WWE SmackDown LIVE 2019 Discussion

[Kam 243]

Miz somehow beating Sanity in a 3 on 1 falls count anywhere match? What is this?

:explode:

 

It seems like they've got no idea what to do with Sanity, other than to make them jobbers.

 

I was hoping we might get some kind of Rey/Joe confrontation as they've not done anything with them yet, or even just have Joe on the mic trashing Rey...something!

[Zack T 171]

Yea I wouldn't be surprised if the US title match is altered somehow.

[Kam 243]

Thought Smackdown was OK, they're obviously were trying to push the superstar shakeup for next week.

 

Having Lars attack The Hardys was a little random, just like the Kurt attack. I would have thought he'd go after someone younger :P

 

Any thoughts on who Paige will be bringing to Smackdown next week to face The Iconics? I'm guessing it isn't going to be an Absolution reunion. Maybe someone from NXT?

 

I was worried for Samoa Joe for a minute there, great promo, he looked like a real threat...then Braun walked down. Luckily they're kept both looking strong. Hope we don't get a feud between the 2 as I imagine Braun would come out on top.

[Kam 243]

Smackdown gets:

 

• Roman Reigns
  
• Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor
  
• Elias
  
• Bayley
  
• Ember Moon
  
• Kairi Sane
  
• Lars Sullivan
  
• Buddy Murphy
  
• Liv Morgan
  
• Chad Gable
  
• Apollo Crews
  
• Mickie James
  
• Otis
  
• Tucker
  

So Smackdown has both the US title and IC title currently...

 

So happy for Buddy Murphy!

 

With Liv Morgan moving over it could mean the end of The Riott Squad...

 

Chad has also moved over, so no more teaming with Roode.

 

On to the show...

 

I'm just waiting on Kevin to turn on Kofi.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about Paige manging Asuka and Kari, I think Asuka should be OK on her own, but I guess it gives her something to do. I can see how it would help Kari as Asuka seems to connect with the fans more.

 

I knew Roman would be on Smackdown when AJ switched to Raw, not much of a surprise.

[Zack T 171]

I was totally expecting KO to turn on Kofi on Smackdown but he didn't, and I was ashamed to see KO behave so absurdly.

 

Samoa Joe allegedly is going to Raw, he just wasn't used this week due to being super sick.

 

Definitely glad for Buddy Murphy although WWE should've swapped him and Cedric for Raw/Smackdown. Buddy is with Alexa Bliss IRL, woulda been nice to put him on the same show as his lady. One of the few couples in WWE that aren't on the same show (Another one is Andrade and Charlotte).

 

Kairi connects to the fans just fine, she's fun and whimsical. But I think it could benefit both of them to have Paige doing the talking for them, since neither one is super fluent in English. They can speak it enough to get by, but they haven't managed to do much in the promo department beyond basically 1 liners.

[Kam 243]

I was getting confused seeing Andrade and Black on Smackdown after hearing they had been drafted to Raw!

 

I don't want a Reigns/McMahon & Elias feud.

 

I'm glad they didn't keep Kevin part of New Day too long, we all knew he would turn.

[Mr.Windham29 35]

Reigns/Elias-boring

[Zack T 171]

I guess the original plan was for KO to stay a face, but with DBry having some kind of injury at the moment, they decided to use KO in his place instead.

 

Andrade/Vega got moved back to Smackdown because Fox wants a strong hispanic presence and WWE stupidly moved both Rey and Andrade to Raw, so they had to move someone back.

 

Not super interested in Reigns/Elias, but at the same time I'm ok with Reigns doing stuff that keeps him out of the main event for awhile.

[Kam 243]

Shelton Benjamin 0_O O_0

 

For anyone that missed it...

[Mr.Windham29 35]

This just in Kevin Owens has been formally charged with the verbal murder of Dolph Ziggler.

[Poppy 31]

I'm pleased that Shawn Michaels is joining the SmackDown commentary team because that group has needed a shake up for quite some time. I know it's just for the live but if he does a good job maybe they'll keep him on. What are the chances here?

[Zack T 171]

I'd rather they keep him in NXT so he can focus on working with those guys. Commentary is hard and adds extra travel to his life.

[Kam 243]

So we're getting a 'Who attacked Roman Reigns' angle - I guess it will have something to do with Shane....which I don't care about.

 

I'm not that fussed about Trish/Charlotte or HBK/Dolph.

 

As cool as the new Bray Wyatt character looks...I still can't get excited about it as I'm expecting WWE to job him out soon after.

 

Owens/McIntyre had some cool spots, they seemed to work well together.

[Zack T 171]

That metal structure falling was cringeworthy how they shot it. AEW does new camera work stuff all the time and are somehow better at presentation than the multi-million dollar company that's been doing it for all these years.

 

Trish and Charlotte is interesting but it feels forced and rushed IMO. Like, why is Trish randomly on King's Court in MEMPHIS? Oh let's talk about What if She had One more Match!? Hurr durr

 

HBK and Dolph won't lead to a match anyway so it doesn't matter. But we do get Miz and Dolph again so that's cool, those 2 have great chemistry. Their IC title matches back in October/November 2016 were pure gold.

 

Bray will beat Finn Balor for certain, Balor is slated to take a couple months off after Summerslam. So at least we'll have that.

 

I don't know what they're doing with McIntyre these days. Earlier in the year it seemed like he was gonna get pushed to be the guy to challenge for the Universal title, I thought by Summerslam. But despite being protected for awhile, he almost always LOST tag matches. And now he's losing clean to Owens on Smackdown, losing clean to Roman again, losing at Extreme Rules, and currently doesn't even have a Summerslam match. Who's he gonna fight? Cedric? It seemed like maybe we'd be doing Undertaker and Drew but it doesn't look that way now. You'd think they'd have started building it if we were.

[Zack T 171]

This week's WWE SmackDown saw SummerSlam opponents team up for a loss as Ember Moon and SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley lost to Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss. The match saw Moon take the pin after a Twisted Bliss from Bliss.

 

There was some confusion over Moon suffering a loss right before she gets her title shot at SummerSlam, as it made no sense, but the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that this was a political move.

 

WWE had plans to do three RAW vs. SmackDown matches on this week's blue brand show, and Kevin Owens had to defeat Drew McIntyre, while WWE Champion Kofi Kingston had to defeat WWE United States Champion AJ Styles. This left the women's tag team match, and RAW had to get the win in one of the three matches, which is why Moon took the loss.

 

But why though? Why have Raw v Smackdown matches at all, or why do they HAVE to go that way? Self inflicted stupidity. Hell I honestly didn't know what show Alexa Bliss was on anymore, given she consistently appears on both shows nearly every week and had a Smackdown Women's title shot recently, so...whatever.

[Kam 243]

After Cedric's great match on Raw, Murphy delivered on Smackdown! I actually thought he was going to win clean at one point.

 

I'm liking the build between Reigns and Bryan also.

 

Overall, I thought it was a good show.

[Kam 243]

After Buddy's win over Bryan last week...I didn't expect to see him lose that momentum this week. It seems like he's beginning to connect with the crowd already. Moreso than Ali or Alexander who have had more exposure. It was a good match and I'm happy for Ali...but would have preferred them leaving Murphy out if he was never expected to go past the first round.

[Zack T 171]

I agree. That was a tough match and both guys needed a win right now.

[Kam 243]

Ali lost :sad:

 

Gable won :thumbup:

 

Looking at the brackets...I'd quite like a Joe vs Gable final...

 

I'm loving Orton/Kingston - this is the best I've liked Orton in a LONG time!

 

So...it was Rowan all along? I could see WWE using this as a singles push for Rowan but I'd be surprised to see them give him such a prominent push considering he's not all that great in the ring. If it was someone like Luke Harper then I could see it (although it doesn't look like Vince is happy with him). I wonder if WWE might run with this for a while before it turns out Bryan was always the main culprit.

 

- I had to Wiki what Harper was up to:

 

After WrestleMania, Harper wrestled against EC3 in a dark match before an episode of SmackDown Live. It was reported that Vince McMahon did not like the match, so he canceled creative plans for Harper including a feud with Sami Zayn. After that, on April 16, Harper requested his release from WWE, as he had yet to appear on weekly television. His request was denied by McMahon and WWE. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter later reported that Harper's contract was originally going to expire in November 2019, but WWE will be adding six months to it, due to the time missed due to injury. In mid-July it was reported that Harper had returned to traveling with the roster, as he had been off events since requesting his release

I guess WWE are worried he'll end up in AEW.

[Kam 243]

I'm glad Chad advanced :)

 

Rumours are that Owens is headed to NXT which I'm OK with.