SMACKDOWN 20/09/2016 - Building Up the Smack Down

This is the second episode of Smackdown to air since Backlash and it seems as if they are more focused on looking forward to No Mercy than looking back constantly at Backlash - which is a huge up in my book. As of this writing I have really big mixed feelings towards this show and you will see why when I get there. I know a lot of people are saying that Smackdown are much better than RAW in regards with their storytelling and consistencies, and this is true from that aspect, but as far as the show then and there is concerned, I honestly feel like RAW has been beating Smackdown.

Women's contract signing

This marks another Smackdown where the women are opening the show and not only did they open it, but it was a contract signing! They honestly should be pushing contract signings more often between the women as it makes their matchup feel a lot more legit. I really enjoyed this segment and it made the story between Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss feel a lot more real. When Alexa hit Becky in the face and then upturned the table onto her that was awesome too. When Becky went after her afterwards it was also really really great! Every bit of it was really well done and I have nothing bad to say about it.
Rating: 9

The USOs VS American Alpha
This might have been just a rehash of their match two weeks prior, but it was certainly a lot longer and a lot better. The USOs have captured their role as heels superbly and  have really been running with it. I didn't realise that this was a number one contendership match for the tag titles until it was mentioned by commentary though. On a whole it was a decent match and you would have to think that with the USOs getting the victory that they are bound to capture the tag titles a second time around - if not then it's really pointless to have them go after the titles again. It would unfortunately mean that Slater and Rhyno would have to drop the titles, but I personally feel like the USOs need to keep their momentum going forward. Plus Slater is so over that he would still be cheered tremendously if Creative doesn't drop the ball on him.
Winner: The USOs
Rating: 7.5

Baron Corbin VS Apollo Crews
Let me talk about Crews for a moment: you've heard me say all I need to say about him before, about how he's great in the ring but has zero character. What WWE seem to tend to do is whenever he gets beat up like he was last week, they seem to make him look a lot more serious for like a week and then turn him back to his happy-go-lucky-no-personality self. I hope this time around it is not the case as I feel like him looking a lot more serious every week and not smiling during his entrance is great and gives him a lot more character then when he's smiling and waving at the fans. WWE, keep Crews serious! In fact, let's get a trend going to WWE: #KeepCrewsSerious. Now this match wasn't bad, it was really good to see my guy Baron Corbin get the victory and I wonder if Crews was kicked into the ring post harder than he was expecting because he cussed quite blatantly. It seems as if a rivalry is brewing between Jack Swagger and Corbin, in which case I am really hoping Corbin wins - he needs it way more than Swagger!
Winner: Baron Corbin
Rating: 7.5

The Miz (C) w/Maryse VS Dolph Ziggler (Intercontinental Championship)
Dolph Ziggler came into this match looking to "win the whole damn thing" but was unsuccessful. What he did manage to do though, was steal the whole damn show along with the Miz. When first hearing of this rematch, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I thought it was going to be a disappointment after their tremendous match at Backlash because of it just being a normal Smackdown match...I am happy to say that I was absolutely wrong! Wow these guys did a spectacular job! Is it possible that they did an even better job on Smackdown than at Backlash? Both were so good that it is tough to say. Regardless of which guy was on the offence and which was on the defence, both did a fantastic job and I could not be happier! Considering how the next three matches went, I honestly wish that this match could have been in the main event and really, both RAW and Smackdown should consider putting their US and IC champions in the main event more often to show just how prestigious these titles actually are! While I am very happy with the Miz getting the victory, my biggest concern is that with him cheating to win again, that they have one more match at No Mercy and that this will be when WWE decide to put the title on Dolph Ziggler. It is my biggest concern because while they would likely put on another spectacular match and while Ziggler could make a great champ, I just feel like the Miz's reign should continue for a lot longer and that he should be facing more opponents. I would like to see the Miz get in a feud with Heath Slater! Regardless, if you aren't excited for the Miz as champion, then you should probably get your head examined.
Winner: the Miz

Rating: 9.5

Randy Orton VS Eric Rowan
I'm not gonna say much about this. It was a very short match, not very exciting and nothing changed from when we saw it a few weeks ago. The only interesting part about it was the new look given to Eric Rowan's mask. Speaking of Rowan, he has to break away from Bray Wyatt, for his own sake and Bray's. Bray isn't going to go anywhere while Creative are still pairing him with his "family". If Luke Harper comes back and teams with Rowan only, I will be fine with that, but Bray must really just go it his own now.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: 6

Nikki Bella & Naomi VS Natalya & Carmella
To put into perspective how short and crap this match was, Naomi's entrance was longer than anything that happened in this match. Basically Naomi got knocked down early, Natalya had Nikki in the sharpshooter, Carmella dragged Nikki out the ring for reasons unknown and threw her into the barricade and got disqualified. Why this segment even happened I have no idea. If it was so short because of the amount of time that Smackdown had then it really shouldn't have happened at all. Or at least a brawl should have happened before the match could start which would result in the match being called off, because I can assure you that people would much rather have seen no match than the crap we saw. It was completely worthless and should not have been done.
Winner: Nikki Bella & Naomi (via DQ)
Rating: 3.5

Dean Ambrose VS John Cena

And here we are at the main event! A match that was supposed to be really good turned out to be juts...meh. It was actually really crap! The false finishes from each other's finishers didn't feel special, like you just knew they were going to kick out and then a victory from Ambrose via rollup pin, it just wasn't anything great. To put this into perspective: the feeling you had when del Rio defeated Cena at Hell in a Cell for the US title felt pretty much like this. While it wasn't predictable as to who would win this match, it still didn't feel very exciting when Ambrose actually got the victory. In my opinion, the Miz VS Ziggler match should have been swapped around with this that way we would have ended on a much happier note.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: 6.5

Overall Show Rating: 7

Once again I have rated Smackdown lower than I did RAW. I have no problem with Smackdown, in fact I want Smackdown to be better than RAW, but I have just been feeling that RAW has been doing a better job than Smackdown and I have enjoyed watching the Red brand more than the Blue. With that being said, there's still a bit that Smackdown need to develop story-wise as they head into No Mercy in a few weeks time and I still look forward to seeing how they develop and if we will see any more matches like the Miz VS Ziggler.