Lynch interrupted and stated that she will get her match at TLC. Natalya then showed up and stated the loss at Survivor Series was all Becky Lynch’s fault. Shane McMahon stated that it was all of the women’s fault that Team Smackdown lost at Survivor Series and made a match between Natalya and Becky Lynch later on in the show. Shane went on to say that they have to figure out who attacked Nikki Bella before the match at Survivor Series. Dean Ambrose showed up with a pizza and Shane McMahon once again kicked him out of the building.

Daniel Bryan made a match between Baron Corbin and Kane for later in the show.

Tag Team Turmoil Match To Determine #1 Contender 

It started out with the Ascension versus the Hype Bros. The Ascension took out Mojo Rawley early in the match and dominated Zack Ryder. Eventually, Mojo stormed back into the match and the Hype Bros hit the Hype Ryder for the victory.

Breezango then entered the match and were immediately launched out of the ring. Ryder and Rawley then leaped onto them and Smackdown went to a commercial break. When Smackdown returned, Ryder landed a Dropkick on Tyler Breeze. Ryder went for the Browski Boot but Fandango pulled Breeze out of the way. Fandango then landed an Elbow Drop on Ryder and the Hype Bros were eliminated.

American Alpha then entered the match and Fandango immediately beat down Chad Gable. Gable fought back and got a roll up on Fandango to eliminate Breezango.

The Vaudevillians then entered the match and were immediately eliminated by American Alpha.

The Usos entered the match next and took their time walking to the ring. When Smackdown returned from a break, The Usos were in control of the match. Jey Uso applied a Chinlock to Jason Jordan in the middle of the ring. Jimmy Uso was then tagged in and he continued the assault on Jordan. Jey got back in the match and went for a pinfall but Jordan kicked out at two. Jason Jordan finally fought back and was able to tag in Chad Gable.

Gable went on the offensive and connected with a German Suplex on Jimmy Uso. The action spilled outside of the ring and Jimmy Uso pushed Gable into the ring post. Back in the ring, American Alpha hit an Avalanche Bulldog on Jey Uso. Jason Jordan went for the pinfall but Jimmy Uso broke it up. American Alpha hit the Grand Amplitude on Jey Uso and won the match.

The Wyatt family then appeared on the screen. Bray Wyatt stated that he and Randy Orton will take on American Alpha next week.

Winners: American Alpha

Daniel Bryan was talking with James Ellsworth backstage. Dean Ambrose showed up dressed as the Mountie. Shane McMahon walked in and completely lost his mind. Daniel Bryan then asked Shane to leave because he was about to do something he would regret. Shane agreed and left the building. Daniel Bryan once again asked Ambrose to leave. Ambrose said he would but asked Bryan to deliver a message to AJ Styles. That message was “The Mountie always gets his man”.

Reaction: I like cheesy humor as much as the next guy, but there was way too much of it in the first half of Smackdown. The Tag Turmoil match was a good match. The Kalisto and Baron Corbin feud doesn’t have any momentum behind it whatsoever. Orton and Wyatt will be facing American Alpha next week and the winner of that match will go on to face Slater & Rhyno at TLC for the Tag Team titles. Orton has been rumored to be taking some time off soon so I would be shocked if American Alpha didn’t win that match. There were definitely some funny moments during the first hour of the show but I started getting tired of the attempts at humor. Having said that, Ambrose dressed as The Mountie was awesome.

Natalya vs Becky Lynch

Alexa Bliss joined commentary for this match. The match started out back and forth. Natalya Powerbombed Becky Lynch for a two count and Smackdown went to a commercial break. When Smackdown returned, Natalya was in control of the match and she laid Becky Lynch out with a Clothesline. Becky Lynch fought back and connected with a couple of strikes of her own. Lynch then connected with a Becksplex but Natalya shook it off and tried to lock in the Sharpshooter. Becky Lynch blocked the Sharpshooter and locked in the Dis-Arm-Her for the submission victory. After the match, Alexa Bliss attacked Becky Lynch and left her lying in the ring.

Winner: Becky Lynch

The Miz confronted Daniel Bryan backstage. The Miz demanded that Dolph Ziggler be suspended for Superkicking him earlier in the night. Daniel Bryan then announced that Dolph Ziggler will face The Miz one final time at TLC in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship.

Nikki Bella confronted Carmella backstage and accused her of attacking her at Survivor Series. Carmella claimed that it wasn’t her. Nikki Bella informed Carmella that they will be having a no DQ match at TLC.

Baron Corbin vs Kane

Kane started off the match by kicking Corbin in the face. Corbin battled back and beat down Kane in the corner. The match ended abruptly as Kalisto interfered and hit Corbin with a Dropkick. Kane then hit a Chokeslam on Corbin. After the match, Kalisto grabbed a chair and swung at Corbin but Baron rolled out of the ring. Corbin then ran back into the ring and Kalisto threw the chair at him. Corbin caught the chair and Kalisto kicked the chair into Corbin’s head.

Contract Ladder Match: AJ Styles vs James Ellsworth

Styles ripped off Ellsworth’s neck brace and kicked him out of the ring. Styles then brought the ladder into the ring. Styles climbed the ladder and Ellsworth grabbed his foot. Styles kicked Ellsworth to the mat and connected with a Backbreaker. AJ then hung Ellsworth up on the ladder and kicked him in the chest. Styles then set up the ladder over Ellsworth and slapped him across the face. Styles climbed the ladder and Dean Ambrose showed up in an Ottawa Senators jersey.

Ambrose tried to encourage Ellsworth to climb the ladder but he was in too much pain. Styles then connected with the Phenomenal Forearm on Ambrose and Dean rolled out of the ring. AJ then climbed to the top of the ladder but Ellsworth got up and pushed the ladder and Styles fell very hard to the outside of the ring. Styles tried to get back in the ring but Ellsworth him him with a Superkick. Styles then got his foot caught in ropes and Ellsworth climbed the ladder and grabbed the contract. Ellsworth is now officially on the main roster and now has a shot at the WWE World Championship sometime down the line.

Winner: James Ellsworth

Reaction: Tonight’s episode of Smackdown was alright. It had it’s funny moments but from a wrestling standpoint there wasn’t much going on throughout the entire episode. The only match that was given any time was the Tag Turmoil match. The main event was as goofy as it gets. It was certainly entertaining but pretty much the entire hour and fifty minutes preceding the main event were comedy segments as well. Sure, there were a couple of quick matches scattered throughout the show but for the most part they were all quick besides the tag team match.  There were several   matches made tonight for the TLC PPV in two weeks and they were matches we have seen recently. Dolph Ziggler will get one last chance at the Intercontinental Championship when he faces The Miz in a ladder match at TLC. Becky Lynch will once again defend her Smackdown Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss at TLC. Carmella and Nikki Bella will have another match at the PPV as well. I’m assuming that Baron Corbin and Kalisto will have a match at TLC as well. The main event of TLC will be Dean Ambrose versus AJ Styles, which is another match we’ve seen a ton of since the brand split.

I think TLC will be a good show and I am interested in most of the feuds on Smackdown. TLC is a hard show to get excited about because it comes so quickly after Survivor Series. The WWE had tonight’s episode of Smackdown and next week to try get everyone pumped up for the show. It seemed like tonight a bunch of matches were announced in between corny jokes. It wasn’t the worst show of all time or anything like that, I’m just concerned that the crowd is going to be dead for TLC. I hope that next week’s episode of Smackdown is more engaging than this one and gives the audience more of a reason to be excited for TLC in two weeks.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Smackdown? Let us know in the comments below.

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