People come and go and we miss them all the same, I will do you proud Bradley as I take responsibility in keeping the loyal SteelChair mag readers up to date as we take a look at what happened this week on SmackDown Live…
It’s a new dawn, it’s a New Day, it’s a new life for SmackDown Live as we embark on the Superstar Shakeup. What better way to kick off an episode than with a hometown welcome, Kevin Owens is back in Montreal! The reaction was massive upon his arrival, as the party continued with Kofi Kingston (WWE Champion)* and fellow New Day member Xavier Woods made their way down to the Kevin Owens Show. They discussed the sad news that New Day member Big E is unfortunately injured at the moment and won’t be able to perform on this episode. Fortunately, Kevin offers his services and provided a healthy resume of hip swaying to prove that he is more than capable of being a temporary member of The New Day.
*Writers note: Feels so good to write that down.
Superstar Shake-up!
Now it wouldn’t be a shake-up if we didn’t have a few surprises littered in there, so I bring you the list… of people that joined the Blue brand.
- Finn Bálor
- Lars Sullivan
- Bayley
- Ember Moon
- Kairi Sane
- Buddy Murphy
- And TWO big surprises at the end of the show…
Overall I believe these transfers will freshen up SmackDown Live. All of these additions feel like an upgrade to the roster, none feel like they’ve been tacked on last moment for a quick pop from the crowd. This doesn’t mean that WWE won’t screw this up later down the line until the next transfer spree, but that’s why we have optimism here at SteelChair.*
*If I’m wrong a year later, please send all hate mail to your nearest Toal Booth.
Main Results:
Finn Bálor defeated Ali
Charlotte Flair defeated Carmella
(Lars Sullivan destroys R-Truth)
8 Woman Tag Match: Kairi Sane, Bayley, Ember Moon & Asuka defeated Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Sonya Deville, & Mandy Rose
6-Man Tag Match: Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, & Kevin Owens defeated Rusev, Shinsuke Nakamura, & Cesaro.
THE BIGGEST ACQUISITION
Vince McMahon strutted his way to the ring welcomed by the ever so positive reaction from a Montreal audience to anyone with the surname McMahon. His announcement for the biggest acquisition to SmackDown Live set online wrestling fans into a rumour frenzy. Was this going to be Braun Strowman? Was it a play on words to bring The Big Show back on TV? Was Vince McMahon going to say “lol jk” rip his shirt off and bench press in the middle of the ring with the words “Brett Screwed Brett” spray painted on his chest?*
*You can’t tell me he hasn’t at least considered once.
None of these in fact happened, what we got was… Elias!
Elias made his way down to the ring and tried his hardest to make himself the most hated man in Montreal, a little bit tricky given that he was standing right next to the most hated man in Montreal. However, Roman Reigns appeared and took out Elias where he stood getting a decent reaction from the crowd. In an ingenious move, McMahon started to give Roman a piece of his mind. This led to Roman outright superman punching Vince and leaving him out cold. One more spear to Elias for good measure, and that’s how SmackDown Live ended the Superstar Shake-up.
This has been the first time I’ve tuned into SmackDown Live form over a year and I’ve got to say I’m impressed with what’s been presented here. It looks like we are heading in a good direction as the show heads towards its new timeslot on FOX in the coming months, I’m excited to see where we go from here and I hope you come along for the ride with me.
