Welcome to the Smackdown Review for August 29, 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
Owens Loses His Mind
Kevin Owens’s personal war with Shane McMahon began in earnest this week. After calling Shane out for his grandstanding, Owens berated what he saw as the conspiracy to take his US title away from him. His tirade included a mention of Raw and Stephanie McMahon. Shane was having none of it, ordering Owens from the ring. Owens did not go far, joining the commentary team for the match between Sami Zayn and Aiden English. Owens then reentered the ring, took the referee’s shirt, and proceeded to power bomb Zayn. This crazy version of Owens has given him a new look, and it will be interesting to see how McMahon responds.
The New Tag Team
Any wrestler who returns to the ring after a long absence should hope to have the debut that Shelton Benjamin had. Looking as if he had just wrestled last week, Benjamin and Chad Gable tore into The Accestion. This high speed match showed that Gable could not have a better Tag Team partner. I expect their stock to rise, leaving who ever has the Tag Team Belts to sit up and take notice. Special props must be given to Gable, who sold everything and took a tumble over the ropes like a car going a hundred miles per hour.
Season 2
Fashion Files has returned, and the time off has not dulled the jokes or the chemistry between Fandango and Tyler Breeze. The boys had some new tech to play off, leading to the line of the night regarding a belt (Fandangio “I know what that is. A title! Breeze “No it’s just a belt”). It wasn’t all fun and games as the two received a clue about who has been giving them problems. The suspect looks to be Aiden English. Can our favorite fashion cops get him to talk, or will it lead to another dead end?
Match of the Night
Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton vs. Rusev & Jinder Mahal (Nakamura & Orton win by pin fall)
Much like Natalya last week, Jinder Mahal must have felt like he was alone in this tag match. Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton have a match next week to determine who becomes the number one contender, and Rusev made his intentions regarding the belt quite clear. This was a hard hitting match, with both Rusev and Nakamura doing the most heavy lifting. After the match, Orton hit an RKO on his partner, letting him know that getting back the title is the most important thing for the Viper.
Conclusion
A very well rounded show. It looks like AJ Styles and Baron Corbin are heading for a collision for the US Title. Dolph Ziggler gave another interesting promo about gimmicks, making me want to see what he has in store. The New Day and the Usos will continue their rivalry with the Usos picking the stipulation. Also, it was great to see Xavier Woods was not too badly injured after reports came out of a much more serious injury at a house show. Woods even had fun with it, wearing a sign that read ” IT’S JUST SORE”. Number one contender match happening next week, in another match I never thought we would get to see.
