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5 Takeaways From WWE SmackDown (6/12)

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Written by

Robert Lentini

in

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The June 12th episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN. It was the go-home show for WWE Money in the Bank this Sunday. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:

The Women’s Summit Turned Into A Brawl

Becky Lynch, Naomi, Lana, and Charlotte Flair joined SmackDown GM Paige in the ring to kick off this week’s episode of SmackDown. Paige stated that the four women in the ring have earned their way into the MITB Ladder Match and will have to overcome RAW’s best Superstars in the match.

Naomi boasted about winning the first-ever women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania and vowed to win the MITB contract. Charlotte told Naomi that the only reason Naomi won the Battle Royal was that she wasn’t in it.  Charlotte said that she was going to win the Ladder Match and Becky Lynch interrupted.

Lynch stated that she was willing to do whatever it takes to win the match, even if that means going through her best friend. Becky brought up beating Charlotte last week on SmackDown and sarcastically asked Charlotte how her arm was.

Peyton Royce and Billie Kay interrupted and poked fun at the SmackDown Superstars in the women’s Ladder Match. Royce did a brutal Irish accent, Kay made fun of Charlotte wearing her father’s robe, drinking tea and crying when she loses matches. The IIconics then danced around to make fun of Naomi and Lana.

Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville joined the party and came down to the entrance ramp. They said that Paige is going to be disappointed this Sunday because the talent outside the ring is far superior to the talent in the ring. Lynch, Flair, Naomi, and Lana then attacked Kay, Royce, Rose, and Deville on the entrance ramp and that was the end of the segment. It was announced after the commercial break that an 8-woman tag match will go down later tonight. Carmella and Asuka were later added to the match to make it a 10-woman tag match.

Daniel Bryan Submitted Shelton Benjamin

Daniel Bryan faced Shelton Benjamin tonight on SmackDown. Benjamin started off the match in control and sent Bryan to the corner. Bryan leveled Benjamin with a shoulder tackle and quickly went for the Yes Lock. Benjamin blocked it but Bryan was able to apply a Wrist Lock.

Bryan connected with a couple of uppercuts and then a boot to the face. Shelton sent Bryan to the ring apron and booted him in the knee. Bryan crashed to the floor outside the ring and Benjamin joined him out there. Shelton lifted Bryan in the air and slammed him knee-first onto the announce table as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

When SmackDown returned, the action had returned to the ring and Benjamin was still targetting Bryan’s knee. Shelton had Bryan trapped in the middle of the ring in a Half Crab. Daniel battled through the pain and reached the bottom rope to break the hold.

Shelton missed with a kick and Bryan connected with a Dropkick of his own to Benjamin’s knee. The crowd chanted “yes!” as both Superstars got back up and traded kicks. Bryan took Benjamin to the canvas and delivered a few Yes Kicks in the corner. Bryan wrapped Benjamin’s knee around the rope and connected with a Dropkick.

Benjamin hit a knee to the face as Bryan was on the turnbuckle. Shelton climbed up next to him and connected with a Superplex for a two count. Daniel battled back and went for the Yes Lock once again. Benjamin countered into a roll-up and then transitioned into the Half Crab in the middle of the ring. Bryan rolled through and countered into the Heel Hook for the submission victory.

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Later on SmackDown, Big Cass cut another promo about Daniel Bryan not being tall and vowed to embarrass him at Money in the Bank this Sunday.

New Day Pranked The Miz Again

Rusev battled Samoa Joe tonight on SmackDown. Paige made The Miz the special referee for the match. Joe and Rusev locked up to start off the match. Joe drove Rusev to the corner and beat him down. Joe started arguing with Miz and Rusev capitalized. Rusev beatdown Joe in the corner and then booted Joe out of the ring.

Rusev followed Joe out of the ring and bounced his head off the ring apron as the crowd chanted “Rusev Day!”. Joe battled back and connected with a forearm to the face after diving through the ropes as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

When SmackDown returned, Rusev and Joe were trading shots in the middle of the ring. Rusev connected with a kick that knocked Joe to the corner. Rusev followed it up with a leaping kick that caught Joe in the face and knocked him to the canvas. Rusev went for the Machka Kick but Joe avoided it and locked in the Coquina Clutch.

Aiden English hopped up on the ring apron to distract The Miz. Joe knocked English off the ring apron and accidentally hit Miz in the process. Joe then slammed Rusev for the canvas and went for the cover but The Miz didn’t make the count. Joe and Miz started arguing in the ring and Joe grabbed him and dragged him to the corner. Rusev once again capitalized on the distraction and connected with the Machka Kick on Joe for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Aiden English grabbed a ladder from under the ring and gave it Rusev. Rusev struck Joe with the ladder and then set it up in the middle of the ring. The Miz snuck up behind Rusev and planted him with the Skull Crushing Finale. Miz then climbed up the ladder and grabbed the MITB briefcase.

Miz brought the briefcase over to the announce table and started shouting that he was going to win the match. Byron Saxton opened the briefcase to reveal that there were a bunch of pancakes inside of it. The Miz had a meltdown as New Day was shown backstage laughing.

Nakamura Hit Hardy With A Low Blow

Shinsuke Nakamura faced United States Champion Jeff Hardy tonight on SmackDown. Nakamura rolled out of the ring to start off the match and taunted Hardy by doing his pose. Shinsuke dared Hardy to come after him and it backfired. Jeff connected with a Crossbody off the ring apron as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

When SmackDown returned, Hardy was still in control and connected with a Jawbreaker in the ring. Hardy followed it up with an Atomic Drop and then a Dropkick to the face for a two count. Nakamura connected with a Dropkick of his own and followed it up with a boot to the face.

Jeff battled back and hit Whisper in the Wind for a two count. Nakamura draped Hardy across the top rope and hit a knee to the ribs. Hardy avoided the Kinshasa and planted Shinsuke with the Twist of Fate. Jeff hit the Swanton Bomb but couldn’t go for the cover right away because his back was in pain. Jeff finally went for the cover but Nakamura was able to get his foot on the bottom rope to break it up.

Hardy went for the Twist of Fate once again but Nakamura blocked it. Shinsuke then hit Hardy with a low blow which caused the match to end in a DQ. Nakamura hit Hardy with the Kinshasa and counted to ten. Low blows will be legal in the WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match at Money in the Bank between AJ Styles and Nakamura.

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Carmella Tapped Out To The Asuka Lock

Charlotte, Naomi, Asuka, Becky Lynch & Lana faced The IIconics, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Carmella in the main event of this week’s SmackDown. Deville and Naomi started off the match. Naomi hit a Hurricanrana and tagged in Lana.

Lana connected with a knee to the midsection and followed it up with a Neckbreaker for a two count. Deville drove Lana to the corner and Carmella tagged herself in. Carmella stomped on Lana in the corner and then moonwalked to the other side of the ring.

Carmella missed with a Bronco Buster and that allowed Becky Lynch to tag in. Becky hit a Clothesline that sent Carmella to the mat. Lynch followed it up with an Exploder Suplex for a two count.

Becky booted Deville in the face but that allowed Carmella to regroup and tag in Peyton Royce. Peyton hit a boot to the face for a two count and then tagged in Billie Kay. Billie beatdown Becky some more in the corner and Deville tagged back in as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

When SmackDown returned, Becky was still trapped in the corner as everyone took turns beating her down. Deville planted Becky with a Spear for a two count and tagged in Billie Kay. Billie applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring as the crowd chanted for Becky.

Lynch battled to her feet to break the hold but Kay cut her down with a knee to the ribs. Becky escaped a Body Slam and connected with a kick to the face. Lynch crawled to the corner and tagged in Charlotte.

Royce tagged in at the same time and Charlotte greeted her with a series of chops. Charlotte hit a Fallaway Slam on Kay that sent her out of the ring. Charlotte then hit a Spear on Royce and climbed to the top.

Royce got her knees up on Charlotte’s Moonsault attempt and then tagged in Mandy Rose. Mandy connected with a knee to Charlotte’s face. Flair battled back and tagged in Asuka. Asuka hit Rose with a Dropkick off the top and then quickly applied the Asuka Lock.

Deville broke up the hold and then a brawl broke out. Carmella tagged herself in and Asuka knocked her off the ring apron. Charlotte then flipped onto Kay and Royce outside the ring as Deville and Rose threw Becky into the barricade. Naomi then took out Deville with a Crossbody off the ring apron. Carmella hit Asuka with a Superkick but Lana broke up the cover. Carmella went for a roll-up but Asuka countered into the Asuka Lock for the submission victory. SmackDown went off the air with Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Naomi, and Lana looking up at the MITB briefcase hanging above the ring.

Opinion: Tonight’s episode of SmackDown didn’t accomplish anything. It didn’t add any hype to the PPV this Sunday, it just felt like a standard episode of SmackDown. The feud between Daniel Bryan and Big Cass is as boring as it gets. I didn’t care that it was “the biggest women’s tag match in SmackDown Live history!” in the main event. In the end, it was just a boring match that was constantly interrupted by promos and commercials.

AJ Styles was briefly interviewed by Jerry “The King” Lawler tonight just because the show was in Memphis. AJ said he was going to walk out of Money in the Bank with the WWE Championship. He joked that he was sorry for not hitting Nakamura’s head off last week when he slapped him. The whole tone of the interview felt off to me. After all that Nakamura has done to Styles, you would think that he would be pissed off heading into the WWE Championship match that is happening in 5 days.

WWE’s storylines are just sequences of events right now with absolutely no emotion behind them. AJ Styles should be hunting Nakamura down every week to get back at him. Instead, they didn’t even interact tonight on the final episode of SmackDown before WWE Money in the Bank. There isn’t a storyline in WWE right now that has grabbed my attention. At least there are two Ladder Matches on Sunday because there is not anything else to get invested in.

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

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