A week after SummerSlam and the build to Hell in a Cell is strongly on the way. This week’s SmackDown Live saw more matches added to the up and coming show as well as must-see matches, interesting storyline development, and an array of entertaining and noteworthy segments throughout the night.
Results:
The Bar def. Gallows & Anderson and The Colons
Billie Kay def. Naomi
Daniel Bryan def. Andrade “Cien” Almas
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair def. Carmella
Best Moments:
This week’s edition of SmackDown Live opened with a strong focus on the brand-new Tag Team Champions. After hitting another milestone in their careers, the New Day celebrated their fifth run as champions in a fun and entertaining opening segment involving King Booker. This was an easy watch opener that was simply fun and easy. It made sense and fitted the characters of the New Day perfectly.
Arguably one of the best WWE matches of the week so far came from the singles bout between Daniel Bryan and Andrade “Cien” Almas. As two of SmackDown Live (and the WWE’s) best in-ring performers this was always sure to be a must-see contest with bags of potential and while its evident the two could easily work a far stronger match later down the line in a longer time slot the pair made do with the time they had this Tuesday night and provided fans with an entertaining, strong, wrestling match.
What made this match so strong in the eyes of many was, of course, the outside involvement. With Zelina Vega at ringside things were always sure to be interesting but after the Miz and Maryse made their presence felt things grew even more intense as the action heated up. Both Zelina and Maryse targeted Brie Bella making for an interesting development but this part of the show concluded with the Miz and Maryse standing tall after attacking their Hell in a Cell opponents. This was exactly the added momentum these two needed and having Almas and Zelina involved too was an excellent move!
Everything we have been seeing between Samoa Joe and AJ Styles has simply been fantastic. Their rivalry is personal, intense, barbaric, and totally gripping and this week was no different. Joe continued to taunt the champion and while Styles struggled to remain calm the pair both worked their roles amazingly well and had fans completely invested.
The rivalry between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair continues to dominate the women’s division this week with the female talent main eventing SmackDown Live this past Tuesday. After successfully defending her SmackDown Live Women’s Championship in that main event Charlotte was not given much time to celebrate with Lynch attacking her former friend seconds after the win. Lynch later took to the mic to deliver what was another intense and personal message to the champion. The crowd, of course, continued to show their support for the Irish Lass Kicker in what is becoming a very well done and entertaining storyline.
The Not So Good Moments
Overall, SmackDown Live was pretty damn strong this week. We had a good mix of solid matches and excellent story development. Momentum was built in the right places and bookings made sense. A moment that did appear to fade into the background this week came from the singles match, however, between Naomi and Billie Kay. With Kay scoring the win adding to the momentum of the IIConics fans have begun to speculate just where this mini-rivalry will go next considering the lack of babyfaces in the women’s division over on the blue brand. The match was fairly weak and easy to forget which is why it makes the downside of this weeks review.
And finally, the second down point from this week’s SmackDown Live came from the growing rivalry between Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton. A feud that sure does satisfy the kids of the noughties there is no denying that what is set to come from them in the coming weeks will be must-see and with Hardy challenging Orton to a match at Hell in a Cell there is plenty to look forward to. However, with that being said the promo from Hardy could have been just that little bit stronger this week and the general vibe of the segment lacked that something. Overall, it’s evident this is a great feud but there is a feeling of just wanting that little bit more.
To round things up, fans were treated to a very good episode of SmackDown Live. The singles match between Daniel Bryan and Andrade Cien Almas was hands down one of the best matches of the week so far and possibly of the month and when you include the added strong storytelling and segments throughout the night, this was a show worth watching!