Once again, SmackDown continued in its crusade to prove that it is the superior of the WWE brands (excluding NXT) with plenty of entertainment just two weeks before the 1000th episode and only 4 days away from Super Show-Down in Australia. Welcome to the most must-see Vulture Hound weekly review in history; welcome to… The SmackDown Review.

Results:

– Carmella and R-Truth defeated Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and Zelina Vega.

– Tye Dillinger vs Randy Orton didn’t “officially” start and was a no-contest.

– Shelton Benjamin beat Daniel Bryan!

– Asuka tapped out Peyton Royce.

It’s a YES from me:

The general manager, Paige, opened the show with an update from last week, to let us all know that the authorities showed up to AJ Styles’ house but Samoa Joe hadn’t even entered the house. A recorded message then played from Styles at home, saying he didn’t want Joe to be fired because he wants to fight him at Super Show-Down. I don’t suspect the feud will end after Saturday’s match either.

In a backstage segment, Tye Dillinger spoke with Paige to request a match with Randy after last week’s attack, which she granted. The match itself never started as Dillinger attacked Orton on the outside of the ring before the bell. A vicious Orton turned the tied and landed a DDT on the outside before bending the Perfect 10’s finger backwards through the turnbuckle. The more the Viper finds new ways to break the PG boundaries, the more interesting his current character becomes.

Earlier in the show, Aiden English declared he would reveal the video evidence of that “one night in Milwaukee”. As Rusev and Lana were in the ring, cutting a promo on English, the former Vaudevillain hit the stage and showed a video of him in a hotel room in Milwaukee when Lana showed up. The video stopped just when Lana said, “I want you.” Clearly upset, Rusev chased after English backstage. While this may seem like the cheap soap opera drama we would have seen during the Attitude Era, the fans are buying into for now, and so am I.

Shelton Benjamin picked up a much-needed victory over Daniel Bryan due to a distraction from the Miz. Just as Bryan was setting up for the running knee, Miz jumped to the apron to attack him. Bryan knocked Miz off the apron but ran into a Pay Dirt, giving Benjamin the win. After the match, Miz continued his attack on Bryan, hitting him over and over again in the ribs.

Becky Lynch recapped turning on Charlotte at SummerSlam before winning the title at Hell in a Cell. Lynch called herself the face of the company before unveiling her own poster for Super Show-Down which used the image of her holding the title over a downed Charlotte from last week. Charlotte came down to the ring to attack her, hitting the spear before t-bone suplexing Lynch into the poster and locking the figure four leglock.

Ah hell no:

It is great to see R-Truth and Carmella getting some airtime together, however, this comes at the expense of Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and Zelina Vega who are still early into their main roster careers. After a 5 star match with Johnny Gargano whilst in NXT, Almas should be hitting all the heights, instead, he’s losing to R-Truth in a mixed tag match.

Now, New Day are fantastic in almost everything they do. Talented in and out of the ring, they’re always the go-to guys for some much-needed comedic relief in and amongst some serious wrestling. Yet, their ‘New Day Cooks’ segment last night was one of – if not the worst – segment they have ever done. It lacked any real humour and I actually found myself thanking Sheamus and Cesaro for putting it to an end when they attacked the trio (and Bootyworth). Let these guys just put on the great tag team match we know they’re capable of.

It’s a shame that Asuka is now long separated from the feared competitor she once was. This match with Peyton Royce served as the minimal build up for her tag match alongside Naomi against the IIconics at Super Show-Down on Saturday. There’s no doubt the Aussie duo will be cheered immensely in their home country so I’m not really sure what to expect from this match.

SmackDown’s Super Show-Down:

– Daniel Bryan vs The Miz in a singles match to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Championship.

– AJ Styles (c) vs Samoa Joe in a no count out and no disqualification match for the WWE Championship.

– The New Day (c) vs The Bar in a tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.

– Asuka and Naomi vs The IIconics in a tag team match.

– Becky Lynch (c) vs Charlotte Flair in a singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.