The October 31st episode of SmackDown aired live from the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s SmackDown:
Shane McMahon Announced Himself As Team Captain For SmackDown At Survivor Series
SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon kicked off this week’s episode. Shane said that RAW has always looked at SmackDown as the inferior brand. Shane stated that they had a team meeting and decided to go to RAW and kick them right in the mouth to prove a point. Shane thanked everyone in the back and said that SmackDown has heart.
McMahon then addressed Kane attacking Daniel Bryan last night on RAW. Shane accused Kurt Angle and Stephanie of setting Bryan up and added that their is going to be hell to pay for that. Shane then announced himself as captain of the SmackDown men’s team for Survivor Series.
Drop the 🎤 #SDLive @shanemcmahon pic.twitter.com/8PZYZxVc6T
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 1, 2017
Kurt Angle was announced to be the captain of Team RAW last night at Survivor Series, so it was predictable that Shane would become the captain of Team SmackDown. There aren’t too many things I’m looking forward to at Survivor Series, but the men’s 5v5 match is interesting in my opinion. It was announced earlier today that Braun Strowman has now joined Team RAW in the match. That leaves the possibility of Kane joining the team as well and I doubt that those two would be able to co-exist.
SmackDown seems like a fractured group with Daniel Bryan not agreeing with Shane McMahon’s actions. Stephanie McMahon essentially told Kurt Angle that she will replace him as GM if RAW doesn’t win the match at Survivor Series. The rest of the card seems mediocre right now, but at least there is a lot going on in this match.
Bobby Roode Earned A Spot On Team SmackDown At Survivor Series
Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode competed in a 2 out of 3 Falls match. The winner of the bout would join Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. Ziggler picked up the first victory, but Bobby Roode battled back and picked up the next two falls and won the match via a Glorious DDT.
Bobby Roode now joins Shane McMahon and Randy Orton on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.
Joining #SDLive CAPTAIN @shanemcmahon and @RandyOrton at #SurvivorSeries…none other than the GLORIOUS @REALBobbyRoode! pic.twitter.com/88VtMMEItz
— WWE (@WWE) November 1, 2017
Ziggler and Roode had a great match tonight on SmackDown and the crowd was into it. I’ve been incredibly disappointed with how SmackDown has booked Bobby Roode since he has joined the main roster.
He is a natural heel, but for some reason he debuted as a generic babyface. I hope he has a good showing at Survivor Series and isn’t one of the first SmackDown Superstars eliminated. I also hope that his feud with Dolph Ziggler is over and that we see the Bobby Roode from NXT on Tuesday nights moving forward.
Baron Corbin Ran Away From Sin Cara
Baron Corbin faced Sin Cara yet again tonight on SmackDown. Corbin kept trying to remove his mask and Sin Cara lost it. Sin Cara beat the hell out of Corbin on the announce table and then whipped a computer chair at Corbin. Corbin then escaped through the crowd as Sin Cara stood tall in the ring. Sin Cara was interviewed backstage later during the show and said that he worked his entire life to earn his mask and Baron Corbin did an extremely disrespectful thing by trying to remove it during their match.
An IRATE @SinCaraWWE takes a page out of the @BraunStrowman playbook…
WATCH OUT, @BaronCorbinWWE! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/luO7t7BVqL
— WWE (@WWE) November 1, 2017
It is remarkable how far Baron Corbin has fallen. Yes, he is the United States Champion but I thought he was going to be so much more when he won the MITB contract. Instead, he lost his MITB cash-in match against Jinder Mahal, lost to John Cena at SummerSlam and has never recovered.
The United States Championship has done absolutely nothing for him. His current feud is making Sin Cara look like the legit Superstar and Corbin look like a joke. The only positive thing that can come out of this feud for Baron Corbin is that he loses a Mask vs Hair Match to Sin Cara and has to finally shave his head.
Jinder Mahal Was Impressive Tonight
AJ Styles faced Samir Singh tonight after destroying Sunil Singh last week. Styles won the match easily tonight with a Styles Clash, but was quickly attacked by Jinder Mahal after the match. Mahal planted Styles with two excellent looking Khallases and then raised the WWE Championship over him.
#WWEChampion @JinderMahal definitely didn't want none from @AJStylesOrg… and he left The #PhenomenalOne DOWN to prove it! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/xErrjxmxi1
— WWE (@WWE) November 1, 2017
Before the match started, Mahal also cut a solid promo. Jinder said that fear is starting to creep into Brock Lesnar. Jinder vowed to win the match and said that he would forever be known as “The Beast Master”. Mahal then went to speak in Punjabi but AJ Styles interrupted.
"At #SurvivorSeries, the BEAST will be beaten, the BEAST will be victimized, the BEAST will be CONQUERED!" – @JinderMahal #SDLive pic.twitter.com/10p8QDu3m1
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 1, 2017
I’ve taken every opportunity to bash Jinder Mahal when he messes something up, so I’ve got to point out when he has a good night. He looked the part of a heel WWE Champion tonight and delivered a solid promo. He then followed it up with an impressive beatdown of AJ Styles. “The Beast Master” was a pretty terrible line but I’m going to assume that he didn’t come up with it. I’m convinced that something screwy is going to happen at Survivor Series and Mahal is going to escape with a victory over Brock Lesnar.
Shinsuke Nakamura Is The Fourth Member Of Team SmackDown
Kevin Owens faced Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event of tonight’s SmackDown. The winner of the match would join Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. Owens tried to avoid Nakamura early, but Shinsuke posed in the ring and dared Owens to come fight him. Owens obliged and got a kick to the face for his troubles. Owens once again rolled out of the ring and Nakamura followed him. Owens got in a couple of shots, but Nakamura drove him into the barricade.
When SmackDown returned, Owens was in control of the match and connected with a DDT for a two count. Nakamura battled back and connected with a series of kicks. Sami Zayn came down the entrance ramp and Owens tried to capitalize on the distraction by rolling up Nakamura but Shinsuke kicked out. Owens then hit a Superplex off the top rope but Nakamura kicked out.
Shinsuke geared up for the Kinshasa but Sami Zayn dragged Owens out of the ring. Nakamura started arguing with Sami outside the ring and Owens shoved Nakamura into the steel steps. Owens hit a Frog Splash off the top rope but Nakamura was able to kick out at the last moment. Owens instructed Sami Zayn to clear off the table outside the ring. Sami did but Randy Orton showed up and slammed Zayn on top of the table. Back in the ring, Nakamura connected with the Kinshasa for the victory and is the fourth member of Team SmackDown.
The #KingOfStrongStyle @ShinsukeN has punched his ticket to representing #SDLive at #SurvivorSeries! pic.twitter.com/NRzgEtITao
— WWE (@WWE) November 1, 2017
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are now off of Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. I feel like this all setting up for them to interfere in the match and go after Team SmackDown. Nakamura is another Superstar that I think has been underutilized since joining the main roster. Much like Bobby Roode, I hope Nakamura isn’t eliminated early at Survivor Series and he has some kind of impact during the show. There is one more spot open on Team SmackDown and AJ Styles and Rusev will battle next week to determine who gets it.