Welcome to the Smackdown Review for October 17, 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
Attacking the Hometown Boy
Danial Bryan was home, as he welcomed everyone in Seattle to Smackdown. After announcing some of the matches, he called out Sami Zayn. Zayn came out, same entrance music, same goofy grin, but once he got a microphone, he was a new man. Bashing Bryan while also attacking the fans, Zayn was completely invested in why his character has sided with Kevin Owens. Some brutal verbal attacks followed, among them that Bryan worked himself right into retirement. Speaking of Owens, he joined the party and called Bryan a sellout and The Authority. This was nuts, considering Bryan’s history with HHH and Stephanie McMahon. Bryan walked away, on a mission to find two guys to punch Owens and Zayn in the face. This was a great promo and all three men brought their A game.
Pulp Fashion
Fandango and Tyler Breeze were back on the case, in a brilliant parody of Pulp Fiction. While these two knocked it out of the park, again, I want to take this time to praise The Ascension. They have morphed from bit players to being a goofy part of the fun of Fashion Files. For some reason, this version works and I want to see if they can finally convince Breeze and Fandango to be their friends. This was a hilarious bit of work, so good that when it finished, the announcement teams microphones were off, probably because they were laughing so hard.
The Worst Best Idea Ever
In my life, I have thought about decisions that turned out badly for me. I wonder if Jinder Mahl had the same reflective moment right after he got backstage after making this decision. By challenging Brock Lesnar to a match at Survivor Series, Mahl has guaranteed to be run over by a Beast. Why is this a good idea also? It is showing some fire in the WWE Champion. No talk of America as not accepting, but a champion who honestly believes what his two henchmen have been telling him. AJ Styles, however, provided a roadblock to this beatdo… I mean match. Styles and Mahl will fight next week, and Lesnar will answer this challenge on Raw.
Match of the Night
Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (Owens & Zayn win by pin fall)
The tag team of Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura only came together last week, and already I want to see more. Nakamura especially looks better then he ever did in his feud with Mahl. Owens and Zayn showed that when you have known each other your whole professional life, you can become a great tag team. The crowd was really behind Orton on this one, and the loudest boos were heard when Zayn delivered a low blow to the Viper. the heels might have won, but their is going to be hell to pay next week when Shane McMahon returns.
Conclusion
A very strong showing by the blue brand. Rusev and Aiden English had a very funny confrontation with the New Day, A returning Sin Cara got a victory of Baron Corbin, and six of the women had a very fast paced tag match. Next week is a match with huge implications for Styles and Mahl.
