Night one of the brand draft for WWE was in full swing on the second week of programming on the FOX network. It promises to be an exciting time where your favourites can start fresh against some opponents they have never faced before. It’s a time to start setting up dream matches and time where we could see some major NXT call ups. Welcome to the most must-see VultureHound review in history; welcome to… The SmackDown Review.
Results:
– Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns by disqualification.
– King Corbin defeated “Shorty” Gable.
– The New Day defeated The OC in a 6-Man tag team match.
– Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair to become the new SmackDown Women’s champion.
Bradley’s Best Bits:
Former SHIELD brothers Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns got things underway with a match to determine which brand would have the first pick. Reigns representing SmackDown and Rollins representing RAW.
As we’ve come to expect, the two put on a great match which really looked like it could go either way with the action going back and forth. Rollins even managed to counter a Spear into Pedigree for old times sake. This could be hinting at a slow heel turn for Rollins using the move handed down to him from Triple H, but we’ll save that for another day.
Eventually, the match ended in a disqualification when The Fiend returned to drag Rollins under the ring. Rollins was able to climb back out before The Fiend scarpered away. A weird ending to an otherwise great match between two of the most reliable men on the roster.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_A-aGCDWiI]
The New Day did their part in awarding survivors of breast cancer replica championship titles as part of WWE’s partnership with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This was followed up with an impressive victory over the OC whereby Kofi Kingston returned to form with a Trouble in Paradise to the United States Champion AJ Styles. It was great to see Kofi back teaming with his New Day brothers and hopefully, it signifies he will still be a main-event player for whatever brand he moves to with The New Day.
After months of “will she, won’t she”, Bayley’s heel turn has finally been cemented. The former “hugger” unveiled her new look and took it upon herself to destroy the inflatable Bayley Buddies that have been a part of her entrance ever since she arrived on the main roster.
Charlotte and Bayley gave us yet another wonderful match in their long history. Both women were able to land key offence and hit signature moves. Yet it would be Bayley that would reclaim the SmackDown Women’s Championship from The Queen with a roll-up that caught the second generation athlete off guard.
Following the match, Bayley went further in her attempts to signify she is now one of the bad guys but grabbing a mic to lambast the audience. Her final words, “screw all of you”. I wonder how Bayley stan, Izzy, feels about that?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ihFUL7sZ6M]
For FOX Sake:
King Corbin and the now named *sigh* “Shorty” Gable had yet another match. Whilst the two are both great wrestlers in their own right, this story has gone on far too long without making either of the men look good.
Gable was originally made to look like a resilient underdog and, despite winning a couple of matches in the last month, his reputation is beginning to suffer more whenever they exaggerate his small stature. Having him call himself “Shorty” is just overkill at this point.
The 50/50 booking of the two mid-carders has also damaged Corbin’s credibility as a dominant heel so early into his reign as King of the Ring. Whilst not everybody is destined to reach the main event, I would have thought this would have been the time to push things forward for Corbin who, regardless of his booking, does look the complete package. He did win the match, but this story has dragged on far too long now.
Paul Heyman came out with Brock Lesnar to bore us all about his upcoming match at Crown Jewel against Cain Velasquez. In short, Brock wants to get back at Velasquez because he scarred him which led Rey Mysterio to come out and retort and do most the talking for Velasquez stood right next to him.
If WWE are going to fully invest in a UFC star then at least let the man speak and do his own promo. Oh yeah, Brock barely does that either.
The Draft Picks So Far:
Throughout the night, Stephanie McMahon would stand at a podium at the top of the stage to announce each round of the draft picks. Due to RAW being a 3-hour show, they would have 3 picks for every 2 of SmackDown. I won’t bore you with all the details of each round so here is the list of everyone picked so far and which brand they will now be competing for:
RAW: Becky Lynch (C), The OC (AJ Styles [c], Gallows and Anderson), Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Ricochet, Bobby Lashley, Alexa Bliss, Kevin Owens, Natalya, Viking Raiders, Nikki Cross, Street Profits (called up from NXT).
SmackDown: Roman Reigns, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Sasha Banks, Braun Strowman, Lacey Evans, The Revival (C), Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0P-L4yGuJs]
All pics and videos courtesy of WWE