Welcome to the Smackdown Review for August 8, 2017. For both this and Raw, I will go over what the big talking points were, pick the match of the night, and look ahead to the next show.
Talking Points
Another Summerslam Match is Set
John Cena is ok, which makes me feel a whole lot better. Making jokes about the bump, Cena talked up Shinsuke Nakamura , putting his victory as losing to a better man. The audience, never fully against Cena or with him, seemed to respect him. Baron Corbin, on the other hand, showed no respect, putting Cena down. The crowd went fully behind Cena, even chanting “Dumpster Fire” at Corbin. Daniel Bryan appeared and set up a match for Summerslam. With rumors circulating that Cena will jump to Raw, this might be his last match on Smackdown.
Shane, The “Impartial” Referee
It would have been easy for Shane McMahon to be set against Kevin Owens. But Owens was smart here, playing up AJ Styles and Shane’s match at Summerslam. He also showed the classic match from Survivor Series, when Shane flipped off Stone Cold Steve Austin. Shane now finds himself refereeing a match where he could screw anyone for a number of reasons. It’s a fantastic layer to the story. Bonus points for Styles not apologizing, and Owens talking about the Montreal Screw job and using it to get the crowd to boo him, not a McMahon.
“I’m the Only Hoss Here!”
I might just rename the Smackdown review as Two Talking Points, Fashion Files, and the Match of the Night. Fandango returned, but he didn’t seem all right at first (“Don’t tell me it’s gonna to take 13 episodes for you to get back to normal,” Tyler Breeze said.) But real progress was made as we found out who had killed Tully! It was..Arn Anderson?! And who were the aliens who took Fandango? Another great segment, and I hope serious consideration is given to making this a show on the WWE Network.
Match of the Night
The Usos vs. Sami Zayn & Tye Dillinger( Usos win by submission)
The Usos continued their recent streak of being violent heels as the took on Canada’s own Sami Zayn & Tye Dillinger. Zayn looked better then he had in months, and the crowd was red hot for Dillinger. The Usos, however, had a plan and they went after the knee of Dillinger. The submission, courtesy of a Tequila Sunrise, took everyone by surprise, as the Usos never go for submissions. It fits their new personalities. But The Usos aren’t the only ones to get nasty, as they were jumped by The New Day. At one point it look like Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were going to smash chairs over Jay’s head. I liked the angry Usos, but I love the angry New Day more.
Conclusion
A little bit of a slowdown from last week, but still a fun show. We also saw the return of James Ellsworth, which makes Carmella a lot more dangerous. Russev attacked Orton, putting more fuel on their feud. Next week is right before Summerslam, and we will get the final words and actions from the blue brand. This is shaping up to be one for the ages, with a fully stacked card.