Return the Favor
The show opened up with AJ Styles, and Kofi Kingston. As per last night’s Raw, there’s a wild card rule in effect which means a limited amount of superstars can appear on the opposite brand. The segment itself is good, with Kingston showing the fire and determination of a fighting champion, Styles coming off as an arrogant former champion, and Zayn being a thorn in the side of the audience. Bonus points for the way Kingston mocked Styles’ “House that AJ Styles built” phrase.
Grade: A-
KO’s Birthday
This was a cut and dry promo about it being Kevin Owen’s birthday and how it was good for Kofi Kingston that he wasn’t at Smackdown. Spoiler alert: that was a lie.
Not Graded
Ali vs Andrade
I’ve finally given in to the name change, guys. It’s unfortunate but it’s there. Both guys did good promos for the upcoming Money in the Bank ladder match. Ali is always really good with those type of promos and Andrade’s been delivering promos in English; Zelina still does most of the talking but it’s great to hear Andrade too. The match itself was great, but Randy Orton showed up to force the no contest and RKO both competitos. Putting these two up against Orton raises their stock as he is quite an established superstar. I don’t think Orton is going to win the briefcase, but he’s a reliable vet to put in the field.
Winner: No Contest
Grade: B
Ashes to Empire
We got a video package showing highlights of Roman Reigns’ career, spanning from his time in FCW to present. I’m questioning why we needed this as Reigns has made no mentions of retiring nor is his match with Elias at Money in the Bank that top tier that we need this type of video package. His story is inspiring though so I won’t complain too much.
Not Graded
Shane O’Mac
Shane McMahon hyped up his steel cage match with The Miz. He also apparently forgot how wrestling works because hitting people with steel chairs is fairly common. He was going to award the newly Vacated Smackdown Tag Team Championships to Rowan and Daniel Bryan but the Usos (who were on Smackdown with the invitation of their Big Dog cousin) said nah so McMahon made a title match between them and Daniel and Rowan. The Usos’ promo game is fire no matter what brand they’re on so I have to give them credit for that.
Later after the tag team match, The Miz would attack McMahon again and the B Team would come out to help McMahon get the upper hand. McMahon then laid Miz out with a steel chair. See how common it is?
Grade: B
Finn Two Belts?
Finn Balor gave us a lovely cellphone promo from Ireland about how he’s going to win Money in the Bank. He looked adorable all bundled up.
Not Graded
The Usos vs Rowan and Daniel Bryan-Smackdown Tag Team Championships
Though a fairly standard tag team match, it was still great and I love me a good Usos superkick. I also enjoyed Lebelle Lock sequence toward the end; I really thought Jimmy was going to tap out. I was not expecting Rowan to pick up the win for their team. But this also kind of exacerbated the fact that there’s not much of a tag team division left on Smackdown. Where do we go from here? Who will topple the tree team? And why is he still being called the new Daniel Bryan?
Winner: Rowan and Daniel Bryan
Grade: B
Firefly Funhouse
The highlights of this episode were Mercy the Buzzard eating Rambling Rabbit (because it’s okay to express yourself however you want!) and the ending where Bray Wyatt gave a tiny promo while surrounded by dazed-looking children. Honestly I would watch a full-length episode of this show. I think it’s creatively refreshing and I’m all for this demented Blues Clues spinoff.
Grade: A-
Carmella and Ember Moon vs Sonya Deville and Many Rose
The match itself was pretty good, just a little short for my taste. Deville also sacrificed herself for Rose so I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on between them. I smell a betrayal coming. Post-match, Paige came out, ran them down and set up a match between them and her team of Asuka and Kairi Sane. At this point, it feels like the feud is moreso between Paige and the former members of Absolution.
Winner: Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose
Grade: B-
Against the Freak
Matt Hardy and R-Truth were talking about Lars Sullivan so of course he showed up to absolutely destroy them. Yeah, I’ve already kind of lost interest in Sullivan on the main roster.
Not Graded
Aleister is the Darkness
These promos have been a welcome reset for Aleister Black. I enjoyed his time with Ricochet but these types of cryptic, dark promos are more in line with his character.
Not Graded
Kofi Kingston vs Sami Zayn vs AJ Styles-WWE Championship
While the wild card rule meant that two out of the three competitiors were actually from Raw, it was nevertheless an incredible triple threat match. I love AJ’s selling; he makes every move look absolutely devastating. Kevin Owns showed up to no one’s surprise and took out Xavier Woods again, which distracted Kingston enough for a Blue Thunder Bomb from Zayn. Everyone looked great in this match, which is good for the WWE Champion as we build to that title defense at Money in the Bank.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
This was fairly good episode of Smackdown; it could’ve been better and it could’ve been worse. I really don’t like that they interrupt what’s going on in the ring for promos. I find that kind of distracting and distasteful. I’m not sure if I like the wild card rule or not yet. I’m going to reserve judgement until I see it in effect more.
Overall Grade: B
