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WWE SmackDown Recap & Reaction (4/18)

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Written by

Robert Lentini

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Charlotte kicked off this week’s episode of SmackDown. Charlotte stated that she has already lost her patience with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon. Charlotte demanded a SmackDown Women’s Championship match. Smackdown Women’s Champion Naomi came down to the ring and made fun of Charlotte for begging for a match. Naomi then stated that the match will happen right now and leveled Charlotte. Naomi knocked Charlotte out of the ring and a referee then sprinted to the ring and actively tried to prevent Charlotte from getting back in the ring for some reason.

Shane McMahon then made a match between Naomi and Charlotte for later tonight. If Charlotte wins, she is the number one contender and will face Naomi again next week for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Charlotte and Naomi then brawled for a bit. Charlotte threw Naomi out of the ring and celebrated with the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Naomi then got back in the ring and threw Charlotte out and raised up her title.

Reaction: Charlotte made a reference to the new Fast & Furious movie and it was one of the worst lines I’ve ever heard. Whoever came up with “I’m fastly getting furious” needs to go sit in a dark room for a while and reevaluate things. Other than that line, I enjoyed this promo and the mini-brawl between Naomi and Charlotte.

Natalya, Carmella, James Ellsworth and Tamina Snuka were all backstage and pissed off at Shane McMahon. Natalya thought it was ridiculous that Charlotte is already in the title picture on SmackDown. Natalya then said that she had an idea and instructed Carmella, Ellsworth and Snuka to follow her to discuss things.

Six-Pack Challenge To Determine #1 Contender For WWE Championship: Luke Harper vs Sami Zayn vs Erick Rowan vs Mojo Rawley vs Dolph Ziggler vs Jinder Mahal

Harper connected with a big boot to Ziggler for a two count. SmackDown quickly went to a commercial break right after the match started. When SmackDown returned, Mojo delivered a Superplex to Ziggler, Harper hit a Superplex on Rowan and Zayn Powerbombed Mahal off the top rope. Zayn went for the Helluva Kick on Ziggler but Dolph hit him with a Superkick. Rowan Powerbombed Harper and then collided with Mahal and both Superstars fell to the mat.

Mojo leveled Mahal with a shoulder tackle and he fell out of the ring. Zayn knocked Mojo out of the ring and then Harper knocked Zayn out of the ring. Harper then leaped out of the ring and hit Jinder Mahal with a Suicide Dive. Harper then hit another Suicide Dive onto both Mojo and Zayn. Back in the ring, Rowan hit Ziggler with a big boot for a two count. Rowan then Powerbombed Ziggler onto everyone outside the ring.

Rowan brought Zayn back in the ring and went for a pinfall but Zayn kicked out at two. SmackDown went to another commercial break after Rowan launched Sami out of the ring. When SmackDown returned, Mojo Rawley was in control of the match. He hit Ziggler with a Splash in the corner. Dolph fought back but Mojo slammed him to the mat. Mojo leveled Rawley with a running punch and then Jinder through Mojo out of the ring. Jinder went for the pinfall but Sami Zayn broke it up.

Harper and Rowan then traded punches in the ring. Ziggler hit Rowan with a Zig Zag for a two count. The crowd started to chant “this is awesome!” as Ziggler connected with a Dropkick to Harper. Harper responded by hitting a Powerbomb on Ziggler for a two count. Jinder slammed Harper into the steel steps outside the ring. Mahal then charged at Zayn in the ring but Sami got out of the way and Mahal slammed into the ring post. Sami then Moonsaulted onto Mojo outside the ring.

Back in the ring, Sami Zayn hit Jinder Mahal with an Exploder Suplex. Zayn was about to go for the Helluva Kick but the Bollywood Boys appeared and grabbed Sami’s legs from behind. Jinder Mahal then slammed Zayn to the mat for the victory.

After the match, Mahal cut a promo bashing Americans for not accepting diversity. Mahal stated that Americans will now have no choice but to accept Mahal as the next WWE Champion. Randy Orton then came down to the ring and congratulated Mahal on winning the match. Orton said that Mahal’s prize won’t be the WWE Championship, it will be an RKO.

Orton then mentioned Bray Wyatt and the House of Horrors match that they will have at WWE Payback. Bray Wyatt then appeared on the Jumbotron and said that he is going to inflict pain on Orton at Payback. Wyatt then stated that Orton will not walk out of the House of Horrors match and then he told Orton to run and that was the end of the promo.

Winner & New #1 Contender For WWE Championship: Jinder Mahal 

Reaction: I did not expect Jinder Mahal to win this match at all. I don’t think anyone did. Jinder cut a solid promo after the match as well. It is a little tiresome that every heel Superstar that is not American automatically has to be this anti-American guy that shouts in another language. I don’t have a problem with the gimmick, I’m just tired of seeing it over and over again. Hopefully Mahal can bring something new to the table and actually piss off the crowd, rather than just get them to unenthusiastically chant “USA!”.

I cannot stand how WWE is booking the WWE Championship match between Orton and Wyatt at Payback. It feels like a total afterthought. Randy Orton confronted Jinder Mahal tonight and then a minute later he was talking about his match with Bray Wyatt. As for Bray Wyatt, he cut another ominous promo about fear and pain. It is stunning how WWE has made a character that was so interesting a few months ago into a  complete bore. Nothing Bray Wyatt says matters if he continues to lose matches. This has been the issue the entire time he has been in WWE.

AJ Styles was interviewed backstage about being the number one contender for the United States Championship. Baron Corbin quickly interrupted and it led to a match between Styles and Corbin later tonight.

Charlotte was shown backstage and stumbled upon Ellsworth, Carmella, Tamina Snuka and Natalya. Natalya welcomed Charlotte to SmackDown. Ellsworth then sarcastically said it was an honor to be in the presence of greatest. Natalya then purposely bumped into Charlotte as she tried to walk past her.

Naomi vs Charlotte

Charlotte started off the match in control and stomped on Naomi in the corner. Carmella, Natalya, Ellsworth and Tamina were shown watching the match backstage. Charlotte beat the hell out of Naomi for the next several minutes and taunted her the entire time. Charlotte applied a Chinlock but Naomi battled out of it and hit a Leg Drop for a two count. Charlotte and Naomi traded chops and kicks. Naomi then hit Charlotte with a series of kicks and knocked her to the mat. SmackDown went to a commercial break with Superstars on the floor outside the ring.

When SmackDown returned. Charlotte was once again in control of the match. Ellsworth, Carmella, Snuka and Natalya were once again shown backstage watching the match. All four of them had zero expression on their face while watching the match backstage. It was as if they weren’t aware the camera was on this time. Naomi hit a series of punches to Charlotte and then followed it up with a Clothesline. Naomi hit a Crossbody off the top rope for a two count. Naomi went for the Rear View but Charlotte booted Naomi in the back. Charlotte then hit Natural Selection and now has a shot at the Smackdown Women’s Championship next week. After the match, Charlotte was shown walking backstage and she stumbled upon the viewing party of Ellsworth, Carmella, Snuka and Natalya. Charlotte winked and screamed “woo!” and walked away.

Winner: Charlotte

Reaction: Charlotte and Naomi had a decent match tonight. I’m just going to assume that Natalya’s plan will come to fruition next week. WWE seems to like having Superstars defeat Champions in non-title matches to earn a title match. I’d rather see a tournament, or Charlotte face Becky Lynch or any woman on the SmackDown roster to earn the title match. I don’t understand the point of having Superstars that hold titles lose matches regularly on television. I also don’t like how we just watched Charlotte versus Naomi tonight and now we are getting the same match again next week. Granted, next week’s match is for the Smackdown Women’s Championship so it will be a bit more exciting.

American Alpha vs The Shining Stars

American Alpha was in control of this match in the beginning. Primo and Epico eventually isolated Gable and spent a few minutes taking turns beating him down. Jordan was tagged in and the momentum turned once again.  Epico and Primo then hit Jordan with a cheap shot while the referee was distracted for the victory.

Winners: The Shining Stars

Face Of America Open Challenge: Kevin Owens vs Gary Gandy 

Owens won the match easily with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. After the match, Owens demanded that all the lazy citizens of the United States put the hot dog down and listen to him. Owens stated that he will remain the face of America as long as he is the United States Champion. Owens then joined the commentary table for the main event.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Reaction: *cracks open a Budweiser and screams “AMERICA!” at screen*

Baron Corbin vs AJ Styles

The crowd chanted “AJ Styles!” as the bell rang. Corbin threw Styles out of the ring and then followed him out there. Corbin slammed AJ’s head off the ring apron and SmackDown went to a commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Corbin was still in control. Corbin lost momentum when he charged at Styles in the corner and missed and smashed into the ring post. That seems to happen to Corbin in every single match.

Styles hit Corbin with a Pele Kick. Corbin battled back and hit a Backbreaker for a two count. Corbin charged at Styles in the corner but Styles booted him in the face and applied the Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. Corbin hit the Deep Six for a two count and became frustrated when Styles kicked out. The action spilled out of the ring and Corbin launched Styles into Owens at the announcer’s table. Styles then hit a Phenomenal Forearm on Corbin and sent him over the barricade. Styles then got back in the ring right before the referee counted to ten.

Winner via Count Out: AJ Styles

Reaction: The main event was a decent match, but overall I wasn’t a fan of this week’s episode of SmackDown. I think Jinder Mahal as the #1 contender can be interesting in the next few weeks. However, if it turns into Randy Orton carrying around an American flag and stereotypical garbage, I won’t be that interested anymore. The Six-Pack Challenge match was very entertaining, but the rest of this week’s episode of SmackDown was pretty forgettable.

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

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