WWE SmackDown Live Review // 20th February 2018

This week's SmackDown continued to build towards Fastlane, building on the relationships between the competitors in the WWE title Fatal Five-way match with a pair of big singles matches. The main event had WWE Champion AJ Styles going one on one with Baron Corbin, whilst Kevin Owens found himself opposite Dolph Ziggler. But how did it all go down in Phoenix, Arizona? Lets take a look! 

Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens interrupted AJ Styles' interview

This week's main story included a lot of characters and took up around half of the show, beginning with Renee Young's interview with WWE Champion AJ Styles being interrupted by Baron Corbin and then Kevin Owens. This was going okay, not great, but okay, until Styles made a quip about Owens having a boil lanced off his back. The boil turned out to be some kind of metaphor for Sami Zayn and resulted in an audience grown from the Phoenix audience. Seriously, whoever wrote that line should be fired. It made Styles look like a goof, made even worse by the fact it was clear that the Phenomenal One wasn't at all behind the line. The rest of the segment included Styles discussing the dangers of a five-way match to his title run, Corbin claiming he could beat AJ (and indeed he did back on the 10th October SmackDown) and Owens both continuing his never-ending feud with Shane McMahon and burying Zayn for his loss to Dolph Ziggler last week. Eventually, McMahon did what Owens had been complaining about by placing him in a match with Ziggler that would happen immediately, whilst also booking Styles vs. Corbin as the main event. What should have been a simple segment ended up being a complete mess, because of awful dialogue and an awkward payoff.

then 

Kevin Owens def. Dolph Ziggler // Pinfall

Kevin Owens got back to winning ways for the first time since Boxing Day with a Sami Zayn-aided victory over Dolph Ziggler in what turned out to be the match of the show. Whilst Owens match with Baron Corbin last week had struggled because of it being unclear who was the heel, this match just kept the action coming so there was very little time to even worry about such a situation. Indeed, the back and forth nature of the match was felt more like an all-face contest, as the two started hot and kept going, with no one hitting more than two moves in a row. Phoenix was hot for this, pretty much throughout, surely helped by it being the first bout of the evening, popping for small things like Owens missing a senton, with the competitors lifting their game for a handful of very good alternating sequences. Whilst a sequence out of the corner that concluded with a Fameasser near fall felt like the peak, the highlight would come moments later after Owens blocked a ZigZag by grabbing the ropes, Ziggler countered a superkick with one of his own, which was in-turn blocked by Owens, who sent the Show Off into the ropes for a Pop-Up Powerbomb, with Ziggler escaping and hitting a ZigZag for a strong false finish. It was a shame to see Zayn heading out to result in the finish (which was vicious superkick to the back of the head from Owens), but the ending did open up a number of interesting questions regarding Owens and Zayn's relationship going forward, whilst also giving Ziggler an out for the loss. A backstage segment later on the show saw Zayn promise that he would lay down for KO in at Fastlane.

then

"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles def. Baron Corbin // Pinfall

A solid main event saw AJ Styles pick up a straight-forward victory over Baron Corbin with a Phenomenal Forearm, before Corbin made the save for Styles after Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn headed to ringside. An interesting development for Corbin, for sure, but the match was another case of Corbin not quite looking ready for a spot at the top of the card. Whilst the match was held back by only going around ten minutes, it still felt like Corbin was lacking that special something needed in order to be a top star for the company. I'm not quite sure what it is that Corbin lacks in the ring, because he has a number of interesting signature sequences, like the Big Bossman spot on the outside and Deep Six (which might be my favourite move in WWE right now), but the whole package is certainly not coming together at the moment. What we did have here though was another example of why AJ Styles is considered the best in WWE right now (Seth Rollins put a big claim to that crown together on RAW, however) as the Phenomenal One excelled opposite the larger man. The spot where Styles got threw over the announce table, only to land on his feet, leap over the table and nail a Phenomenal Forearm to a kneeling Corbin was superb stuff, which the commentary sold for the spectacular moment that it was. 

With the post-match attack and subsequent Corbin save hinting that the Lone Wolf could be due a babyface turn, perhaps that could be the missing piece of the puzzle for Baron, who has clearly worked hard on his in-ring work over the last 12 to 18 months.

Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan def. Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch & Naomi // Pinfall 

The never-ending, never-evolving feud between The Riott Squad and SmackDown's top female stars unsurprisingly continued this week, with Ruby Riott able to give her team their third win in a row, after pinning Becky Lynch with a Riott Kick. Whilst I'm still waiting for any kind of development in this feud, there was a lot to like in this one, particularly at the beginning and the end. Naomi's face shine concluding with a slingshot crossbody on Riott and Sarah Logan before Liv Morgan sent Naomi into the steps had a lot of energy and also began a pattern where Morgan actually looked like the star of the Riott Squad. The final two or three minutes were also lots of fun, with a pair of hot tags from Lynch and Charlotte Flair, leading into a strong one in, one out strikes fest and then a quality near fall for the face team with Morgan making the save for Riott after a lengthy period trapped in Lynch's Disarmer submission. It was a shame then that Logan ended up looking completely out of her depth. Her selling looked awkward and her offence looked sloppy and considering she was given a solid amount of time in the middle of the bout, it felt like she ended up completely fumbling the ball that she was given. This comes after a disappointing effort with Flair last week and I'm beginning to wonder where the hype surrounding her came from in the first place. 

Later in the show, Flair and Riott both cut handheld promos challenging each other to a match at Fastlane, with it being confirmed that the SmackDown Women's Championship will be on the line on 11th March moments later.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contendership // Big E & Xavier Woods def. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable // Pinfall 

After a good outing last week, The New Day's beating Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable this week with questionable tactics after a short match ended up being the show's biggest disappointment. Five minutes of television wasn't enough for these two teams to tell a satisfying match and instead they went for a relatively generic tag bout, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but any regular watch would expect more. The one bright point was a superb sequence off of Big E's hot tag, as he went back an forth with Gable, as they blocked belly to belly suplex and did a ridiculous backslide trade before Gable actually came out on top, nailing a belly to belly on the former Intercontinental Champion. The finish seemed to suggest that New Day turning heel as Kofi Kingston popped up on the apron to distract the referee as Benjamin had Big E pinned after a Powebomb/diving clothesline combination, before Xavier Woods was able to take advantage and pin Benjamin with a Shining Wizard. Turning New Day would make logical sense if they're to face The Usos again for the tag belts, after a lengthy feud with the Usos as heels earlier in the year.

After the match, Harper & Rowan, the Bludgeon Brothers had a stare down with the New Day, before picking up a fun squash match victory over Eduardo Especiale & Norville Rogers.

Jinder Mahal outsmarted Bobby Roode and Randy Orton...again

Jinder Mahal continued to stir the pot between United States Champion Bobby Roode and Randy Orton in a segment, where a number of good ideas where hidden by a lame SmackDown Top 10 gimmick. Basically, Mahal said he had a secret about Roode, which turned out to be that he didn't include Orton in his SmackDown Top 10 list (but hilariously included Zack Ryder, who hasn't won a match since June). Who gives a fuck? The stuff about Roode wanting to become the new "Legend Killer" and having no respect for Orton's legacy is actually pretty damn cool, whilst having Jinder involved as the spoiler to help prolonge a feud towards WrestleMania is also another solid idea. The segment actually did more to help build up Mahal than his five and half month WWE title run, as whilst his promo wasn't the strongest, he ended up being the only man left standing. This was after a beautifully produced moment saw Mahal sneak back into the ring to hit Roode with the Khallas, with Roode's Glorious Domination theme still playing after the US Champ had left Orton laying with a Glorious DDT.

Later in the show, Shane McMahon booked Bobby Roode vs. Randy Orton for the United States Champion at Fastlane after having another argument with Daniel Bryan, which considering Jinder Mahal had just laid out the pair of them for the second week in a row made little to no sense.

Also this week 

- A hype package looking at Shinsuke Nakamura and his victory in the 2018 Royal Rumble match.

- Roman Reigns and Mark Henry, alongside Noelle Trent (Director of Interpretations, Collections and Education at the National Civil Rights Museum) discussed the Lunch Counter Sit-ins as part of Black History Month. 

- Apollo & Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode cut promos to promote Mixed Match Challenge, which airs directly after SmackDown on Facebook Watch. 

ATPW Scale Rating // 4.29 out of 10 

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale 

WWE SmackDown Live Review // 13th February 2018

SmackDown continued to move towards Fastlane this week with some big changes made to the 11th March main event. The show featured a major storyline involving Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn interrupting a scheduled match between Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, before Owens faced Corbin and Zayn took on Ziggler, with Corbin and Ziggler being added to the WWE title match at Fastlane if they were able to pick up the win. But how did it all go down in Bakersfield? Lets take a look! 

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin didn't happened because Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn attacked both men

then...

Baron Corbin def. Kevin Owens // Pinfall

then...

Dolph Ziggler def. Sami Zayn // Pinfall 

There were some big changes on SmackDown Live this week, as Dolph Ziggler pinned Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin did the same to Kevin Owens to insert themselves into a WWE Championship match at Fastlane that will see AJ Styles defend against all four of the above. However, the advertised match had been Corbin vs. Ziggler for a place in the match, so how did we get here? Let's start at the beginning. The opening segment saw Corbin about to enter the arena to face Ziggler, only for the show to cut back to the backstage area where Owens and Zayn were assaulting the 2017 Money in the Bank winner. This was followed up by the pair heading out to the arena to leave Ziggler laying also. The segment had a tonne of energy and left a number of questions open for the rest of the show. The moment where Owens and Zayn had finished laying out Corbin and said they were heading for Ziggler was brilliantly done and helped to raise the tension for what was about to follow, aided by Zayn then attempted to go through the crowd to assault Ziggler from behind. It was cool to see what we thought the show was going to be shift in front of our eyes and the whole interaction felt fresh and different, with Owens & Zayn's motivation of wanting to make sure no one ended up joining their match with Styles came across very clear.

After Commissioner Shane McMahon had informed General Manager Daniel Bryan of his plans for the foursome, the first match was Baron Corbin's victory over Kevin Owens, thanks to an impressive End of Days. This was a solid contest, that struggled to draw the crowd in due to the ambiguity over Corbin's character. It was clear that Owens was the heel, but not massively clear if Corbin was still heel or had turned babyface and therefore it appeared like the audience struggled to get into what was going. This was especially clear when Owens looked on a rest hold and the crowd chanted "Rusev Day" (it's actually baffling that they'd even think about leaving the Bulgarian off the show). Corbin hadn't shown enough for the audience to get behind him and even if he sold the attack from earlier well on the way down to the ring and after the match, it wasn't particularly present in the match and therefore his "in" for gaining some sympathy was removed. This wasn't helped by the fact that Owens is generally the more exciting performer to watch. The back and forth finish was a lot of fun with the working well together before Corbin escaped a Pop-Up Powerbomb and hit his finish for the win. Whether Corbin is now a babyface going forward or not really isn't clear, but he's now got his first shot at the WWE title since failing to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase in August. 

The main event saw Dolph Ziggler defeat Sami Zayn with a superkick in the first ever televised match between the pair. This match didn't suffer from the same affliction as the Owens vs. Corbin match as it was made very clear that Ziggler was the underdog (not from the underground) and the Show-Off reached deep into his babyface bag, selling within an inch of his life throughout. Whilst the majority of the action was good stuff, including highlights like Ziggler hitting a picture perfect dropkick to Zayn's gut as he dived off the top rope and a big exploder suplex off the top from Sami, it was in the final minute or so that the match excelled. After a strong near fall from a ZigZag, Zayn's vicious side came to the fore as he threw Dolph shoulder first into the ringpost repeatedly, with Ziggler selling like he'd been hit by a truck, completely out on his feet, only to sneak a two count with a roll-up after Zayn took too long going for a Blue Thunder Bomb he really didn't need to hit. This set up Zayn's out for the subsequent loss as he clearly had the match won, only to end up costing himself as Ziggler blocked a Helluva Kick with a kick of his own, this time of the super variety. Crisp and fluid wrestling throughout, that did a good job of getting the character shift over with a great conclusion, the main event was easily the best match on the show this week.

Charlotte Flair def. Sarah Logan // Pinfall 

This week's only women's action saw SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair walk out victorious over Riott Squad member Sarah Logan, winning with Natural Selection, after a poor match. The match had started fairly inconspicuously, with nothing much of note either good or bad, but during the split-screen advert break something seemed to fall apart and it appeared like everything Flair and Logan attempted went wrong in one way or another. I had been looking forward to seeing what the pair did together, so I was more than a little disappointed while watching them botch sunset flips. The match did pick up later on with Logan hitting what looked like a crotch clutch suplex after Flair had missed a big boot and got her foot caught up on the top rope standing out. After the match Corey Graves said on commentary "I have a feeling this rivalry is just getting started!" and I had to wonder "Where the fuck have you been, Graves?". The feud (also involving Becky Lynch & Naomi, who were present at ringside) has been going on since November and I'm still not quite sure why. The Riott Squad haven't felt like a threat to SmackDown's top three women since their debut, not helped by the fact that Logan is yet to win a singles match in WWE or NXT.

Kofi Kingston & Big E def. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable // Pinfall 

Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable's crusade to rid the SmackDown tag team division of comedy acts came to sudden half this week as they suffered a loss to Kofi Kingston & Big E of the New Day's Midnight Hour, after initially interrupting Big E's pancake eating world record attempt. New Day have gone pretty mad for p-cakes lately and it seemed only sensible that they'd have a big Shrove Tuesday celebration, before giving up their eggs, milk and flour for lent. The segment was a little long winded, but came good in the end when Benjamin and Gable started throwing those pan-based deserts to the mat one by one, whilst Big E furiously attempted to stop their blasphemous acts. It probably shouldn't have worked, but it was played very well by all involved, with Benjamin & Gable being particularly entertaining. The tag match that followed might have been for the dignity of pancakes everywhere, but was actually a rather lovely tag bout. The classic New Day tandem of Kingston & E was back together for the first time in 2018 and both excelled in their roles as Kingston took face-in-peril and Big E came soaring in with his magnificent hot tag. The best action actually came with Kofi battling against Benjamin & Gable, as the trio worked in a number of strong hope spots, with Kingston firing up for the tag only to run straight into a rolling koppu kick. It appears that The Usos are moving into a feud with the Bludgeon Brothers, so I'm not quite sure where this result leaves the rest of the tag team division, but I'd be very surprised if The New Day don't have a role at WrestleMania.

Jinder Mahal interrupted Randy Orton accepting Bobby Roode's US Open Challenge

A United States Championship open challenge from Bobby Roode, appeared to be delivering us a match between Roode and Randy Orton, only for Jinder Mahal to come out and spoil the party before it could begin. I'm unsure how I feel about Mahal, because his involvement in this feud will undoubtedly bring down the quality of any resulting matches from this storyline, but he was actually used well here, acting as the spoiler for the two babyfaces. His appearance made me groan, but I'm sure that was the exact reaction I was suppose to have. Whilst Mahal stirring up the pot went on for a little bit too long and using the "SmackDown Top 10" rankings (that WWE decided not to change this week, with no explanation of how often they will be updated) to drive a storyline is more than a little lame, the idea at the heart of it was a good one and it was fun to see the tension build between Orton and Roode. Mahal would end up standing tall, getting the best of both men with a pair of Khallas, after Orton had RKO'd Samir Singh. Considering we'll almost inevitably have to get a couple of Mahal matches during it, this very well could be the peak of this storyline.

Also this week

- Seth Rollins discussed the Montgomery Bus Boycott, as part of Black History Month. 

- In a well-directed segment, The Usos cut a promo about their tag team dominance, only for the Bludgeon Brothers to cut the segment short as they attacked the television playing the promo with their big ol' hammers. 

ATPW Scale Rating // 5.21 out of 10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale

WWE Clash of Champions 2017 DVD Review

WWE have released the 2017 edition of Clash of Champions on DVD in the UK, available here. But is it any good? Lets take a look!  

Top Matches include: 

- Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn's WWE Contract // Special Guest Referees - Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon // Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn 

- WWE Championship // AJ Styles (C) vs. Jinder Mahal

- SmackDown Women's Championship // Lumberjack Match // Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Natalya 

The event kicks off with it's best match as a triple threat over the United States Championship, with Baron Corbin defending against Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode, features some great action, with the three combining their signature offence for a number of exciting sequences and surprisingly strong near falls. Backstage, Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon discuss both being the referee in the Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn match later on, without clearing up how the gimmick is actually going to work. After an interview with Dasha Fuentes, Baron Corbin threw a bin at a door. The good times keep rolling with an exciting Fatal Four-Way match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with The Usos defending against Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, Kofi Kingston & Big E of the New Day and Rusev & Aiden English, in a match that is helped by a crowd that is massively into Rusev & English. The beginning and ending, including a brilliant performance from Gable, feature some wonderful action, although the match is let down by some weird rules that have a member of each team in the ring at the same time, leading to some awkwardness during the middle portion. 

Charlotte Flair puts the SmackDown Women's Championship on the line against Natalya in a disjointed Lumberjack match, where the gimmick does more to hold the pair back than create any genuine excitement. There's some solid action in there, but there's also a lot of treading water, whilst every single lumberjack receiving their own entrance is over-kill. The Singh Brothers get interviewed by Fuentes, with the end result once again being that we find out nothing about their potential involvement in the Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles match later on. The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowan) vs. Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze) doesn't stick around long, but has a couple of nice moments, whilst en route to the squash result. 

Fuentes (who is seemingly all over the place here) catches up with Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn backstage, with the duo their usual jovial selves until Dasha brings up that they could be fired if they lose their match against Orton & Nakamura. The match between Owens & Zayn and Orton & Nakamura features an overkill of stipulation with Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan operating as special guest referees and Owens & Zayn getting fired if they lose the match. These stipulations are not conducive to producing a good match with a lot of time spent on setting out the dual referee gimmick and a number of hokey spots like McMahon & Bryan drawing a line down the middle of the ring, whilst the top talent end up going through the motions for, at least, fifteen minutes of the bout. The finishing stretch however does feature some engrossing action between Orton and Zayn, as well as a big spot on the outside featuring Owens and Nakamura, whilst a handful of nearfalls are worked in surrounding the dual refs situation. 

The WWE Championship match features Jinder Mahal's best performance of his main event run as he challenges AJ Styles for the brand's top prize. The action isn't always thrilling, but there's a strong narrative, with both men working over injures body parts, as well as a couple of sturdy near falls in the scrappy closing match. The Singh Brothers play their part well, including a brutal looking spot on the floor, before the contest comes to a satisfying conclusion that pays off the matches major story thread. The disc concludes with it's only special feature as Zack Ryder faces former tag team partner Mojo Rawley in a match that is exactly what it needed to be.

ATPW Scale Rating // 5.23/10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale 

WWE SmackDown Live Review // 6th February 2018

For the first time since May 2016, SmackDown returned to Kansas City, Missouri on 6th Feburary 2018, as the building blocks for Fastlane began to be laid down. The show featured best pals Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn battling each other to become #1 Contender to AJ Styles' WWE Championship in the main event, as well as Bobby Roode putting the WWE United States Championship on the line against Rusev. Lets take a look at how it all went down at the Sprint Center Arena. 

Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan clashed over Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

then...

WWE Championship #1 Contendership // Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn // No Contest

The AJ Styles/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Daniel Bryan/Shane McMahon saga rolls on for another week and supposedly onto 11th March's Fastlane PPV at the very least. This week we began with an overly long chatter segment featuring McMahon, Bryan and Styles. This included the line "the stakes have epic implications of what's going to happen" from McMahon when discussing the main event between Owens and Zayn. That line isn't far behind Michael McGillicutty's classic "Genesis of McGillicutty" promo from NXT Season 2. Both Bryan and McMahon struggled saying the word "ripping" for some reason and the crowd mostly just allowed them to have a conversation. That is until McMahon threw a barb Bryan's way about vicariously living through Owens and Zayn, because the former WWE Champion was desperate to get back in the ring. The crowd gave the moment the reaction it deserved, making note of the tension between the two and the apparent sign that an in-ring return for Bryan could be on its way. Seemingly because creative couldn't come up with a way to end the segment effectively, AJ Styles came out to interrupt, cut a decent travelling champion style promo, before telling the Commissioner and General Manager to stop obsessing over Owens and Zayn.

The main event between Zayn and Owens resulted in a no contest, after Zayn got into the face of guest commentator AJ Styles and the WWE Champion teed off on both competitors. Daniel Bryan then confirmed that Styles would have to defend against Owens and Zayn at Fastlane, this time in a triple threat match. Despite the non-finish, the clash between Zayn and Owens was actually pretty damn good, telling a quality story of two friends wanting to remain respectful but soon getting out of hand. It was a relatable narrative, that was driven by the vocalisations of both men, but in particular Kevin Owens. K.O. ducking to the floor after a particularly spicy strike from Zayn and yelling "calm down" at his pal was brilliant stuff, because we all know that it never works, whilst Owens' "I'm the one that wins the titles" after the aggression had heightened told of just how far the match had come as the pairs true characters began to show through. The wrestling action was great also, complimenting the story with the pair able to counter a number of their signature moves, before the highlight of the match came when Zayn slickly escaped a Pop-Up Powerbomb attempt and nailed a half and half suplex and blue thunder bomb for a decent near fall. It's a shame that this story has been going on so long, because I'm not sure how they're going to fill the next four episode of SmackDown Live before Fastlane and as good as the triple threat has potential to be, it really should have happened at Royal Rumble instead.  

WWE United States Championship // Bobby Roode (C) def. Rusev // Pinfall

Bobby Roode picked up his second successful United States title defence with a clean win over Rusev, following the Glorious DDT, in a good TV bout. Following the match, Randy Orton flew through the air to deliver an RKO to Roode and then Aiden English and Rusev got on a piece for good measure. Where this is going I'm not sure, but RKOs are fun, so why not? Rusev gave Roode a much better challenge than that of Mojo Rawley at Royal Rumble, moving from a nice amateur style opening section to a stellar back and forth closing stretch. The Bulgarian controlled long stretches of the match, with Roode making comebacks after both commercial breaks. Before the finish, the highlight for me was a strong near fall for Rusev, that came bang in the middle of a supposed comeback from Roode, with English acting as a distraction, allowing Rusev to recover and nail a Machka Kick for a long two count. It seemed that more than a few members of the crowd bought in the false finish as well, as they looked for the uber popular founder of Rusev Day to pick up the upset. It was pleasing to see the Bulgarian Brute back in a top slot on SmackDown and hopefully he'll be given some more big matches soon.

Charlotte Flair def. Liv Morgan // Submission

The only women's match on the card saw Charlotte Flair remain undefeated since July, after the SmackDown Women's Champion bested Liv Morgan with the Figure Eight. This was a basic match, boosted by a spot where Morgan's Riott Squad partners Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan were removed from ringside for interference and held back the occasional sloppy moment. This was particularly prevalent in the finish, when after Riott and Logan had been chucked out, the finishing sequence was a bit awkward in how it was put together, even if the moves themselves were relatively well performed. Flair spearing the fuck out of the sub-eight stone Morgan was unarguably the highlight for me, whilst Flair's aggression at the start following the Squad's attack on her last week was also rather nice. The commentary team kept discussing the "rumours" that Flair had asked for this match herself, I'm not sure what this was supposed to mean or how I was supposed to feel about it.

Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable def. Konnor & Viktor // Pinfall

After cutting a hand-held promo about wanting to bring prestige back to the tag team division, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable continued their rebuild following their loss at Royal Rumble with a swift victory over The Ascension, with the Powerbomb/Diving Clothesline combination, in a fun squash. The crowd wasn't all that bothered, mostly because the Ascension haven't won a straight tag team match on TV in two years (12th February 2016 episode of Superstars - vs. Fandango & Damien Sandow), but the bout did it's job and featured some enjoyable action. Viktor's energetic hot tag was the peak of the contest as he got to show off just a little of what he's capable of, before the finish ended up being a bit messy and lacked the finesse we've seen from the promising Benjamin & Gable tandem in a recent months. 

The Usos killed it on the mic

The Usos are bloody brilliant and their promo outlining their "Street Code" was another example of that brilliance. The concept really shouldn't have worked and quite honestly sounded a bit lame, but I never should have doubt Jimmy & Jey because they're are high calibre dons that should be respected at all costs. The two brought passion and charisma to their lines, coming across with their natural chemistry, whilst discussing the changes they've gone through over the last 18 months. Referencing how fan opinion had changed and getting a great reaction when they mentioned that they'd gone from "Yeah, they might be alright" to having match of the night, the two closed with their paranoia catchphrase before leaving unchallenged. A confrontation beforehand would seem to hint that future challengers could be...

Harper & Rowan def. Mat Fitchett & Kenny Alfonso // Pinfall

Now undefeated in nine match, The Bludgeon Brothers ran through AAW's Mat Fitchett and a lad without a cagematch profile called Kenny Alfonso, winning with a double crucifix powerbomb. Big lads squashing small lads is almost always a cool thing to watch and this was no different, as Harper & Rowan lobbed Fitchett & Alfonso all over the place en route to taking the victory.

Also this week...

- The New Day larked around backstage apparently answering questions on Twitter, but mostly making tongue in cheek references to the Corey Graves-Booker T feud.

- Daniel Bryan unveiled the first SmackDown Top 10, which was as follows: #10 - Tye Dillinger, #9 - Randy Orton, #8 - Becky Lynch, #7 - The Usos, #6 - The New Day, #5 - Bobby Roode, #4 - Naomi, #3 - Shinsuke Nakamura, #2 - Charlotte Flair, #1 - AJ Styles.

-  For Black History Month , Roman Reigns and Titus O'Neil discussed the Memphis Sanitation Strike.

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.71/10 

Written by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

WWE SmackDown Live 959 Review // 2nd January 2018 // AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn

It was the first SmackDown of 2018, so it was bound to be freaking amazing, right? WWE lined up a main event featuring WWE Champion AJ Styles taking on Sami Zayn whilst Kevin Owens, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan hung out at ringside. The episode also saw the return of Becky Lynch, as she joined SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and Naomi in confronting The Riott Squad, following their match with The Welcoming Committee. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, Xavier Woods, The Bludgeon Brother, Breezango and The Usos were all also featured. 

Let's talk a look, pals and see how it all went down at the Amway Center in Orlando.

AJ Styles called out Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon

then...

Sami Zayn def. AJ Styles // Pinfall

Rightio, this storyline is getting old already and following how the show ended I'm not sure that it can recover. More on that in a moment. Firstly, lets talk about the opening segment, as AJ Styles kicked the show off, before being joined by General Manager Daniel Bryan and Commissioner Shane McMahon. This was a convoluted way of getting Bryan and McMahon to be ringside for the main event between AJ Styles and Sami Zayn later on. McMahon was worried that Bryan would allow Kevin Owens to be ringside for the match, so instead of just banning Owens from ringside himself (because he's Bryan's boss and surely that means Bryan can't overturn his decisions), McMahon said he'd be at ringside and Bryan said he'd be there too. The only thing that I kinda dug about the segment was McMahon asking Bryan a question and then cutting off the answer by saying "I wasn't finished talking", because I thought it was a cool way to show the development in their relationship and actually showed a little bit of thought behind it. 

I think my main issue with this storyline is that it is being hilariously over-booked for the wrestler that are actually involved directly in it. AJ Styles and Sami Zayn have the ability to put on a really good television match (see their April 2016 RAW match for details), whilst also having the ability to carry an interesting storyline. With Kevin Owens thrown into the mix, this should be a no-brainer. Yet, the match ended up being just alright, showing flashes of what the pair can do together, but being constantly undermined by whatever is going on between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan at ringside meant that they didn't get reach even half of the level that you would expect. A couple of nice near falls for each man and great little sequence with Zayn getting caught in the Calf Crusher after Styles ducked a Helluva Kick meant that this wasn't a complete waste of time, however. The finish featured much fannying around as McMahon tried to get Owens removed from ringside and Bryan tried to do the same to Shane, before Zayn picked up the win with a Helluva Kick after Styles had knocked Owens off the apron. I was pretty buzzed that Zayn had picked up such a big win, but man, the finish was lame. 

The post-match stuff somehow manage to get more over-complicated. A furious Styles got the mic and demanded a match with both Owens and Zayn, with Bryan booking a Handicap match for the Royal Rumble, with the WWE Championship on the line. Like what is happening here? Has Bryan turned heel now? He was pretty buzzing to book the match and then started yesing like fuck all over the announce table. Who thought this was a good idea? Is this happening? Surely, Shane is the villain here? Why are we having this feud at all? I have so many questions and not in a "Man, I can't wait to find out the answer to these questions on next week's SmackDown LIVE" kind of way. Less of this please.

Ruby Riott & Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan def. Natalya & Carmella & Tamina // Pinfall 

then...

Becky Lynch returned alongside Charlotte Flair & Naomi 

Before the return of Becky Lynch, the Riott Squad vs. The Welcoming Commitee featured some more confusing booking, as it played out in front of a dead crowd. I suppose the match itself wasn't that confusing, but more the fact it was taking place in the first place, without any clear character shift for either Natalya, Carmella or Tamina. Two heel trios facing off didn't really do anything for anyone and I quickly found myself drifting from the contest, especially when it continued through the commercials (American adverts are very distracting). There was a nice exchange between Liv Morgan and Natalya at the very beginning and Sarah Logan's new Kentucky Knee finisher is pretty sweet as well. Having a three person faction with such a small roster doesn't seem to be conducive to varied television on either SmackDown or RAW at the moment. 

The segment that came after the match was definitely a step upwards as Ruby Riott and Charlotte Flair cut two solid promos, before Becky Lynch made her first appearance since getting crushed by a door on 20th November. After seeing Logan and Morgan stumble through promos in previous weeks, it was certainly a wise decision to keep the mic in Riott's hands here and she ended up doing a good job. Riott bought a good intensity as she ripped on Orlando and actually made some suspect content about magic seem remotely interesting, before Flair's interruption (sans SmackDown Women's title) bringing out Naomi and then Lynch. Personally, I'm not sure what having Flair, Naomi and Lynch dominate the whole Riott Squad in their first confrontation does for this long-term, because surely the interest is in having Lynch still searching for revenge after the Riott Squad (or at least Riott) dodge the attack, but it was still a fun watch.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship // Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso (C) def. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable // Pinfall

The first SmackDown title match of the year, followed the pattern of having questionable booking as we saw a dusty finish between The Usos and Benjamin & Gable. The thing here is that the first part of the match was actually very good, full of energy and with a shocking conclusion, because of the sheer dominance of the challengers. Benjamin and Gable continued to impress here and we didn't even see Gable pull out any Chaos Theories! The opening got the crowd pumped as Benjamin jumped up to meet an Uso on the top rope and nail a throw, before Gable nailed a moonsault for an early near fall. A lot of the action took place during the break with Benjamin & Gable working the leg and then when we came back it was straight into one of those wicked Uso hot tags. The spirited hot tag being cut off with one Uso getting thrown shoulder first into the barricade, followed by the other taking the Powerbomb/Double clothesline combination for the pinfall. It was refreshing to see such a major swerve from the regular format and also to see such a dominant win. I was considering the possibilities for the next few weeks as The Usos, who have previously been presented as the best tag team in WWE, looked to regain the belts and recover from being run over by a relatively new tag team. But then...

Basically, the pinfall happened between the two illegal competitors (which makes Benjamin look a little dim for not knowing he was the legal man) and then after an awkward moment with another referee coming out, the match restarted. The rest of the match was fine, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it just wasn't the same. The energy wasn't quite there, my excitement had kind died down thanks to the whole restart angle. The actual finish was pretty cool with whichever Uso it was managing to block Benjamin & Gable's finisher by dropping down into a rana position from the powerbomb, leading to Gable jumping straight into a superkick from the other Uso, before multiple superkicks and a Superfly Splash meant the Usos held onto the belt. I guess that Benjamin & Gable's decisive victory first time around will mean that we'll get another title match between the two teams, that will hopefully keep things simple. 

United States Championship Tournament // First Round // Xavier Woods def. Aiden English // Pinfall 

This clash was probably my favourite of the night, mostly due to it's lack of shenanigans, which considering Big E, Kofi Kingston and Rusev were at ringside for the entirety is pretty impressive. The match was a little short, but English and Woods worked a good pace from the off and included a few creative spots that helped the contest stand out. The opening back and forth section was very well put together as the pair slickly exchanged a number of holds, whilst the handful of spots on the outside, highlighted by Woods colliding with the steps after missing an Honor Roll, made for a delightful first few minutes. A near fall a piece, including a lovely Torture Rack backbreaker from Woods, kept the good times coming, before Woods picked up the win after escaping a potential avalanche piledriver with a back body drop and nailing Limit Break for the victory. Following this contest, I'm pretty sure Woods and English are two of the more underrated singles guys in WWE, right now. To top things off we also got Rusev singing before the match, which was wonderful.

Also this week...Bludgeon Brothers vs. Breezango didn't happen because Harper & Rowan started beating up Fandango & Tyler Breeze before the bout and then battered The Ascension as well after they tried to help...The commentary team did rundown of the Royal Rumble card so far, which seemed a little early, but whatever...Baron Corbin revealed that he'll be participating in the Men's Royal Rumble...Former Basketball player Karl Malone was shown in the crowd...

Finally... 

The first SmackDown of 2018 wasn't a great one, for me. This was mostly down to some weak booking and ongoing storylines that just seem unnecessary. Daniel Bryan's supposed heel turn is baffling, an all heel trios match struggled to hold the attention and whilst the dusty finish in the Tag Team title match wasn't awful, it wasn't as good as the first part of the match on it's own would've been! There were some positives though with Aiden English and Xavier Woods having a fun and creative bout and Becky Lynch's return helping keep the show's head above water. 

Review by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

Clash of Champions 2017 Review // AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal // WWE Championship

The final WWE PPV of the year had come around with very little fanfare, as the Clash of Champions card read more like a standard house show line-up, full of feuds that appeared to have ended and very little else. The SmackDown branded event saw Jinder Mahal receive his expected WWE Championship rematch against AJ Styles, desperately seeking a match that would be described with brighter terms than "average" in the main event. The upper end of the card featured Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn tagging up to face Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura in a match piled high with gimmicks and stipulations as Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan operated as dual special guest referees and a potential loss for Owens & Zayn would result in their WWE contracts being terminated, whilst Charlotte Flair put the SmackDown Women's title up against Natalya in an oddly balanced Lumberjack Match. Could Clash of Champions recover from it's half-arsed build? Lets take a freaking look, hen.

WWE Championship // AJ Styles (C) def. Jinder Mahal // Submission 

As always we begin our review with the main event, a contest which saw Jinder Mahal provide a career best performance, opposite the superlative AJ Styles. I'm not going to go overboard, but this was a good match and, considering Mahal's previous PPV efforts against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura, should be considered a Christmas miracle and further prove that Styles is the best professional wrestler in WWE right now. The bout's story was the cliche "simple, told well" situation, with Styles locking in a Calf Crusher early, before a limping Mahal turned the tide by dropping the champion midriff first across the top rope. Mahal would focus on the ribs for the rest of the match, before Styles was once again able to lock in his signature submission, when Mahal abandoned his game-plan and went for a Styles Clash and, after a sustained period in the hold, Jinder was finally forced to submit. Mahal did a solid job of selling his right leg just enough to keep the injury in the back of the viewer's mind, whilst I felt Styles was on fine form when fighting from underneath.

The contest was maybe a little long (making up for a six match card), coming in as Mahal's longest non-gimmick PPV bout, but there was good feeling of momentum throughout, even during the Canadian's lengthy periods in control. Mahal bought a good intensity, that was missing from some of his earlier matches, whilst also mixing up his moveset, pulling out a double knee gutbuster and a variation on Ryback's Shellshocked, as he continued to work over Styles' ribs. I also got a kick out of the little touches from Styles as he tried to fight through the injury, highlighted by the creative Ushigoroshi where the Phenomenal One bounced Mahal off the ropes first in order to be able to get him up for the Fireman's carry part of the move. After playing a big part in the build up, the Singh Brothers' involvement was kept to a minimum and whilst the bumping bad boys have generally been the best element of any Mahal main event, it allowed for a much more satisfying contest and meant Jinder's intensity could come through. They did however provide the bouts best near fall after getting battered by the WWE Champ on the floor and allowing Mahal to land a Khallas for a long two, calling back to every Jinder match since May. 

After the match, my main feeling was that AJ Styles had looked like an absolute star throughout the event. Following back to back losses on PPV to Finn Balor and Brock Lesnar (as well as dropping the US title to Baron Corbin in a three way), his performance here, both in and out of kayfabe, was a pleasing sight. In story he took an arse-kicking, dug deep and used his technical prowess to outsmart an act who'd got the better of Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura on multiple occasions and out of it, he helped a limited performer to the best bout of his career. His interview on Talking Smack added to Styles aura as a special talent, as he put over Mahal's effort, bought up some interesting points about the Singh Brothers' involvement and just generally came across as a star. After a disappointing feud with Kevin Owens cooled Styles' summer, his form in the last three months of 2017 has been outstanding, putting on top tier matches with Balor and Lesnar in October and November, before seeing the year out by pulling a talent to a match that many thought he was incapable of achieving, even with the companies best.  

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn WWE Contracts on the Line // Special Guest Referees: Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon // Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura // Pinfall 

What seemed like a needlessly overbooked match heading into the show ended up being just that as Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton went through the motions, whilst Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan pissed around as special guest referees. Despite previously mentioning in a backstage segment that they would discuss how they would deal with the match "in private", Bryan and McMahon almost instantly began arguing over who should be counting the falls. What the fuck did they talk about? Dad things, probs. Whilst Orton was busy looking like he'd rather be anywhere else for most of the match and Nakamura was running through a tepid tag (like a hot tag, but not...that hot?), we were treated to McMahon and Bryan splitting the ring in half to decide who should count the pinfalls. This took way way too long to achieve, meant there was very little meaningful action and didn't amount to much anyway. 

The bout was saved from being a complete dud by a fun closing section. This featured some decent near falls for both sides and a number of soap-opera style moments, even if there was a lack of anything genuinely surprising. Saying that, Daniel Bryan did kind of take a bump in WWE in 2017, almost certainly leading to a thousand opinion pieces predicting an imminent 2018 return, as Owens pushed him on McMahon to deny Orton the win after an RKO on Zayn. Shane flatout refusing to count the pinfall for the heel team got a strong reaction, whilst the fast-count from Bryan should lead to some interest surrounding Tuesday's SmackDown. There was also a cool highspot where Zayn aided Owens in hitting Nakamura with a running splash from one announce table to another. However, two minutes of quirky back and forth, doesn't a good twenty minute match make. 

I'll let it be known that I'm not interested in seeing a Shane McMahon vs. Daniel Bryan feud on SmackDown, perhaps if I was then I'd have enjoyed this clash a little bit more and be more hyped following it's conclusion. McMahon has been featured way too heavy for my liking on SD Live in 2017 and whilst I'll give him some leeway for having a very good match with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33, it's been a case of diminishing returns when he's been pushed into storylines with other top talents. If WWE are willing to let Bryan compete again, it will definitely be on a limited basis and when you have a roster packed with better in-ring talent than WWE has ever had, it would be extremely wasteful to put The American Dragon in their with the boss' son. That being said I'd take McMahon vs. Bryan over the rumoured Bryan vs. Cody (Rhodes) contest on the indies! (Just realised I've barely talked about any of that actual competitors in the match, but that's pretty much how the match was put together, so there) 

SmackDown Women's Championship // Lumberjack Match // Charlotte Flair (C) def. Natalya // Submission

A hot mess of a Lumberjack match, that was dominated by it's gimmick and featured very little of anything else. Beyond the finish, I couldn't name one sequence that Natalya and Charlotte Flair had with each other, as most the bout's action was one throwing the other to the outside and that person either getting beaten up by the rag tag Riott Squad and the rag tag bunch of Carmella, Lana and Tamina or the bout's sole babyface lumberjack Naomi. Mixed into the generic lumberjack antics we had whomever put the match together throwing shit at the wall and seeing what stuck as we got the two heel groups squabbling over who got to beat up Flair leading to a springboard crossbody from Naomi to take everyone out, a teased Money in the Bank cash-in from Carmella before the Lumberjacks stormed the ring for no particular reason and then Flair nailing a beautiful moonsault to the floor onto everyone but Lana, who bumped anyway, seemingly out of sheer FOMO.

With the entire Women's division involved (and bizarrely every Lumberjack getting their own entrance), one would've expected an element of storyline progression or something to justify everyone being involved. Unfortunately, that wasn't present, with most of the match simply...just kind of happening. I'm not quite sure what Natalya's promo was all about after the match, but maybe Lana has a point on Total Divas (seriously, that might be my favourite feud in all of WWE right now). On the other side of the coin, Charlotte Flair owned her appearance on Talking Smack, once again making me sad that the show is no longer a weekly affair, as even with notorious dweeb Sam Roberts hosting this was a fun watch. With a visible mark on her face from her scrap and real emotion in her voice throughout, Flair talked about wanting to become an irreplaceable attraction in WWE and it was wonderful. Real emotion is so important for driving professional wrestling television and WWE needs to be harnessing this more often, as Flair came across as a relateable and likeable human being, something which isn't always the case on SmackDown.

SmackDown Tag Team Championships // The Usos (C) def. Big E & Kofi Kingston and Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable and Rusev & Aiden English // Pinfall

Standing out amongst the pack, the four way tag bout was my favourite contest of the night. Following two entertaining promos from Rusev & Aiden English and The Usos, the match kept the crowd hot with multiple spills to the floor in the early goings, before settling down and then launching into a great closing stretch. Rusev and English might not be the Best Boys, but their probably in the top twelve and their extended period of near falls and Accolades was handled nicely, with the live crowd hot for every moment. Chad Gable looked like the Gable we chanted about during that first UK NXT tour (remember that?) and just kept hitting Chaos Theories on anyone in sight, including one that appeared to have straight up murdered English. Those last three, four or five minutes was some of the most fun I've had watching WWE this year. The bout wasn't without it's own problems however, as having four lads in at one time lead to a little clunkiness, seen notably with an awkward double faces in peril sequence transitioning into an Uso and Big E simultaneous hot tag that didn't come across as well as I think it could have. 

In a night where AJ Styles seemed to be finally cemented in a top role in WWE, I got a similar feeling when The Usos overcame significant challenges to walk out with the blue and silver belts once again. Considering the breakout performance from Chad Gable and how many near falls the popular Rusev and Aiden English tandem got, it felt like The Usos had come up against a significant threat, faced kayfabe career best performances and walked out with the tag titles anyway, making the most of an slip-up by Gable and, perhaps most importantly, winning with their finishing sequence. It would have been easy to hot shot the belts onto Rusev and English, who are riding a wave of Rusev Day-based euphoria, but Jimmy and Jey have had a magnificent 2017, in the ring and on the microphone, winning fans over with their Uso Penitentiary gimmick and completely earned this showpiece victory. It would seem like the duo will work a programme with the Bludgeon Brothers in early 2018 (a team they had two good matches with back in the summer of 2014), with this being hinted at during Talking Smack.

United States Championship // Dolph Ziggler def. "The Glorious" Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin (C) // Pinfall

Whilst the match came together for seemingly no reason, Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin outworked the prior booking, putting on a good opener with a surprising ending. The early stages weren't doing much for me and whilst the one in, one out style was okay, it lacked pace and any real story to get my teeth into. Then seemingly out of nowhere the three were all in the ring together and put together a flowing back and forth sequence including a Ziggler dropkick and concluding with a lovely Deep Six from Corbin. After that we were off to the races, with a classic tower of doom spot and a very good near fall for Roode off a Glorious DDT to Ziggler. The finish was a difficult-looking spot, timed to perfection, as Corbin got Roode up for an End of Days, only for Ziggler to slide in from behind and hit the then US Champion with a Zig Zag for an unanticipated victory. Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised that The Show-Off finally regained the belt he lost to Zack Ryder six years ago as WWE has developed a habit of having guys who have no right to be in multi-man contests walk out with the win over the last couple of years. Ryder's Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 32 and Jinder Mahal becoming #1 Contender to the WWE title in April spring to mind.

Side note: Later on, we'd see Corbin launch a plastic bin at a door. 

Mojo Rawley def. Zack Ryder // Pinfall

My expectations weren't high for this one, but you know what it was exactly what it needed to be. Zack Ryder worked hard and Mojo Rawley looked like a bastard. Ryder starting proceedings by furiously going after his former tag team partner got over the personal issue between the two arguably better than any other match on the card, with the clothesline over the top rope punctuating things well. The bump from the top rope to the floor that Ryder took was well placed just before the break as well. The finish seemingly coming out of nowhere put over Rawley's explosive power, as he cut short a Ryder comeback with a chop block to the knee that had cost the team a tag title shot, before twatting his old pal with a running forearm shot in the corner to seal the deal. Rawley has potential as a heel, after years as a dull blue-eye, but not everyone will bump around for him like Ryder did here and not every match will hide his weaknesses so well.

The Bludgeon Brothers def. Breezango // Pinfall 

A pretty straight-forward squash match with Harper and Rowan having a counter for everything and anything that Tyler Breeze and Fandango had to offer, before winning with the double crucifix powerbomb.

Finally... 

Looking down the card and having watched the build, it was difficult to remember that Clash of Champions was even taking place. Yet, when I finished watching the show I realised I'd had a much better time watching it than I was expecting to. Whilst the Owens & Zayn vs. Nakkers & Orton and the Women's Lumberjack match were booked to death, almost everything else delivered above expectations. The Four Way tag was top of the pile, but Jinder Mahal pulling a good main event out made me bizarrely happy and fuzzy inside, as well. Yes, it could have been booked better and the time could have been used better (two Women's matches, surely?), but I spent more time thinking "Oh that was quite nice" than thinking "What the fuck is this happening for?" which hasn't always been the case with WWE this year.