Welcome to the Smackdown Review for August 15, 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
Shane Gets Attacked Again
Shane McMahon must be feeling that he should have excused himself from the match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. For the second straight week, Shane was laid out as Owens delivered a Super Kick. It was an accident, or maybe not. This story line could have multiple endings for Summerslam. There is a part of me that thinks Shane might be pushed over to the dark side and side with Owens. It would be the most surprising of all the outcomes. What will Shane do when the bell rings?
The Cash In
John Cena vs. Jinder Mahal was better then I expected it to be. One of the main complaints against Mahal is that he does not act like a champion. He did in this match, matching Cena move for move. The real story was Baron Corbin. After attacking Cena, he cashed in his Money in the Bank. Only Mahal’s quick thinking saved the belt, as he rolled up Corbin for the win. Some may see this as Damien Shandow part II, but this makes the Championship match at Summerslam more interesting. I thought Shinsuke Nakamura would win, and then lose to Corbin. Now, I don’t know what will happen.
Season Finale
Tyler Breeze and Fandango said goodbye to the weird town of Fashion Files this week. While the boys were in top form (again), I have to give props to the Ascension. When they have shown up in these segments, they have been funny and fit right in with the madness. Tonight, they had the quote of the night ( “We live a gluten free lifestyle! We are the source of all evil!”) Whatever form Fashion Files takes in two weeks, I hope the Ascension comes along for the ride.
Match of the Night
The Usos vs. New Day (Usos win by pin fall)
The Usos play their new heel charcters to perfection. They complained before the match about New Day attacking them, forgetting that they did the same thing two weeks ago. This match showed that these two teams know each other well enough to put on a great match every night. The Usos won after some dirty tricks lead to a double Super Kick to Kofi Kingston. It will be Austin Creed and Big E at Summerslam, and Kingston must find a way to stop the heels cheating ways.
Conclusion
Some truly good wrestling happened on tonight’s show. Natalya and Becky Lynch showed that even when a title is not on the line, some vicious wrestling can occur. Lana might have said goodbye to active wrestling, and hello to managing Tamera. We are at the home stretch to Summerslam, stopping for NXT Takeover 24 hours before. This is a stacked card and I for one can’t wait.