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SmackDown Live waltzed back into our lives last night (Nov. 14) from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina and served as the go home show for the Survivor Series pay-per-view (PPV). You can find all the results in the live blog here.
Revenge
The Raw retaliation this week was inevitable. But it was still real fun. Fun for us, but not for Team Blue.
The first move was during the New Day vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn bout. And who was it? None other than the Shield. Because of course it was. The Shield is an excellent first shot. Their music plays and you know destruction is coming. And it did.
The men in the match held the ring... until Sami and Kevin bailed. They have no loyalty to anyone but themselves. And they left the New Day to fend off the dogs themselves. We can’t expect anything else from these two.
Raw had it well planned out. They had their entire roster ready to remedy whomever Team Blue threw at them. The Usos came out to help the New Day and suddenly the Bar is there. Shane McMahon leads the troops from the back and suddenly here’s Samoa Joe, Finn Bálor, and Titus Worldwide. They had an answer to everything SmackDown could muster.
Then finally, Kurt Angle dropped the hammer: Braun Strowman.
Really, SmackDown never had a chance. To add insult to injury, the Shield, who were front and center of this battle, made Shane watch all the destruction as it happened. They forced him to realize that his roster just got slaughtered by Raw. Then they left him in the middle of the ring after he took two Triple Powerbombs and an Angle Slam.
Meanwhile, in the back, the Raw women got their own measure of revenge. Alexa Bliss and all of Team Raw stormed into the locker room and left their foes laying. Charlotte was the last with any fight, but Bliss put her down with a forearm.
SmackDown is not looking good going into Survivor Series. They were planning for this and they still had no chance. Kurt Angle unleashed wave after wave of attack, outmaneuvering Shane’s team at every turn. SmackDown was without Orton and obviously John Cena. So they have a different dynamic on Sunday. But they still have to reevaluate their situation after such a defeat last night.
Advocate
Daniel Bryan offered his services to AJ Styles this week to serve as Styles’ advocate in a response to Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar from Raw.
And he was magnificent in the role.
Bryan cut a great promo explaining exactly why The Phenomenal One has more than a chance this Sunday. Daniel discussed that Brock, at his core, is a quitter. And although he’s big and bad, he wears out easily. So after going more than ten minutes with Styles, he’ll start draining. And when he does, he’ll quit.
It was the perfect response to Heyman. Bryan has always been an underrated promo and he put those skills to use right here. By effectively explaining why Styles could feasibly win, he added more hype to the match that is already packed with hype.
Bow Down to the Queen
Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya to win the SmackDown women’s title in her home town.
It was a good match, which is what we have come to expect from these two. They have a good chemistry and always put on an entertaining bout.
Post match, Charlotte cut a promo telling Alexa Bliss that before there was a Goddess on Monday nights, there was a Queen. And boy am I here for the Goddess vs. the Queen. Charlotte and Alexa were the most successful women in the WWE (not including NXT) the last year. We finally get to see them go head to head in a match we haven’t seen on the main roster.
Charlotte dedicated her win to Ric Flair, who she said was watching from home. But he wasn’t watching from home! He was there! In a sweet moment, he walked out onto the stage and Charlotte ran to him with the enthusiasm of a child seeing a parent after a long trip. To share that moment in front of their home crowd was something special.
All the Rest:
End of Days
Sin Cara succumbed to the End of Days, losing his US title match to Baron Corbin. This means we’ll get Miz vs. Corbin at Survivor Series. The title changes lately have been exciting, but I’m glad this is one that didn’t change hands. Miz and Corbin have done good work building some heat for this match on Twitter. No need to hot shot the belt to Sin Cara and have that all go to waste.
Trouble Brewing
Daniel Bryan, while making it clear he’s 100% behind Team Blue, is still not happy with Shane for initiating the raid without consulting him. Because of that, DB told the commish that after Survivor Series on Sunday, they’re going to have a discussion.
This is really intriguing. While Raw is retreading their Steph/Mick Foley bit with Angle, the blue brand has something more subtle bubbling within the authority of Tuesdays.
Tag Revenge
Jimmy Uso defeated Chad Gable, getting a measure of revenge for that chop block from last week.
Chad Gable has showed some aggression and ruthlessness that he hasn’t prior. I wonder if this will be something they address. Is Shelton Benjamin bringing this side out of him?
That new attitude wasn’t enough this week, though. His aggression ended up costing him. He shoved Jey on the outside, which got Shelton involved. But the veteran team was able to neutralize Benjamin and Jimmy delivered a superkick for the win.
This was an eventful go home show that helped add excitement to Survivor Series.
Grade: B+
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