Welcome to the Smackdown Review for November 21, 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
Payback
Shane McMahon opened the show smiling, but still stinging from Smackdown’s defeat at Survivor Series. He played it off that it was Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens who were primary responsible for his team’s defeat. This brought out the best friends who demanded a apology from the commissioner. Shane had no apologies for them, instead getting ready to channel his father to fire them. Daniel Bryan interrupted, booking the two against the New Day in a lumberjack match. Something is going on between Bryan and Shane. They are not on the same page and one wonders where this is going to lead.
The New Girls
It might have seemed that Paige, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose have pushed the Raw Women’s division ahead of Smackdown. Not to be out done, Bryan had signed Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan and Sahrah Logan. The trio wasted no time, attacking the women’s division and interfering in the match between Natalya and Charlotte. While these call ups are exciting, we need some reasons why these women are here. It is a belief that there is a lack of respect? Or is there some other reason why they have attacked every women?
The Brothers
The time had finall come for Luke Harper and Eric Rowan to make their debut. Standing in their way was the Hype Bros. Mojo and Zack Ryder didn’t get one punch as the Bludgeon Brothers made very short work of them. While I may hate the name, these two are going to be exciting to watch. We haven’t seen a monster tag team like this in a long while. One touch I noticed was that Harper slapped the taste out of Romwan’s mouth before flinging him into their opponent. The idea that these two will hurt themselves to hurt you brings a whole new dynamic to the Tag Team division
Match of the Night
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. New Day( Lumberjack match) (Zayn and Owens win by pinfall)
The locker room might have wanted to get their hands on Owens and Zayn.but the two still managed to sneak out a victory. One of the best parts was seeing the locker room show concern when a member of the New Day was outside the ring, but swarm Zayn and Owens when they fell outside. A missed punch set up a brawl between the lumberjacks, allowing Zayn to get the roll up victory. Zayn was rewarded by a beat down from the New Day. Owens was told backstage that he would face Randy Orton next week. The biggest question is how will Shane react to Bryan never intending to fire Owens and Zayn?
Conclusion
The big debuts were the highlight of this show. A good running gag was Owens and Zayn asking for help before their match, and being shut down every time. Jinder Mahl announced that his rematch will happen at Clash of Champions. Can AJ Styles survive not only him, but the Sing Brothers as well?
