After WWE Raw produced all the goods this week in trying to boost ratings (Owens vs Reigns Steel Cage, Rollins vs Rusev), Smackdown Live had to counter with some big matches of its own, announcing Dean Ambrose vs John Cena for the main event and The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title. Did these matches deliver? Would we see a new champion or the A-Lister standing tall?
Would we see another Cena victory or an upset win by the Lunatic Fringe? These questions and more were answered throughout this week’s Smackdown Live as I Read Between the Lines of Each Segment for the 20th September edition of Smackdown Live.
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Smackdown Women’s Championship Match Contract Signing (Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch)
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Bliss was terrific on the mic in this segment, breaking down Lynch’s persona in a way that nobody has really done so far. Referring to Lynch as the lovable superstar who can’t get it done, calling her a ‘one-hit wonder’, Bliss’ arrogance shone through as she proclaimed she was born to be a champion.
Bliss was everything a heel should be in this segment, and it brought the best out of Lynch as well. Lynch emphasised her fight to get to the top, talking with passion about how she was never ‘born’ to be a champion, but rather she fought to be a champion her whole life.
The intensity that Lynch portrayed got the crowd behind her even more than they were before, and Bliss’ cheap attack only added to her excellent performance in this segment. Overall, a great way to open the show and a beneficial segment for both women.
The Usos vs American Alpha (Winner faces Heath Slater and Rhyno at No Mercy)
This was a decent match, although the storytelling was more central here rather than the in-ring action. Relying on Alpha’s need for revenge, the fire in Jordan and Gable shone through. The story of Gable’s knee being targeted by Jimmy and Jey continued and he was struggling to stand after the Usos’ ruthless targeting of the knee.
Jordan decided not to endanger his partner’s health, but rather try and defeat the Usos on his own. This was a unique aspect of the storytelling that emphasised Jordan’s determination to gain revenge on Jimmy and Jey and protected American Alpha in their loss as Gable’s injury played a huge part in the final sequences.
Expect The Usos to capture the titles at No Mercy and for American Alpha to challenge them soon after.
Apollo Crews vs Baron Corbin
As much as I am trying to be optimistic about Jack Swagger’s reboot on Smackdown Live, it just doesn’t seem to be working for me. His constant jobbing for the past two years has dampened his credibility to the point where he is not a logical threat to Baron Corbin.
This match was nothing special and served simply to put over Corbin as a monster. Apollo Crews’ descent down the card continues, as he is now losing clean to heels every week. A heel turn by Crews could do him some good, and a quick win for Corbin over Swagger should be the final result in this ‘feud’ at No Mercy.
Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz (Intercontinental Championship Match)
After these two stole the show at Backlash, I knew when this rematch was announced for this week’s episode of Smackdown Live that we were in for another show-stealer. In another incredible bout, the two men’s splendid chemistry is obvious every time they face off. With the emphasis being on Ziggler’s last chance to prove himself, a title change became a lot more plausible.
The near falls, the intensity from Ziggler, and the superb heel work from the Miz all created a big-fight feel as the hot crowd reacted to every move in the final sequences of the bout. Despite Ziggler always being excellent, Miz’s heel work, especially his use of Daniel Bryan’s moves was amazing and he deserved to retain. Although the use of the hairspray once again is questionable, it only furthers Miz’s story of the cowardly champion who retains by any means necessary.
Overall, another outstanding match and easily the best match of the night.
Randy Orton vs Erick Rowan
This was a glorified squash that served solely to bring Orton back into the ring, with Erick Rowan looking incredibly weak once again. Nothing else really to say about the match, and after the bout, Bray Wyatt cut another one of his ‘cryptic’ promos calling himself a God, despite his Wyatt Family follower literally getting squashed by the Viper.
Unless Wyatt starts picking up wins soon or starts gaining any real momentum, he is going to lose all sense of credibility. Let’s hope Luke Harper returns on Smackdown Live and revitalises the Wyatt Family, especially Bray.
Nikki Bella and Naomi vs Carmella and Natalya
This was easily the weakest segment of both Raw and Smackdown Live this week. Firstly, why was Carmella disqualified? Sure, she dragged Nikki Bella out of the ring out of her partner’s grasp, but she didn’t do anything illegal.
Secondly, this did literally nothing to intensify the feud between Nikki and Carmella and pretty much wasted what could have been a decent women’s tag match. None of the four women involved in this benefited from this segment, and this was another example of lazy booking from WWE’s Creative team in regards to the Women’s division.
Dean Ambrose vs John Cena
This was a solid match, despite John Cena kicking out of Dirty Deeds which hasn’t occurred in a long time. Ambrose was rightfully not booed like last week, and he feels a lot better now that he is chasing the championship, taking out everyone in his path. Picking up a clean win over Cena and then planting AJ Styles with Dirty Deeds, this match and segment saw a much-needed boost of momentum for Ambrose after his loss at Backlash.
Cena has gotten to the point in his career where clean losses don’t really affect him, and the focus being on Styles and Ambrose at the end of the show was the right choice. In what is sure to be another awesome bout, Styles and Ambrose will clash for the WWE World Championship on next week’s Smackdown Live, and the momentum gained by Ambrose through beating Cena and hitting Styles with Dirty Deeds to close off the show was vital to keeping him relevant in the main event scene.
Note: If you haven’t seen it, go check out Ambrose’s promo on Talking Smack. It was brilliant, and his balance between face and heel is very intriguing.
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