Just a week away from Smackdown celebrating their 900th episode, you would have expected for the show to have hyped it up really well and to give you a reason to tune in next week. Unfortunately, from my point of view, it did not feel like this was achieved. Sure there were a couple of announcements such as Undertaker returning and Edge doing the Cutting Edge, but there was zero enthusiasm during these announcements and will not bring in a casual fan. With that being said, let's see just how hard this show Smacked Down on the card.
RAW Rebound
I find this title very fitting for this opening segment because it really felt like a rehash of what they did on RAW. So let's go through it: It started with AJ Styles in the ring talking about a whole lot of stuff involving Dean Ambrose and James Ellsworth and this really struck my attention and I honestly thought we were about to see a good and interesting segment. Unfortunately before I knew it, the rest of Team Smackdown (male superstars) were in the ring. Thankfully we didn't actually get a lot of talking from the rest of the superstars and mainly heard from Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles. We would shortly see Baron Corbin leave the ring, which I felt strange because if he wasn't going to do or say anything then why did he even come out? Answer: WWE Logic. Shane McMahon would then come out and announce that Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Randy Orton would go against Dean Ambrose, James Ellsworth and Baron Corbin in a six man tag team match. Backstage we would see Corbin ask to be removed from the six man match which he was and we would then find out his replacement was Kane. So overall an ok segment, but in no way a strong one which is disappointing because I had high hopes of it when it started.
Rating: 7
Breezango VS the Vaudevillians (Qualifying match to be on Team Smackdown)
What can I say, I'm disappointed. Not in the superstars in this match, but in how these guys have been used. I was kind of hoping that Breezango wouldn't be a thing anymore since we haven't seen them in ages, but alas this was not to be. All four of these guys are actually really talented and I can't believe how much they are being under-utilised - actually screw under-utilised, they're being used absolutely shit! I have been mega pissed off with the way they have been used and had hoped that they would be used differently since the brand split - I can't believe they haven't been used better since the brand split especially considering the limited number of teams they actually have. You knew going into this match that regardless of which team won the match, neither would look good and will likely ultimately become the loser in the Survivor Series match by not only getting eliminated first, but probably eliminated very quickly.
Winner: Breezango
Rating: 3
Naomi VS Natalya
Despite me never being a big fan of Natalya's matches, even I know how shit she has been treated as of late, much like the above two teams. I honestly got really behind her after she did her heel turn and she still put on a good performance at Backlash, but ever since then she has just been lost in the shuffle again, which is a shame considering she is a veteran and still deserves a good run with a title. This match was ok, about average I would say, and I think it was especially ruined by the whole fighting thing between Nikki Bella and Carmella at ringside. I feel like WWE are just starting to show things just for the sake of showing them each week, but honestly there is no need to show things if people don't enjoy it and if it doesn't even mean anything.
Winner: Naomi
Rating: 6.5
Kalisto turns heel
This was originally meant to be a match between Baron Corbin and Kalisto, but we would see Corbin attack Kalisto before the match would even begin. Corbin was done with Kalisto and was busy leaving the ring when he misstepped on the apron and fell knee first and so getting hurt. Kalisto would see this and would then dropkick Corbin's knee into the steel steps. Corbin would roll into the ring as it looked like Kalisto was looking to leave. However he changed his mind and decided to dive onto Corbin's injured knee. So my thing is, doesn't this technically make Kalisto a heel? Because Kalisto saw Corbin was injured and basically is trying to end Corbin's career. Last I checked, faces are supposed to take the high road, but what do I know? This would lead to a backstage segment where Shane would report that to Daniel Bryan saying Corbin is injured and won't make it to Survivor Series. He then handed Bryan a roster list saying anyone on the list Bryan can choose to replace Corbin on the Survivor Series team.
Rating: 7
Becky Lynch (C) VS Alexa Bliss (Smackdown Women's Championship)
So before we get into the match, I need to get something off my chest. This will not affect the match rating, but I found myself highly pissed off when the announcers would say throughout the night that this match was going to be the main event, only for it to go on second last. Basically, WWE are trying to drill into our heads that a main event doesn't mean the last match - which we all know is absolute bull. By definition, the main event is what is considered the most important match on the card - by that we could call anything the main event. But truthfully, we know that since WWE make the decisions that they will order the matches in order of importance. By putting the six man tag match on last, they obviously considered this match of most importance, making the women's match feel less special. However, on a much lighter note, this women's match was actually really good. I certainly enjoyed watching it and believe it could have done a lot better. What made this match even better had to be the ending. Despite being a controversial one, this ending allows for the feud between Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss continue and could allow us to possibly see Bliss win the title in the very near future - and I wouldn't mind seeing that.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Rating: 8.5
Apollo Crews VS Curt Hawkins
I cared so little for this match that I was actually already getting ready to review on the six man tag match because I completely forgot that this match even occurred. An OMG moment had to be that Hawkins actually lasted longer than 10 seconds in this match. Crews is still the same old character I've been rambling on about for ages. As I have said countless times before, there is no doubting Crews has the in-ring talent, but he has zero charisma and zero character and even though he has that in-ring talent, his matches just feel like the same old shit. There is no doubting that Crews got called up way too fast and needed more time in NXT to build his character.
Winner: Curt Hawkins
Rating: 2
Dean Ambrose, James Ellsworth & Kane VS The Wyatts
I will just brush over this match because it wasn't anything too interesting. It was average at best and the only real good thing that came out of it was that Ellsworth came in the ring for a minute before being pinned by Bray Wyatt. Now the aftermath of this match almost saw the Wyatts lay a beat down on Dean Ambrose, but before anything could happen Shane McMahon came running down to the ring to stop anything from happening. We then saw Daniel Bryan come down to the ring with his roster list and mention that the final member he wants on Team Smackdown at Survivor Series is Shane McMahon. Now, I don't think this is such a bad thing. Even though I would rather have had Corbin stay on the team because I was expecting big things from him during the match, I think we could possibly see something special with Shane being involved in the match. I still want Braun Strowman to walk out sole survivor, or if Braun is going to be eliminated it needs to be by count-out or disqualification so as to make him still look strong by the end of it.Winner: The Wyatts
Rating: 7
Overall Segment Rating: 7
Overall Match Rating: 5.5
Overall Show Rating: 6.25
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