WWE SmackDown Live Review // 20th March 2018

With three weeks until WrestleMania, this week's SmackDown was perhaps the most important episode on the road to WrestleMania and will almost certainly prove to be the most memorable for the majority of the fanbase. This week saw Daniel Bryan announce his return to in-ring competition and call out Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn for their assault on Shane McMahon last week, Charlotte Flair and Natalya renew their rivalry, SmackDown Tag Team Champion Jimmy Uso go one on one with the Bludgeon Brother's Harper, Shinsuke Nakamura face Rusev in a rematch from Fastlane and Jinder Mahal talk about being added to the United States title match at WrestleMania...but was it any good? Here's our review. 

Daniel Bryan addresses being cleared to compete 

If it's possible to feel all of the emotions at the same time, then that's exactly what I experienced whilst watching Daniel Bryan speak about being able to wrestle again on SmackDown this week. Honestly, Bryan could have come out and said absolutely anything and everyone would have been over the moon because he can wrestle again, but what happened on 20th March was so much more than that. Obviously this being a very real situation helped a lot, but listening to the emotion in Bryan's voice as he talked about how his wife, Brie Bella, had helped him to keep fighting and to keep pushing to get back in the ring, as well as the passion with which he talked about professional wrestling was wonderful and left me somewhere between being one big pimpley goose and a human tear. Whatever happens next is a bonus for me, as the story of Bryan's return is strong enough to drive multiple storylines for years and I'm not sure it will ever be matched. Also all the crowd pointing at the WrestleMania sign when Bryan said he didn't know when he'd get to wrestle his first match might be my favourite thing that has ever happened inside a wrestling arena. 

After the segment - Charles Robinson congratulated Daniel Bryan on his return, before Dolph Ziggler told Bryan that he couldn't wait to beat him - Daniel Bryan was informed that Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had arrived at the building.

Daniel Bryan calls out Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn 

Wow, what a rollercoaster this segment was, moving from comedy heat for Kevin Owens saying "everyone's dumber in Texas" to a vicious assault on Daniel Bryan on his first night back as an active competitor all within the space of ten or fifteen minutes. There was a lot packed into the fifteen minutes, but the segment essentially boiled down to Owens & Zayn assaulting Bryan because he was forced to fire them for attacking Shane McMahon on last week's episode, but because of Bryan's lengthy absence from anything resembling physicality it ended up being so much more than the sum of its parts. Watching Bryan nailing running dropkicks in the corner, like he'd never been away became an emotional experience the likes of which I never thought I'd experience watching some hit a dropkick or two, whilst the beatdown from Owens and Zayn that came after the pair had regained control got a great deal of heat as they threw punches at the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The conclusion with Owens hitting a powerbomb onto the apron was difficult to watch, a good piece of booking to throw doubt over Bryan will be able to compete at WrestleMania, with the whole picture involving the three and Shane McMahon being wide open at the conclusion of the show. A special note on Owens performance here, as as always Kevin's attention to detail was wonderful and him screaming repeatedly, showing confliction and frustration with his action was a lovely touch that added to an already brilliant segment.

SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya

Before the match - We got a hype package for Asuka, who seemingly isn't on the show tonight - Natalya tried to wind up Charlotte Flair, saying she was scared about facing Asuka at WrestleMania, with Flair agreeing to a match with Natty later on the show. 

An intriguing development at the end of a good match between Natalya and Charlotte Flair saw Carmella attempt to cash in her Money in the Bank briefcase and whilst Flair nailed Carmella with the Queen's Boot before the cash-in could occur it did allow Natalya to pick up a surprise victory with a school-boy roll up. I'm not quite sure how this factors into Flair's match with Asuka at WrestleMania, but its at least WWE trying to do something different on SmackDown, rather than what could have been a paint-by-numbers victory for Flair. The match itself took a while to get into, mostly because there was a feeling that I'd seen it all before, with the having competed in eleven TV singles matches in the last two years, but the build towards the interference featured some lovely action between the pair. Natalya pulled out a gorgeous spinning sit-out powerbomb, but the highlight was a superb sequence involving the figure four leglock, that would conclude with Flair holding onto the move whilst hanging outside of the ring, after the two had rolled to the ropes. I would suspect we could see Natty & Carmella vs. Flair & Asuka at some point over the next two weeks, with Natalya's victory perhaps being used to make her Asuka's first challenger after the Empress wins the belt at WrestleMania.

Jimmy Uso (with Jey Uso) vs. Harper (with Rowan) 

Before the match - The Usos cut one of signature fiery promos, promising to not lie down when faced with the threat of the Bludgeon Brothers as they looked for their first match on the main card of a WrestleMania. 

The match was a fairly straight-forward affair with Jimmy Uso able to stay in the match by using his speed, before Harper put him away with a pretty weak looking lariat. The match was raised past a regular squash thanks to a stellar near fall from Uso, which saw the SmackDown Tag Team Champion able to dodge distraction from Rowan, before that same distraction allowed for both Usos to hit superkicks for a long two count on Harper

Rusev (with Aiden English) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Whilst not as good as their clash at Fastlane, Shinsuke Nakamura's victory over Rusev with a roll-up still provided a solid slice of television wrestling. The match ended up coming up a little short time-wise, with only around five minutes airing on TV, but still got a few decent moments and sequences in there. A lot of it was either going over ground covered in the PPV bout and using a couple of signature spots like the "Come on" thing that Nakkers does, but there was also a nice forearm sequence and a surprising amount of dominance from the Bulgarian Brute, including a near fall off a big kick after Nakamura escaped the Accolade. The finishing sequence was very well done, with Nakamura missing a couple of roundhouse kicks, before going for his rolling crossarmbreaker and then being able to reverse a Rusev roll-up (major alliteration scenes) to pick up a straight-forward victory. Not quite good enough to go out of your way to see, but enjoyable if you're a regular watcher of the product nonetheless. 

After the match - Rusev & Aiden English assaulted Shinsuke Nakamura, with AJ Styles taking so long to make the save from the guest commentary position that Nakamura ended up being able to fight off both of his attackers - Backstage, Shinsuke Nakamura told AJ Styles that he didn't need his help and that he'd beat him at WrestleMania with a "knee to face" 

Jinder Mahal addresses his United States title shot at WrestleMania

More of the same from Jinder Mahal, Bobby Roode and Untied States Champion Randy Orton this week, after Mahal had addressed being added to the US title match at WrestleMania. Honestly, I was over this storyline about a month ago and I'm looking forward to being able to move passed it in April, because the booking continues to be lazy, the writing continues to be juvenile and the performers continue to look like they'd rather be doing anything else (well, Roode and Orton do, I suppose Mahal is just buzzing to still be riding the wave of his awful WWE title run). Mahal left Sunil Singh to Roode & Orton, with Singh taking DDTs rope-hung and Glorious, before Orton and Roode tried to hit their finishers on each other and still nobody gave a fuck. 

Also on the show

- Baron Corbin squashed Tye Dillinger in a few minutes, with the match going a little longer because Corbin botched his own finish and they had to do it again. 

- Becky Lynch & Naomi squashed the Riott Squad's Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan with Lynch tapping out Morgan with the Dis-armer after a nothing match 

- The "Hungry for Mania" moment was the entirety of WrestleMania I.

ATPW Scale Rating // 

5.88 out of 10 

Written by James Marston //

@IAmNotAlanDale

WWE SmackDown Live Review // 13th March 2018

2 days after Fastlane, WWE's SmackDown brand set its sight on WrestleMania. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura came face to face before Styles took on Rusev, Shane McMahon had an announcement to make about WrestleMania, Randy Orton celebrated his first WWE United States Championship before Jinder Mahal faced former champion Bobby Roode, The Bludgeon Brothers challenged any fit members of The New Day and The Usos to a match, SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair shared a ring with WrestleMania opponent Asuka and "Ms. Money in the Bank" Carmella went one on one with Naomi. But was the Indianapolis show any good? Lets take a look!

On-Air Personnel 

Commentary - Corey Graves, Byron Saxton & Tom Phillips 

Interviewers - Dasha Fuentes & Renee Young

Ring Announcer - Greg Hamilton

Order 

1. Face-to-Face: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles vs. Rusev

2. Shane McMahon's WrestleMania Announcement 

3. Randy Orton's US title Celebration and Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal 

4. The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Big E & Jimmy Uso 

5. Face-to-Face: Charlotte Flair and Asuka

6. Carmella vs. Naomi

Face-to-Face: AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura

A solid opening segment between the competitors in SmackDown's main event at WrestleMania, as Shinsuke Nakamura interrupted WWE Champion AJ Styles. We didn't really learn a lot from either man's promo, but it was cool to see the two finally share the ring, after their WrestleMania match had been rumoured for so long. In fact, I think it was the fact that we've waited so long to see it that actually managed to carry the segment, because the crowd was super hyped for it, with duelling chants and all that jazz. Styles' promo went over some old ground about his road to get to WWE and what it means to go into WrestleMania as champion, whilst Nakamura's was limited to explaining his dream was to knee Styles in the face and become champion, whilst the crowd "What"'ed him because English isn't his first language. The interruption by Rusev just as things looked to be escalating between Nakamura and Styles was well-placed and should help to rise the interest in the WWE title match at WrestleMania a little more as we begin to anticipate what the clash might look like when it finally happens. 

AJ Styles vs. Rusev (with Aiden English)

AJ Styles and Rusev battled in a good match, until Aiden English interfered to give Styles the disqualification win as Styles looked to locking in the Calf Crusher on Rusev. This a physical clash with slight elements of power vs. speed in places, but was mostly centered around the pairs various strike based offence, with plenty of forearms and kicks in this one. The best stuff of the match was a minute or so that was used to build for the Ushigoroshi from Styles, with the Phenomenal One attempting the move three or four times, before a Pele Kick would eventually allow him to it, only for Rusev's weight across Styles' knee meaning he couldn't get a pinfall. This was a nice example of making a signature move mean something and there was even a good near fall thrown into the mix when RuRu dropped off Styles' shoulders for a Roundhouse Kick that looked super snug. The little sequence before the interference was also quite lovely with Styles going for what would have been an impressive Styles Clash, Rusev escaping and going for the Accolade and Styles reversing and eventually being able to roll-through into a Styles Clash. A bit more time and bit more importance and these two could have a great match together. The finish seems to be to extend the feud a little and pad sometime for WrestleMania, because of what would follow.

After the match - Rusev & Aiden English attempted to beatdown AJ Styles, before Shinsuke Nakamura would make the save with a pair of Kinshasas, I guess we'll see Styles & Nakamura vs. Rusev & English next week - Backstage, Shinsuke Nakamura told AJ Styles he would protect him til WrestleMania so he could beat him with "Knee to face" 

Shane McMahon's WrestleMania announcement

Before the segment - Sami Zayn blamed Shane McMahon's obsession with Kevin Owens for him not being WWE Champion right now, before promising to never be guilty by association to Owens ever again. - Kevin Owens replied to Sami Zayn, blaming Shane McMahon and calling Zayn a liar and delusional. 

A surprisingly violent angle to close the show as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens' hatred for Shane McMahon united them once more as they laid waste to the SmackDown Commissioner, moments after McMahon had announced he was taking time away from the position and placed Owens against Zayn at WrestleMania. McMahon's promo was a little rambling, seemingly thinking out loud as he wondered whether he crossed the line at Fastlane and honestly lacked the emotion that it needed to be genuinely interesting. However, once we got past McMahon's detached rhetoric and we got two performers out there in Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn the segment was energised and became a fascinating and uncomfortable piece of television. Owens & Zayn taking out referees (including a ridiculous bump to the floor by Ryan Tran) got a great shocked pop from the Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the vicious assault including a Pop-up Powerbomb and McMahon getting sent into the post with a steel chair around his neck, grabbed you and made you pay attention, because it felt different to the usual WWE beatdown. But the most bracing moment came when Owens & Zayn began dragging McMahon up the ramp and into the back, with an increasing sense of foreboding that some real shit was about to go down. That real shit was a nasty looking powerbomb onto some big hunk of metal, that looked super painful to take for McMahon. If you look past the fact that no one came to McMahon's aid apart from a few referees, this was a great angle, that opened up a number of questions to be answered over the next three weeks. How will McMahon look to gain his revenge? What does this mean for Owens & Zayn's friendship, that appeared to be in tatters? Will we get Owens vs. Zayn on the biggest stage? 

Randy Orton celebrates United States Championship win 

A thoroughly unnecessary segment here, as no one said anything and Jinder Mahal continued to be a drag on the blue brand's product. Out of the three promos, Randy Orton's had the most behind it as he gave Bobby Roode props after their US title match, whilst also putting over what it meant to be a grand slam champion. Roode's promo revealed that he wanted his title rematch at WrestleMania, so at least there was that development, I suppose, even if it easily could've been handled in a thirty second backstage interview. Then we get to Jinder Mahal, who manages to make me want to turn off the TV every time he pops up, especially during this storyline. Why is his character that of a school boy? The quality of the writing for Mahal here has been especially poor, but he's not exactly blessed with great promo skills either. This segment saw Mahal try to stir the pot again between Orton and Roode, by mentioning that Roode had held the US title before Orton and that was something Orton was never going to change. Why the fuck would 13 time World Champion Randy Orton give a fuck that Bobby Roode had held the United States title before he did? Get in a bin, Jinder. Get in a bin, whoever "wrote" that promo. 

"The Glorious" Bobby Roode vs. "The Modern Day Maharajah" Jinder Mahal (with Sunil Singh) 

Not much to talk about in this match, as Jinder Mahal managed to beat the former WWE United States Champion, to supposedly set-up a triple threat at WrestleMania, after Sunil Singh had provided the distraction. There was one nice sequence here with the pair reversing each other's signatures, with Roode managing to counter a counter with a sunset flip for a decent near fall. 


After the match - Randy Orton gave Jinder Mahal an RKO.

Jimmy Uso & Big E vs. Harper & Rowan

Before the match - Big E & Jimmy Uso cut a pair of very good promos about the Bludgeon Brothers attack at Fastlane, as they spoke about Harper & Rowan had taken away from them  and promising to bring the attack to the pair tonight - Absolute chaos before the match began as Big E & Jimmy Uso attacked Harper & Rowan as they tried to take their jackets off, but the Bludgeon Brothers were able to take control later on despite Big E & Uso holding steel chairs.

The match itself was absolute domination from The Bludgeon Brothers, as they controlled the whole match, before sending Big E into the steel steps and pinning Uso with a Harper powerbomb. 

After the match - The Bludgeon Brothers went back after Big E, with Harper throwing E into a Rowan crossbody on the floor.

Face-to-Face: Charlotte Flair and Asuka

Similar to the Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles segment earlier in the night, this segment held the attention because it had been so anticipated. The two women arguably did a better job than the men did with their promos, but this was more about introducing the match scheduled for WrestleMania, rather than anything too complex or creative. Flair's promo in particular was laden with cliches, like "iron sharpens iron" and "I've never anyone like you, but you have never faced anyone like me", which she performed well, but it was hardly to get anything excited about. Asuka's performance was a step above, as she overcame the language barrier and had the crowd reacting nicely as she explained she "bows to no one". Having the two interrupt by Randy Orton as he came to the ring for his match was a strange decision and gives out the wrong signals regarding how WWE views its women's division. Had Randy had enough of the women talking about their match and decided to hit the ring so he could talk? I get that WWE needed a way to finish the segment without the women coming to blows and it would've been weird to have just cut away without any action, but was this the only way to reach that point? I'm not convinced.

Naomi vs. "Ms. Money in the Bank" Carmella

Before the match - Carmella announced that she'd be taking part in the Fabulous Moolah battle royal at WrestleMania, declaring herself the modern day equivalent to Moolah...perhaps not the person you want to be comparing yourself to, Mella. 

Carmella picked up a big win over Naomi in a disappointingly short match, that the pair managed to fill with physicality and a couple of really nice sequences. Carmella repeatedly ducking roundhouse kicks, only for Naomi to counter a forth duck with a massive knee to the face was particularly well done, before a creative finish was Mella trip Naomi as she went for a springboard, before hitting a hair-aided rope-hung neckbreaker for the win. 

Also on the show

- Kid Rock is going into the WWE Hall of Fame and we get the same look at his relationship with WWE that was aired on RAW. 

- WWE played the promo package for the Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal again...will they actually keep the name?

- Rusev & Lana and Bobby Roode & Charlotte Flair cut promos ahead of their Quarter Final match in the Mixed Match Challenge.

ATPW Scale Rating // 4.79 out of 10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale

WWE Mixed Match Challenge Review // 6th February 2018

The first round of Mixed Match Challenge continued in Kansas City, Missouri this week, as RAW's Goldust & Mandy Rose faced of with SmackDown's Naomi & Jimmy Uso. But how did it all go down? Let's have a look.

Mixed Match Challenge First Round Match // Naomi & Jimmy Uso def. Goldust & Mandy Rose // Pinfall

Naomi & Jimmy Uso became the first SmackDown tandem to make it through to the Quarter Finals of Mixed Match Challenge, as they picked up a victory over Goldust & Mandy Rose, after Goldust received the Rear View from Naomi and a Superfly Splash from Uso. Whilst hardly a wrestling classic, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this easy watch of a match, that pushed the comedy elements of the character, with Uso in particular getting a chance for creative, clearly enjoying himself in there with the veteran of laughs, Goldust. This was helped by a crowd who were happy to play along with the jokes, mostly regarding Goldust being unable to keep up with Jimmy. The wrestling that there was solid stuff and featured a fun sequence where both teams hit signature moves in tandem and a solid near fall for Goldie off a sloppy Final Cut. The highlight of the match was Rose hiding behind the Bizarre One on the outside to avoid Naomi, only for the former SmackDown Women's Champion to slingshot right over Goldust's head and flatten Rose anyway. The most off-putting part of the presentation was having Michael Cole tell us what Rusev and Lana were saying in the Facebook comments section on the feed, because surely the point is that if you're interested in what they're saying you'll be reading the comments. The Bulgarian Brute and the Ravishing Russian actually came out after the match, claiming to be the strongest husband and wife team and getting the crowd to sing a cute little song ahead of their First Round match with Bayley & Elias next week. Naomi & Uso will return to face Alexa Bliss & Braun Strowman in the Quarter Finals in four weeks. 

Also this week...

- Elias and Bayley cut a promo on next week's match with Elias not letting Bayley sing along and also refusing a hug.

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.5/10

Written by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale) 

SmackDown 952 Review // RAW launches counter-siege on SmackDown

As the last major stop before Survivor Series 2017, the 952nd episode of SmackDown had a big job to do. The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina was treated to an invasion from The Shield, Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman and multiple members of the RAW brand during the main event between Big E & Xavier Woods from The New Day and Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, as well as the return of Daniel Bryan in a segment with new WWE Champion AJ Styles, but was it any good? 

RAW launched a counter-siege on SmackDown // 16:16

The show opened with Shane McMahon rallying his team in a weird curtain area, saying various things about SmackDown and B-Shows. Becky Lynch, Baron Corbin and The New Day all got a little mic time and lads like Mike Kanellis and The Colons were there in the background, seemingly because they have literally nothing else to do. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn talked in the lockeroom, moaning about not being on Survivor Series, running down the A Show, B Show argument and generally looking like they''d both rather be anywhere else. In the ring, The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods) cut a wonderfully entertaining promo on The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose), comparing the animals that represent the two teams and referencing cuffing season and Gloria Gaynor. 

Everyone knew it was coming, but that didn't stop The Shield turning up during The New Day's match with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn being any less fun to watch. Let's start by discussing the match that lead into the invasion, because it was significantly lengthy to warrant it's own discussion. Going about seven or eight minutes, the match was your regular cookie cutter tag bout, an easy watch, highlighted by Big E's belly-to-belly fest of a hot tag. We didn't get a whole of Owens & Zayn in control, with an extended face shine and a straight-forward face in peril sequence, which is perhaps notable after the two were sent home from the European tour last week, although considering The New Day were the only team on the Survivor Series PPV on Sunday, I'm not sure whether it would've been any different otherwise. The crowd seemed to be readying for the arrival of The Shield as soon as Owens & Zayn took control, angling towards the area of the arena The Shield usually arrive from. When the match ended was unclear as The Shield's music hit, moments after a tope con giro from Woods to Owens, before Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose hit the ring.

The scrap that followed was wild and rowdy, as The Shield and The New Day (Owens & Zayn bailed before the fight began) were joined first by The Usos and Cesaro & Sheamus and then Samoa Joe, Titus Worldwide, Finn Balor, Shane McMahon, Baron Corbin, The Hype Bros, Bobby Roode, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura and then finally Kurt Angle and Braun Strowman. In the middle of all this there was Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Asuka, Bayley, Alicia Fox and Nia Jax stormed the SmackDown women's locker room taking down Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Tamina and Lana, creating a real sense of chaos as the show cut back between the backstage and the arena. The staggered introduction of talent made it feel like something was always happening and the situation escalating, leading to the introduction Strowman by Angle to a big pop. The crescendo where Shane McMahon took a beating at the hands of The Shield, Angle and Strowman set the stage perfectly for Survivor Series bringing the story that's been rumbling for a month to a head and increasing the animosity between the two sides. I found it interesting who was not involved in this with RAW missing Triple H, Brock Lesnar and The Miz, whilst John Cena, Randy Orton and AJ Styles were all absent from the SmackDown side. 

Daniel Bryan returned and welcomed new WWE Champion AJ Styles // 10:23 

This segment was brilliant, for the pure fact that you could see how much Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles were enjoying their time on the microphone. Once Styles was introduced and we moved past the lame "SmackDown is the best" rhetoric, the work on the mic by Bryan and then Styles was exemplary as they pushed Styles' match with Brock Lesnar on Sunday. Bryan offering to be Styles' "advocate" and then mimicking Paul Heyman, referencing his soliloquy from RAW was a masterstroke, with Bryan visibly having a great time in actively getting to promote a match. The crowd was massively into it, as Bryan talked about Lesnar having a tendency to quit, which made me wonder if Bryan had this promo in mind when he was rumoured to be facing Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014. Bryan put over Styles as "the greatest in-ring talent of this generation", a title which many would attribute to Bryan himself and I couldn't help but wonder how great a match between the two on a big stage would be. Styles put an exclamation point on things, discussing his underdog status and concluding on his "House that Styles built" catchphrase to send us into Survivor Series.

Jinder Mahal spoke to AJ Styles backstage and completely murdered a promo. Daniel Bryan later talked to Shane McMahon, suggesting they would need to have discussion following Survivor Series. 

SmackDown Women's Championship // Charlotte Flair def. Natalya (C) via submission // 7:26 

A hometown crowd made Charlotte Flair's first SmackDown Women's title win. The crowd was hot for Flair from the beginning, with the emotional Queen replying with a fiery start, going after Natalya and sending her into the barricade. Even when in wear downs, the crowd was right behind Flair, with the two doing a good job of taking note of the audience, lifting them up and bringing them down at the right points. A couple of well-worked back and forths, like Flair laying in some chops before Natalya rallied with a discus clothesline, as well as a big spot on the outside where Flair went for a moonsault off the barricade and ended up getting powerbombed into the ring-post gave the match some substance, although it was Flair reaching for the ropes whilst in the Sharpshooter that got the best reaction from the crowd. At times, the contest was a little clunky, like an exploder suplex into the corner from Flair where Natalya was shown on camera with a massive smile on her face afterwards and there could have been a lot more work done of the pairs signature submission holds to ramp up the drama and take the contest to the next level. However, for its spot on television this was a good match, that created a brilliant hometown moment that WWE often shies away from. We also have a much more interesting match for Survivor Series with Flair now scheduled to face RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss.

After the match, Flair cut a quick promo on her match with Alexa Bliss at Survivor Series, before dedicating the win to her father, Ric Flair, mentioning that he was at home watching. Ric would then make a surprise appearance joining his daughter on the ramp, in a well-done emotional moment.

Jimmy Uso def. Chad Gable via pinfall // 3:22

On the way to the ring, The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) cut a fire promo on The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus).

A strong bout that made the most of it's time, creating a good story that called by to 951 and gave The Usos some momentum heading into Survivor Series, whilst keeping the possibility of a future Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin SmackDown Tag Team Championship rematch in the future. With Gable focusing on Uso's knee, leading into Uso doing the same with a superkick, it was a shame that the match didn't have enough time to really tell that story and build upon it, although both would sell their injuries well, before Jey Uso and Benjamin's antics on the outside lead to Jimmy getting the win with a superkick.

United States Championship // Baron Corbin (C) def. Sin Cara via pinfall // 3:53

A short bout that improved as it went along, beginning with some rubbish punches by Baron Corbin and some clunky back and forth, but finding it's feet later on with a nice sequence into Corbin's Deep Six as well as an Asai Moonsault from Sin Cara. Corbin needed a little programme to give him something to do before Survivor Series and this did it's job, although no one anywhere felt like Cara was a potential threat to Corbin's United States title.

Also...

Despite the rumours that the gimmick had been dropped, The Bludgeon Brothers (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) had another vignette, where it was revealed that they'd be returning to SmackDown next week.

After RAW had simply done it's job on Monday, this was a much better effort from SmackDown at selling the Survivor Series PPV. The siege aspect was done well, upping the ante from the original confrontation a few weeks ago on RAW, setting up the various RAW vs. SmackDown well, whilst the segment with Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles complimented Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar's appearance on RAW the previous night. Match-wise things were acceptable, with Charlotte Flair's Women's Championship win in her home town standing out, especially because of the appearance of Ric Flair (which was marginally spoiled the night before when commentary mentioned Ric being backstage). I was pretty hyped for Survivor Series with WWE putting together a great looking card, but this show gave me a little extra buzz for the event, whilst remaining entertaining. Good job Blue brand.

Review by James Marston

WWE Super Smackdown Live (16th December 2014) Review

Heading into 2015, the plan for ATPW is to review as many televised championship matches as possible, whether that be WWE, TNA or elsewhere, whilst including a full review of the show in which the title match takes place to add context to the importance of said title match. I thought I'd kick things of early, with this review of WWE's Super Smackdown Live, which aired as part of WWE week on the USA Network on Tuesday 16th December 2014 and included Naomi challenging Nikki Bella for the Diva's Championship. Sounds like a blast, eh? 

Seth Rollins 

with J&J Security 

vs. 

Dolph Ziggler

This match was originally advertised as being Seth Rollins taking on Ryback, which I was genuinelly intrigued to see. I was interested to see if Rollins had the skill to put together a decent match with Ryback, who isn't particularly known for his technical prowess, but has had passable matches with guys like Daniel Bryan and Sheamus. However, at the top of the second hour, Rusev attacked Ryback, sambo superkicking him off the stage and then over some conveniently placed boxes. This feud seems to be heating up nicely, but I'm not sure I actually want to see Ryback vs. Rusev. It's going to take some creative booking to make the match worth watching when it does go ahead. 

     With Rollins already in the ring with his pals Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury by his side, the Money in the Bank contract holder cut a whiny promo that suited the character down to the ground. Whilst also throwing in things like believing he beat John Cena on his own the previous night on Raw, before agreeing that he did, indeed, deserve a night off. This built well to Rollins being interupted by Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler, with the two having some enjoyable back and forth on the microphone, before Rollins agreed to face Ziggler in the main event of the show. It felt like the two had a lot of chemistry on the mic and I couldn't help but wonder why these two haven't been placed in a long-term singles feud yet. 

     Following an interview with Renee Young, in which Rollins went over his on-going feud with John Cena, whilst touching on the Ziggler match, it was time for the main event. This match only cemeted the fact that these two guys should've been placed opposite each other in a long-term and meaningful feud at some point. This was a great TV main event, with an enjoyable story that saw Ziggler fighting from underneath, thanks to the involvement of J&J Security on the outside, whilst Ziggler's comeback attempts would be focused on Rollins injured ribs, which Rollins sold well. The two have clear chemistry in the ring and put together some crisp sequences, like a sequence seeing Ziggler attempting to hit a Jumping DDT, that saw Rollins initially block and attempt a Roundhouse Kick, only for Ziggler to hit the Jumping DDT for two. 

The closing sequence managed to satisfy one of the matches on-going storylines as J&J Security were kicked out by the referee for interfering in the match, with Ziggler using the opportunity to hit a Zig Zag and pick up the pinfall victory. I was a little disapointed to not see the rib injury play into the closing stages, as it seemed to be forgotten about towards the end of the bout. However, this was still an enjoyable television main event and a solid story that was told soundly throughout the second hour of the show, keeping my attention and giving me a reason to keep watching the rest of the show! 

The Usos & Erick Rowan
vs.
The Miz, Damien Mizdow & Luke Harper

The Miz and Damien Mizdow's feud with The Usos continued as the two teams were joined by a former member of the Wyatt Family in Luke Harper and Erick Rowan respectively. It seemed a strange decision to have Rowan in this match considering he had lost clean to Kane earlier in the night on Main Event. There was no particular need to have Rowan wrestle twice in one night (especially after jobbing to Kane), and another wrestler could've benefitted from this slot. If Rowan was needed for this match, why not have someone else job to Kane on Main Event? Usually this wouldn't be a problem, as the shows airs three days apart, but with Smackdown airing directly after Main Event, this made the booking feel a little bit rushed. 

     The match itself however was a fun six man tag team match, with each element of the match being implemented in a way which played to their skillset. For example, Luke Harper spent the majority of the match in control of an Uso, with The Miz tagging in when Harper was fully in control and Mizdow dicking around on the outside. Whilst I'm tiring slightly of Mizdow's antics, this match allowed his relationship with The Miz to be spotlighted nicely, with Miz often refusing to tag in his partner and the two almost coming to blows when Mizdow started mimmicking Harper which was a nice touch. There was also a well done sequence that saw Mizdow tag himself in on Harper, only for Miz to do exactly the same to Mizdow, almost immediately. 

     All these antics kept me entertained to a degree, but it was the finish of the match that bought this match together. Rowan was used very well here, as he battered Miz for a few minutes, with a series of explosive powers moves, including a Full Nelson Slam for a near fall, before the Usos twatted Harper and Miz with superkick, and hit stereo suicide dives on Harper and Mizdow, before encouraging Rowan to head to the top rope to hit a big splash and pick up the win. It was an exciting finish that allowed both The Usos and Rowan to look good in their own way, whilst opening doors for some other interesting storylines going forward.

My main concern coming out of the match, continued to be Erick Rowan. That may sound strange considering I praised how "Big Red" was used here, but I'm still not sure if Rowan is ready for a singles push and neither is WWE apparently considering the even steven booking they gave him on Tuesday night. He looked comfortable in a six man here, but it would be weird if he didn't considering he's spent the majority of his WWE career working in six man's as part of The Wyatt Family, alongside experienced guys like Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper, and was helped a lot by The Usos who know how to connect with the audience, I'd like to see more of that from Rowan himself going forward.

Diva's Championship Match

Naomi

vs.

Nikki Bella (C)

with Brie Bella

     Divas! This match was tied into the previous one, as Miz's feud with Jimmy Uso continued, as Miz somehow got Jimmy's wife Naomi a title shot. I'm not quite sure how that works because apparently no one is in charge, but we'll quickly skip over that. Before the bout, Naomi was seen backstage with Jimmy, as Jimmy gave some kind of generic pep talk to his wife, who revealed she didn't want him at ringside. This felt a little superfluous as I don't remember ever seeing Jimmy at ringside with Naomi or vice-versa, but hey, at least this match was getting a little bit of build.

     I was incredibly surprised with this match, as it held my attention, and didn't once look awkward or botchy. I enjoyed seeing Nikki Bella going for the pin after every move she hit, which all looked, at least, decent, including a well done slingshot suplex. Naomi's offence all looked good, and different to what a lot of her contemparies are doing, like a Stunner on the apron using the top rope. The storyline elements of The Miz and Jimmy Usos involvement costing Naomi the match worked nicely and moved their feud forward, whilst Jimmy and Naomi's relationship was also thrown into the spotlight. It didn't set the world a light, but it didn't stink out the place either, which when it comes to Diva's matches on the main roster is always a bonus.

Fandango

with Rosa Mendes

vs.

Roman Reigns

      Roman Reigns made a return to in-ring action, ending his mini-feud with Fandango in a sub-five minute squash match. Maybe extended squash match would be a fairer term, as Fandango did get some offence in (mainly headlocks and such), before Reigns made his comeback and hitting a number of his signature moves, including the Superman Punch and Spear, en route to picking up the victory. Fandango did a good job of bumping for Reigns and allowing him to look like a star, whilst Reigns still seems to be over with the fans recieveing "Roman Reigns" and "Let's Go Roman" chants whilst trapped in Fandango lengthy headlock. Reigns looked good and that was the purpose of the match, so there's no complaints from me here.

Dean Ambrose & Bray Wyatt Segment

     The Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt feud continued as the pair engaged in a war of words, seemingly to promote their Boot Camp match on the following nights Tribute to the Troops. Ambrose's delivery of his promo felt fresh, as he allowed all the important information to settle in with the fans in the arena and at home, whilst still remaining completely captivating to watch on screen. With Wyatt interupting, to reveal he was "enjoying this so much", similar to Ambrose, Wyatt's delivery makes him captivating to watch, but I'm begining to believe his promos are more style than substance, as whilst I couldn't take my eyes of the screen, I have no idea what he was trying to get over here.

 Adam Rose

vs.

Kane

This match was entirely pointless. Kane had already destroyed Rose on Raw and defeated Erick Rowan on Main Event, and I'd imagine anyone watching was aware of what Kane can do in the ring, because he's been around for almost TWENTY YEARS! I'm not sure what him destroying Rose and Tombstone Piledriving "The Bunny" was supposed to achieve going forward. 

Finally...

      It had been a long time since I'd watch Smackdown and I have to say I was impressed with this episode. Two hours works so much better than the three hour long Raw, from a viewers perspective, at least. Ziggler and Rollins did a great job of their main event, with the build up throughout the second hour of the show aiding the match nicely. Everything else (with the exception of Kane vs. Rose) was at least passable, with the Six Man Tag bout standing out amongst the rest of the card. Maybe, it was because this was the special live episode, but I'm hoping to see more of this level of show heading toward the Royal Rumble.

WWE Battleground 2014 DVD Review

WWE Battleground 2014 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk. Broadcast live on Pay-per-View (and the WWE Network) from the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, USA on 20th July 2014, the show features a Two Out of Three Falls bout between The Usos and The Wyatt Family's Luke Harper and Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag Team Championship, John Cena defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns, Randy Orton and Kane in a Fatal Four-way bout, a returning Chris Jericho taking on Bray Wyatt and three other matches. The special features include two additional matches from Battleground Kick-Off, two interviews from Battleground Fallout and a Home Video Exclusive interview.

Pay-Per-View

The opening contest is the longest and strongest of the evening, as The Usos and The Wyatt Family's Luke Harper and Erick Rowan go at it in a Two out of Three Falls match. It's a well structured and exciting effort from the four, that has the Tampa Bay Times Forum eating out of the palm of their hands throughout. Harper and Jey especially put in a shift, crafting a slick and hectic sequence, laced with dramatic near falls that builds well towards the finish. It's a shame that nothing following this match manages to garner the same reaction from the crowd. 

Whilst predictable, the World Heavyweight Championship Fatal Fourway is entertaining enough, as John Cena, Roman Reigns, Kane and Randy Orton battling it out. It's most notable for how comfortable Reigns looks when in this World Heavyweight Championship situation and the potential that a match with Cena down the line could hold. On the flip side, Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho's match stands as one of the biggest disappointments of 2014. A damp squib of a feud, leads to a dull and unimaginative encounter here.

A battle royal for the vacant Intercontinental Championship has enough thrills and spills to keep the attention, especially once some of the deadwood is eliminated. Rusev continues to impress in a decent heavyweight encounter with Jack Swagger, his selling is particularly impressive here. Unfortunately, Paige and AJ Lee struggle to live up to hype, letting down the undercard, in a botch laden encounter, with a rather confusing heel/face divide. 

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins don't get around to having their advertised match on this show. Instead there are a series of brawls between the two placed throughout, with Ambrose and Rollins working hard to create a believable feud that had me hooked throughout. These segments make me want to see them get their opportunity to fight each other even more. Other segments, include an awkward backstage skit with Orton and Kane to build to the World Heavyweight Championship match, Renee Young introducing a Kick-Off panel featuring Booker T, Christian and Alex Riley to give their predictions on the same match and a slightly random appearance from Stardust and Goldust.

Special Features

The special features offer, not one but, two matches from the Battleground Kick-Off show. Oh the joys. Fandango tangles with Adam Rose in a match that happened, as well as Cameron and Naomi putting on a piss poor display, as The Funkadactyls explode! Two interviews from Renee Young from the Battleground Fallout show are much more entertaining, as The Usos and John Cena both make light work of the Post match promos. The Miz is also impressive in a post-match interview with Tom Phillips, which is a Home Video Exclusive.

Finally...

This is clearly a bridge PPV, everything that happens here is to set up for SummerSlam the month after, meaning that you probably won't miss this DVD if you chose not to purchase it. The tag match and the Fatal Fourway are both worth watching in their own right, but I think this DVD would have been much better off in as part of a double set with SummerSlam. Maybe that's something for WWE Home Video to look into in the future?