Reviews

The John Report: WWE Smackdown Live 08/21/18 Review

By John Canton • Published 22nd August 2018

Live from Brooklyn, New York (for the fourth night in a row), this is Smackdown Live for episode #991. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Thanks to Melo Man for the banner up top.

Smackdown began with a shot of the Brooklyn crowd while Tom Phillips claimed it was a “special edition” of Smackdown Live. What was so special about it? Nothing, but they are going to call it special, I guess.

Let’s Hear From The Miz

The Miz and Maryse made their entrance. Images were shown from SummerSlam (read my review here if you haven’t done so yet) of Miz hitting Daniel Bryan with brass knuckles that Maryse handed him without the referee and Daniel Bryan seeing.

The Miz and Maryse went into the ring. The fans chanted “Daniel Bryan” at them. Miz said he was able to close his eyes and really feel that in a way that he has never felt it before. Miz said two nights ago at SummerSlam, something happened. Miz was in serious mode for this and he was obviously faking it. Miz looked sad as he said he was going to make this short and say that with a heavy heart and the utmost sadness…he paused as he faked tears followed by a hug from Maryse. Miz said with a heavy heart and the utmost sadness that he officially announces his retirement. The fans cheered and chanted “yes” for that. Miz said it was the retirement “of ever facing Daniel Bryan ever again.” The crowd booed him.

Miz said that the eight-year saga between Miz and Daniel Bryan has come to a satisfying conclusion because Miz did what he said he was going to do when he beat Daniel Bryan in front of a sold out Barclays Center. The fans booed him. Miz said that Bryan gave him everything he had, he punched Miz a hundred times, but it doesn’t amount to one Miz punch. Miz claimed he was the hardest punch in WWE and in the entire arena. Miz said he did what Bryan said he was going to do to him, which was punch him in the face and Miz did it in front of Maryse and their daughter Monroe. Miz said that was Sunday, but tonight he’s going to watch Miz and Mrs. after Smackdown Live on USA Network. Miz tried to start a “Miz and Mrs.” chant, but the crowd didn’t join him. Daniel Bryan showed up to interrupt.

Analysis: Well played by The Miz although WWE does that “heel pretends to show remorse and then acts like a jerk” promo way too often. That’s their go to with Alexa Bliss and Carmella too. The most shocking part of that promo was that it took Miz seven minutes to mention his reality show.

Daniel Bryan showed up in his ring gear and said “coward” three times. Miz said that it will never say coward in the record books, what it will say is…and fans chanted “you’re a coward.” Miz said the record books will say that Miz defeated Daniel Bryan and is superior to Daniel Bryan in every way. Miz said that he’s better than Bryan and Bryan will never have the chance to face Miz again. Bryan told Miz to shut up for once in his life. Bryan said that the fake retirement, the lies and everything else are all a part of the facade that was The Miz. Bryan even mocked Miz for wearing makeup. Bryan said that he was going to expose Miz for what he really is, which is a wannabe Hollywood star cosplaying as a professional wrestler. Good line. Bryan said Miz can’t retire yet.

Maryse told Bryan he should retire again and said that he might as well change his name to Daniel Bella.

“Brie Mode” started up and Brie Bella ran into the ring. Maryse left the ring, so Brie punched Miz in the face and Bryan hit a clothesline that sent Miz over the top to the floor. Graves ranted about it saying that Maryse just gave birth four months ago and she’s the mom of the century.

Bryan said his wife has a sweet punch. Bryan said that before he was rudely interrupted, he talked to General Manager Paige and at Hell in a Cell, they are in a match together. Bryan said it will be a mixed tag team match with Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse. Bryan and Brie led the crowd in “yes” chants while Miz and Maryse were upset about it.

Analysis: I figured a mixed tag team match was coming at some point. I didn’t know if it was going to be this quick, but it’s understandable considering Maryse got involved in the SummerSlam match. It would also allow WWE to set up the Bryan vs. Miz rematch for another show down the line (it was announced late last night that it will be at the Australia show in October). Brie has mentioned wanting to wrestle more before having another baby, so it makes sense. Brie’s daughter is over one year old now and Maryse’s daughter is about four months old. Maybe they can have a match on WWE TV in about 20 years. On another note, Brie Mode might be the worst song in WWE history and that’s saying a lot.

The announce team of Tom Phillips, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton were shown at ringside welcoming us to the show.

Coming up: AJ Styles interview, Becky Lynch explains her actions and The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

Jeff Hardy was shown backstage with his painted face because he’s facing Randy Orton up next.

(Commercial)

There were images shown from SummerSlam on Sunday.

The Miz and Maryse walked up to Smackdown’s General Manager Paige. Miz complained about the mixed tag team match at SummerSlam. Miz said that Paige is a worse GM than Daniel Bryan. Paige said Miz got punched in the face by Brie Bella, then she said the tag match stays and she did Maryse’s hand gesture in her face to end it.

Jeff Hardy made his entrance for his match against Randy Orton. Hardy painted up his face with green face paint and he greeted fans at ringside. Randy Orton made his entrance as highlights aired of Orton’s multiple attacks on Hardy over the last month.

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Hardy with a back elbow by the turnbuckle, Hardy went up top, so Orton shoved him and Hardy went into the ring post and then into the steps. Hardy landed on the floor as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

Orton whipped Hardy into the turnbuckle, Hardy with two boots to the face and Hardy hit the Whisper in the Wind off the ropes to take down Orton. Hardy worked over Orton with punches, a forearm to the face, atomic drop for Hardy, a double leg drop, low dropkick and a Twist of Fate neckbreaker by Hardy. Hardy went up top, Orton tripped him on the top rope and Orton took advantage. Orton pulled on the earlobe of Hardy where Hardy normally has a ring. The crowd was grossed out by it. Hardy avoided the DDT and Hardy kicked Orton in the groin on purpose, so the referee called for the bell for the disqualification finish at around seven minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Randy Orton

Analysis: ** It was a basic match with Hardy not caring about the finish because he was mad that Orton has attacked him so much in the past few months. Orton never really got going and Hardy was furious after Orton went after his near again, so it was understandable that Hardy lost by disqualification.

Post match, Hardy kicked Orton out of the ring. Hardy tossed Orton over the barricade into the chairs at ringside. Orton tried to get away, but Hardy sent him into the ring post and Hardy tossed Orton over the barricade at ringside. They fought into the crowd (or WWE Universe as the announcers say) and they fought by the tech area. Hardy hit Orton in the back with a chair four times. Hardy picked up another chair and hit Orton in the back again. Hardy punched Orton repeatedly and hit Orton in the head with a camera. Hardy climbed up some road cases or storage boxes that were conveniently placed there. Hardy jumped off them with a Swanton Bomb that put Orton through the table. It looked like the same height as if he was jumping off the top rope into the ring, but maybe it was a bit higher. Hardy was smiling after he put Orton through the table. The crowd popped for it.

Analysis: I liked the attack and the offense from Hardy. He was relentless, he used weapons and he finally got his revenge on Orton with that Swanton Bomb through the table. That was a cool moment that was fitting for Hardy since he has done that kind of thing in his career so many times. The DQ finish is fine because of this brawl after the match that will make their next match mean a lot more.

The announcers shilled what’s still to come. Up next is Peyton Royce vs. Naomi.

(Commercial)

Replays aired of the Hardy attack on Orton.

The Bar duo of Sheamus and Cesaro were interviewed by Renee Young, who asked if they were auditioning for the Kickoff Show panel. Cesaro said they are there to make a challenge because they want the next Tag Team Title shot. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows showed up to say that they are auditioning for the panel. Anderson and Gallows talked with funny accents while Anderson showed off his abs. He enjoys doing that. They challenged The Bar to a match. Sheamus said next week they’ll kick their heads off.

Analysis: They are both good teams and they should have a quality match to set up the next title challengers. The Bar had an awesome match with The New Day a few weeks ago.

Naomi made her entrance to a nice ovation. Naomi has barely been on television for a few months even though she’s one of the most popular women in WWE. There was no injury for her. It was just a case of WWE not booking her for anything.

The Iiconics duo of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay made their entrance. Graves said he’s followed them since NXT and they have never looked better, which was his shot at Dave Meltzer, who criticized Royce’s look recently leading to a lot of negative attention. I thought what Dave said was dumb, but I do like his work.

Kay and Royce did a pre-match promo where they mocked Naomi and then they mocked Brooklyn by calling it a dumpster fire. Royce said it’s fitting that she gets a chance to beat her up while adding that Naomi was not iconic.

(Commercial)

They started during the break.

Peyton Royce (w/Billie Kay) vs. Naomi

Naomi opened with a kick followed by a splash where she did the splits. Naomi kicked Royce to the floor. Kay with a distraction, so Royce snapped Naomi’s back against the ropes and Royce hit a spin kick on Naomi. Royce put her boot to the throat of Naomi. Royce slapped on a chinlock. Naomi broke free, Royce missed a kick, Naomi with two kicks and a dropkick. Naomi hit a springboard kick for a two count. Kick to the head by Naomi, then Naomi sent Kay into the ring post. Royce capitalized by sending Naomi face first into the ring post. Royce followed up with a bridging Fisherman’s Suplex (Perfectplex) for the pinfall win after about four minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Peyton Royce

Analysis: *1/2 It was fine for the time given with the story being that Royce won due to Kay getting involved and Naomi was distracted by that. Typical booking for a match like that where one competitor has a friend on the outside of the ring. It was good to see Naomi back in action after being off TV for way too long. I like Royce a lot and think she has a lot of potential. If WWE creates women’s tag team titles, Royce and Kay would be entertaining heel champions.

There was a shot of Big E in the locker room getting tape put on his ribs by a trainer. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods showed up asking him about his ribs, so Big E started eating ribs. Big E said that his actual ribs hurt. Kingston and Woods noted that’s where they started their record tag team title reign and Woods noted it was the birthplace of Francesca. They said they would be 5-time Tag Team Champions and they were ready to go.

Analysis: It was just a promo to show that they are ready to go and Big E is dealing with a rib injury, which is likely just a storyline to show that Kofi and Xavier were working the match.

There were highlights shown from the Smackdown Women’s Title match at SummerSlam with Charlotte Flair winning the title after hitting Natural Selection on Becky Lynch while Lynch had Carmella in an armbar. After the match, Lynch and Flair hugged followed by Lynch attacking Flair with punches and beating up Flair around ringside. It was a big angle from SummerSlam.

The locker room door of Becky Lynch was shown because she is up next.

(Commercial)

They showed images from SummerSlam.

Let’s Hear From Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch made her entrance in her street clothes. She did not play to the crowd at all as she has done for years. She walked to the ring with a serious look on her face and with a purpose.

Lynch stood in the ring, faced the hard camera and said she deserves to be standing there as the Women’s Champion. Since that moment was stolen from her, Charlotte Flair deserved the beating that she gave her. The fans cheered. Lynch said SummerSlam wasn’t supposed to be about Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Ronda Rousey and it certainly wasn’t supposed to be about Charlotte Flair, it was supposed to be about her. Lynch said that she had to fight her way for months to earn a singles match with Carmella. The fans were chanting “Becky” and she ignored it as she noted that it was her opportunity to shut up the critics that think she is just Charlotte’s friend. Lynch said she saw herself holding up the women’s title, she put Smackdown’s women’s division on the map and that she was the new champion. Fans cheered again.

Lynch said that the fans act like they were with her, but she wondered if they were and fans chanted “yes” for that. Lynch said there was no #GiveBeckyAChance and when Charlotte Flair weaseled her way into the title match, she said there was no boycott and the fans still sold out SummerSlam. Lynch said when Charlotte stole the match, they got out of their seats and applauded the new champion, so they weren’t that upset. Lynch said when people ask who’s the best superstar in WWE, Lynch said her name doesn’t come out of their mouth. Lynch added that somehow she has been made an afterthought. Lynch said people think that after a few nights of praise, that it’s all going to change, she doesn’t buy it. Lynch said it’s a generation of all talk, all opinions and no action. Lynch said she had enough of the opinions and she decided to take action. Lynch said that referee slapping the mat for a third time was like snapping Lynch out of a trance. Lynch said that she knew in that moment, her so-called best friend was holding her back. Lynch added that Charlotte has stolen her opportunity and spotlight for the last time. Lynch: “I knew in that moment that I was going to raise her hand up and rip her head off.” The fans cheered. Lynch said it was supposed to be her time to be champion and not because any of you decided that she deserves it, but because she said she deserved it and that she’s the best. Lynch said there is not a woman on this roster, in the arena or watching at home that can tell her different.

Charlotte Flair’s music hit as the Smackdown Women’s Champion made her entrance also in street clothes. There were some boos for her. Charlotte took off her title, put it down, took off her jacket and went down to the ring for a fight.

Flair took down Lynch with punches, the fans booed that, then Lynch punched her and the fans cheered loudly. Flair tackled Lynch out of the ring, Lynch tried to run away, Flair brought her back over the barricade. Flair threw Lynch into the ring. The fans were chanting “Becky” during this. Paige was on the ramp and called the Smackdown women’s division to go into the ring to break it up. Referees were there too. Flair and Lynch were held in separate corners while fans chanted “Let Them Fight” for it. Flair broke free, then held back, Lynch broke free and then held back. It’s also worth noting that the heel women were holding Lynch while the face women were holding Flair. The fans were chanting “Becky” again. Flair jumped off the apron and tackled Lynch on the floor. The segment ended when the women were separated.

Analysis: That was interesting. There was a lot to digest there. Becky was out there doing a heel promo about how she’s done sitting back, she’s going to take what is hers and the fans were cheering her the entire time. We saw that at SummerSlam as well when they cheered her while she attacked Flair. It shows that WWE didn’t change the plan after SummerSlam because they kept Lynch as a heel. I thought the promo was pretty good. That was likely more promo time than Lynch has ever had in terms of delivering a monologue and she did a good job while showing the right kind of emotion. I liked her intensity. The brawling segment was good with the classic pull-apart brawl where the face women grabbed Charlotte and the heels grabbed Lynch, so again it showed how WWE wanted fans to think of the women. Lynch trying to run away by jumping the barricade is also a heelish move because it showed she didn’t really want to fight, so that’s another indication of what WWE wanted. It’s going to be interesting to see if WWE stays the course with Lynch as the heel or if they listen to the Brooklyn fans and make Charlotte the heel because that’s what the fans want it to be with Lynch as a face trying to get that title again. It could be a Roman Reigns-like situation where WWE is going to push Charlotte as a face even though the fans want to boo her. It’s not exactly like that, but it’s similar. I think Charlotte is more natural as a heel anyway and it would be the best thing for this storyline. It doesn’t mean WWE is going to go that route, though. This could be a case of WWE thinking that it was just the Brooklyn crowd that cheered Lynch and the “smart fans” that want to support her, but not necessarily the masses. Next week in Toronto will probably elicit the same reactions that they got this week.

MORE Analysis: What I would do is make Charlotte the heel. I know that WWE may not want to do that because they have it in their head that fans are going to cheer her all the time because they like her, but that’s not the reality. Fans are supportive of Lynch since she’s only a one time Women’s Champion and Charlotte is already a 7-time Women’s Champion on the main roster. Plus, Charlotte has won 24 PPV matches in three years, which is the most of any woman in WWE history. Listen to the fans. Let Lynch be the one they rally behind because that’s the more natural, organic story. Will WWE go that route? I doubt it. A former WWE writer told me recently that they like to stay the course and they take it as a challenge when the fans cheer somebody they are supposed to do, so I think WWE will keep Lynch as a heel even though that move might be the wrong one. Anyway, I’m all for Charlotte vs. Becky as a big time feud likely with a big match at Evolution in two months and maybe Hell in a Cell next month. They will have some great matches together. I’m a fan of both women and I’m sure Becky and Charlotte are as excited about the feud as we are.

(Commercial)

The duo of Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega made their entrance. I’m surprised there was no replay of the Flair and Lynch fight. Almas and Vega did a promo about how they have beat Rusev Day every single time.

Rusev and Lana made their entrance, so this was a mixed tag team match rematch from the SummerSlam Kickoff show.

Rusev and Lana vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega

Almas with chops, Rusev with a forearm to the chest and Almas hit a jawbreaker. Rusev with a whip into the corner, Almas with a back elbow and Almas pulled on the arm against the ropes. Rusev with a kick to the head. Lana tagged in, so Vega was legal for her team. Lana with a clothesline that sent Vega out of the ring leading to a break.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Vega connected with a kick on Lana. Vega went for a submission where she jumped on Lana’s back and Lana got a cover for two. Vega countered that with a two count of her own. Vega pulled down Lana by the hair. Vega ran slowly towards the corner with Lana knocking her down with a kick. Lana broke free, Rusev got the tag against Almas and Rusev unloaded with a kick, splash in the corner and a spinning heel kick. Almas avoided a kick, then he hit a spinning back elbow and a running double knee attack in the corner for a two count. Rusev took control again with a clothesline that sent Almas out of the ring. Vega yelled at Rusev, so Lana hit Vega with a Spear. Almas brought a chair into the ring, Aiden English showed up to take the chair away, Rusev with a Machka Kick and Rusev slapped on the Accolade submission on Almas for the win. The match went about eight minutes.

Winners by submission: Rusev and Lana

Analysis: **1/2 It was a decent match with a creative finish. The parts with the women not great, but the guys were really good especially when Almas rocked Rusev with that spinning back elbow. I thought the SummerSlam match would be a Rusev and Lana win with English helping, but I guess I forgot that WWE likes to replay matches all the time, so they saved it for Smackdown instead.

After the match was over, English told Rusev and Lana that he’s always got their back. Rusev acknowledged his friend for helping them out.

Shinsuke Nakamura did a cell phone promo. He said that now that he’s disposed of the clown Jeff Hardy, he’s a hero to America and said it’s the United States of Nakamerica. That’s fine with me.

Still to come: The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day for the Tag Team Titles.

We will hear rom AJ Styles up next.

(Commercial)

An “unorthodox victories” clip sponsored by Domino’s aired showing John Cena and Edge fighting on Raw on August 21, 2006 when Cena tossed Edge into the water known as the Long Island Sound. That was a good feud.

Highlights aired from SummerSlam of the AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe match for the WWE Championship. The match ended in a disqualification due to Styles attacking Joe with a chair after Joe suggested that he can be “daddy” to AJ’s wife Wendy. They even included the clip of AJ’s daughter saying “daddy you’re bleeding” and Styles said sorry to her.

AJ Styles Interview

Styles did an interview on the side of the stage that was conducted by Renee Young. It’s like the old Mean Gene interview position.

The fans chanted “AJ Styles” for the WWE Champion. Styles was asked what happened at SummerSlam. Some fans chanted “who’s your daddy?” before he said anything. Styles said that SummerSlam didn’t end the way he wanted it to, but he doesn’t regret what he did to Samoa Joe. Styles said that Joe crossed the line, which was a line that a real man doesn’t cross. Styles talked about how he broke a promise, but he’s going to make a promise to the WWE Universe and his family that the next time Samoa Joe mentions his name…hey look there’s Joe!

Joe pulled Styles off the stage that he was on and Joe slapped on the Coquina Clutch. Some fans were yelling “I love you Samoa” as Joe clutched Styles on the floor. Joe did a promo to Wendy saying that it sounds like they are making promises tonight like going home to tuck in the kids, but Joe added that “daddy” has already gone “night-night” after Joe put him to sleep.

Analysis: The rivalry continues. I like the tone of the feud becoming very personal rather than a simple rivalry where one guy is the champion and the other man is the challenger. Joe is doing outstanding work as a scumbag heel that is doing everything he can to get into AJ’s head. There will probably be at least two Hell in a Cell matches at the HIAC PPV next month. I think Styles vs. Joe should be one of those matches.

A clip aired from the opening segment that set up Daniel Bryan and wife Brie Bella vs. The Miz and wife Maryse. It’s going to be a mixed tag team match at Hell in a Cell in San Antonio on September 16.

The Smackdown Tag Team Title match is the main event up next.

(Commercial)

More images were shown from SummerSlam.

Paige was in her office talking to a referee and security to make sure that Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch were taken out of the building. Paige told the referee to make sure that AJ Styles gets full medical attention. Carmella walked in to visit Paige and Paige taunted her noting that she lost ten pounds of gold. Carmella said that Paige shouldn’t title shame her. Carmella said she wanted her rematch and it better be one on one. R-Truth showed up to say that Carmella has dodged her for weeks, so he gets to face her. Paige told Truth that just because Becky and Charlotte beat Carmella for a title shot, doesn’t mean Truth can too, so Truth left. Paige told Carmella she gets her one on one rematch for the Smackdown Women’s Title against Charlotte Flair next week on Smackdown.

Analysis: That’s fine to set up a title match for next week. As for R-Truth, his dumbass comedy gimmick makes me laugh most of the time. Good for him.

The New Day trio of Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston made their entrance. Big E was on the ramp with them, but then he went to the back to allow Kingston and Woods to work the match for the group.

The Bludgeon Brothers duo of Rowan and Harper made their entrance with the Smackdown Tag Team Titles. Rowan had a noticeable wrap around his right biceps, which was an injury he suffered at SummerSlam.

Analysis: The news of Rowan’s injury was known on Monday. By Tuesday morning, all of us that follow wrestling on the internet knew that Rowan had a serious injury and he’s going to be out for about six months. Rowan had the same injury in 2015 and had shoulder surgery in 2016 too. Poor guy. Anyway, it meant that most of us knew the result of this match before it began, but let’s see how the match is.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles – No Disqualification Match: The Bludgeon Brothers (Rowan and Harper) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)

In a No DQ tag team match, there are no tags and the first fall wins the match.

The action spilled to the floor immediately. Kingston kicked Harper and Woods showed up with a dropkick that sent Harper over the announce table. Rowan tossed Woods into the barricade. Rowan threw Kingston off his back and Harper tossed a leather chair into Woods on the floor.

(Commercial)

The match returned the Bludgeon Brothers in control. Woods with an elbow to Harper and a drop toe hold that sent Harper into the announce table. Kingston hit a running kick off the apron onto Rowan on the floor. Woods and Kingston brought a ladder into the ring. Rowan held Kingston and Woods on the floor, so Harper hit a suicide dive to take out both New Day guys. Harper and Rowan tossed three steel chairs into the ring. Harper whipped Woods shoulder first into the steel steps. Rowan and Harper each worked over Kingston with forearm shots. Boot to the face by Rowan on Kingston, Rowan with a splash on Kingston against the barricade and Harper with a stiff boot to the face for two. Woods with a jumping kick on Rowan, but then Rowan came back with a running shoulder tackle. Kingston avoided a chair attack and Kingston nailed a Tornado DDT onto the chair. Kingston covered, but Rowan pulled him out of the ring to break up the pin. Boot to the face by Rowan. Woods tried an attack, Rowan moved and Rowan ran over Kingston with a running elbow. The Bludgeon Brothers slammed Woods into the apron. Harper and Rowan put the ladder in the middle of the ring where they set it up across two chairs. The Bludgeon Brothers tried to go after Woods, but Kingston got back into it and the Bludgeon Brothers hit a Crucifix Bomb on Kingston onto the ladder. Ouch. That looked and sounded very painful. Harper covered, but Kingston kicked out at two.

Rowan brought a table into the ring because the fans always love when tables are used in matches. Rowan worked over Kingston with headbutts. Harper grabbed one of their mallets, he slapped Rowan three times, Rowan charged with the mallet, Kingston moved and Rowan hit the barricade, which broke. Harper with a superkick on Woods. The fans chanted “New Day Rocks” to get the challengers into it again. Harper set up Woods in the ring near the table. Kingston back in with a mallet to the gut of Harper. Kingston hit a Trouble in Paradise kick on Harper. Kingston set up Harper on the table, Woods up top and he jumped off with an Elbow Drop that put Harper through the table. Woods and Kingston each covered Harper for the pinfall win after 15 minutes. The crowd cheered loudly for that finish.

Winners and New Tag Team Champions: The New Day

The win means The New Day are five-time Tag Team Champions.

Analysis: **** That was a great main event. I liked it a lot. They got a lot of time, told a good story with New Day taking punishment for most of it and then they made the big comeback to win. I liked the usage of weapons throughout the match. Woods and Kingston took some huge bumps especially when Kingston took that slam into the ladder. That looked brutal. The Bludgeon Brothers controlled about 80% of the match if not more and I think that was smart because of how strongly the Brothers have been booked for the last year. This was a different kind of tag team match from what The New Day usually does where they get in a lot of their fun offensive spots. This was more of an ass kicking by the Bludgeon Brothers, but I really liked that story and the way New Day came back to win in impressive fashion. I thought Rowan would take the pin since he’s going to be out of action for a while. I guess it doesn’t matter too much.

Big E joined Kofi and Xavier in the ring to celebrate the group’s Smackdown Tag Team Title win. Replays showed the finish.

The New Day celebrated with the titles with Phillips noting that New Day were five time Tag Team Champions. New Day went into the crowd to celebrate with the fans as the show went off the air.

Thanks Rowan.
— Brodie Lee (@ThisBrodieLee) August 22, 2018

Analysis: After the show, Harper thanked his partner in a tweet. That’s because he knows Rowan worked his ass off while he was hurt. Respect to Rowan for that. Please don’t let anybody question the toughness of professional wrestlers. These guys and girls are badasses. Rowan is not the biggest name in the company by any means, but he’s an example of how tough all of these superstars are.

Three Stars of the Show

The New Day
The Bludgeon Brothers – Shoutout to Rowan for working hurt. He did well.
Becky Lynch

The Scoreboard

8 out of 10

Last week: 6

2018 Average: 6.54

Last 5 Weeks: 7.5, 8.5, 6, 7.5, 7

2018 High: 8.5 (July 31)

2018 Low: 4.5 (January 2, January 9)

Final Thoughts

Smackdown gets a 8 out of 10 this week.

I thought it was an awesome show this week. In typical Smackdown fashion, it was easy to get through all of it, the promo segments were really well done, and the main event was great. Plus, we got that interesting promo from Becky Lynch with Charlotte Flair getting into a brawl, which I covered a lot in the review. I liked that Miz and Maryse opening segment that was interrupted by Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella too. The AJ Styles/Samoa Joe angle was well done. It was nice to see Jeff Hardy finally get his revenge on Randy Orton. The weakest part of the show was Naomi vs. Peyton Royce, but even that was only about three minutes, so it’s not like it bothered me and I was happy Naomi was back in the ring.

Smackdown is a consistently good show right now. I enjoyed this week’s effort quite a bit.