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WWE SmackDown Live comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (May 8, 2017) from the O2 Arena in London, England, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for later this month in Chicago.
Advertised for tonight: Dolph Ziggler comes after Shinsuke Nakamura, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR MAY 8
You think your soul is nice, you've lived in paradise so now you take the stand. You want to hold your masters hand, you think your soul is free. Look up and you'll see me, liveblogging this here pro wrestling show.
The show opens with a recap of the #1 contender's six-way match from a few weeks ago, the House of Horrors Match, and the other beats of the feud between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton, and thence into the intro video.
In the arena, Randy Orton makes his entrance. He says at Payback he didn't lose because of Bray Wyatt or because of that damn refrigerator, he lost because Jinder Mahal stuck his nose where it didn't belong. Where he comes from, you have to win a match to become champion, and at Backlash, that's exactly what he's going to do. (Uh... you're champ already, Randy.)
Enter Jinder Mahal, flanked by the Singh Brothers. He says he didn't take anything, he didn't steal anything, he simply took... I'm sorry, folks, the error threw me off, but he presented the photos he took and now he's talking about wearing the title proudly in India, where they'll build a statue in his likeness.
At which point, somehow, us people won't disrespect him, and he'll cleanse our ignorance with his greatness. At Backlash, a new age begins, the Age of the Maharaja. He says he's going to speak to his people in Punjabi, but...
Enter Kevin Owens. He says both of them need to stop this crap right now because no one cares about India, the House of Horrors, or England. The only thing people should care about is the United States Champion and new Face of America, Kevin Owens. Last week he didn't just regain his United States Championship, he ended Chris Jericho's career.
That means no more Y2J, no more "stupid idiot", no more drinking it in, no more List of Jericho, that's all done, thanks to him. Jericho couldn't even last two hours on SmackDown, because of him. And at Backlash, he's going to end another career, that of AJ Styles. And once that's done, he's not just gonna be US Champion, not just the new Face of America, he warns both of them, he's gunning for the WWE Championship, because he's gonna be the Face of WWE.
He repeats for the slow people in the crowd and then again in French, just because he can.
Enter AJ Styles. He says KO is delusional, talking about Backlash, but this is SmackDown, the House That AJ Styles Built. Keep bragging about what you did to Jericho, but with all due respect, he's no AJ Styles and neither is Owens. So enjoy being the new Face of America while you still can, because you'll never be the Face of SmackDown.
Enter Baron Corbin. He says with all this Backlash talk they're all forgetting one very important name-- SAMI ZAYN BLINDSIDES HIM! AJ ATTACKS OWENS! IT'S A BRAWL! Orton going for the rope-hung DDT but the Singh Brothers save Jinder!
Commentary tells us Becky Lynch vs. Natalya is up next, after the break.
Back from commercial, commentary tells us a main event six-man tag has been put together from everybody in the opening segment.
Carmella, Tamina, and James Ellsworth are in the ring. Jimmy orders the crowd to get on one knee because they don't deserve to stand on the same level as them. Oh, and close your mouths since they don't want to see your teeth. Carmella then gives Natalya a big introduction.
Naomi makes an entrance. She asks London to make some noise and introduces Becky Lynch in a rather large manner herself.
Before the match can get underway, Charlotte Flair comes out. She doesn't need someone to introduce her, because she doesn't need an introduction. Wooo!
The match will begin after the break.
Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
Circling, collar and elbow, Becky goes for an armbar but Nattie immediately goes for the ropes and bails on the break. Baseball slide sends her out when she tries to get back in, she trips Lynch on the apron and follows it with a straight suplex on the floor.
Back in the ring, snapmare, dropkick to the back of the head, Becky to the ropes and Neidhart pulls her back into an abdominal stretch. Lasskicker flips her away, throwing forearms on forearms, Nattie shoves her away and gets the triple lariat combo! Fired up, Straight Fire forearm, Natalya charges into it, rolling solebutt, exploder suplex!
Front chancery, Nattie throwing forearms, backing Lynch in the corner. Springboard kick, Tamina gets on the apron and Naomi counters her! Charlotte yanks Naomi back and in the confusion...
Natalya wins by pinfall.
Commentary hypes up Dolph Ziggler confronting Shinsuke Nakamura as well as a special London edition of the Fashion Files, and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Lana takes time out of her busy schedule of being nasty with folks on Twitter to give us another vignette.
Charlotte is yelling at Naomi, telling her she's the reason Becky lost. Naomi argues back and Becky rolls up to yell at the both of them. Naomi says if Flair keeps it up she's gonna snatch her bald, and Charlotte asks if she's gonna glow on her. Well, no, she just said she's gonna snatch you bald, ma'am. Do pay attention.
Becky says if they keep fighting amongst themselves they're just gonna keep getting their butts handed to them, so they have to out-bond them and have a trios match. Naomi is up for the bonding, no question, but Charlotte's only in because she's the greatest at bonding.
Fashion Files time! Someone has tracked paint or something and Tyler Breeze calls it a real fashion faux pas. Fandango gives him a cheerio, but he already had his breakfast. Fandango says it's lead paint and they follow the trail. Breeze says he doesn't get it, the Uggos haven't worn facepaint in months.
They stop in front of a room where there's a lot of grunting going on and Tyler kicks the door in! It's the Ascension... grunting at each other. Fandango says the Ascension case is back open, and Breeze is getting too old for this shit.
Luke Harper makes his entrance, he'll wrestle Erick Rowan after the break.
Back from commercial in time for Rowan's entrance.
Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper
Rowan in with a kick and forearms in the corner, he dumps Harper to the outside and slides out after but Luke brings it back in the ring. Low superkick, chop, whip reversed, Erick with a shoulder block, drop down into a double chop, charging back elbow! Whip reversed, Rowan with the corner avalanche, Harper returns it with a dropkick!
Erick consults his sheep mask for advice and snaps Luke's neck over the top rope before bringing the fight to him in the ring. Off the ropes, kick to the face, reverse roundhouse, big splash, only two. Rear chinlock applied momentarily, shift to the double-fisted head vise, Harper to his feet with a back suplex for separation.
Forearms, whip reversed, Luke to the outside, elbow combo, slingshot senton, big boot, only good for two. Discus lariat ducked, Rowan goes off the ropes only to get caught by the Truck Stop... NOPE! Setting up the Brodie Bomb but Erick slips away, chokeslam... NO GOOD!
Rowan gets the mask and puts a thumb in Luke's eye while referee Jason Ayers takes it away and puts it back...
Erick Rowan wins by pinfall with a swinging World's Strongest Slam.
Commentary hypes up our main event before cutting to Dolph Ziggler walking back stage-- his confrontation is up next, after the break.
Back from commercial, Dolph Ziggler makes his entrance.
He starts off by calling the crowd hypocrites. Eight long years and it seems like twelve, he's been coming in the ring and doing what he does, sometimes twice a night. He's been world champion, headlined pay-per-views, damnit, he's a movie star. But do any of us appreciate him? (Well, my man TMadeBurner, for one.)
We treat him like a contagious disease, but who DO we cheer for? The crowd starts a big "Nakamura!" chant, obligingly. He says it's hypocritical to cheer a man who's never had a match on SmackDown. His music hits, we lose our mind and we sing along, just like we're supposed to. The crowd does so, helpfully.
Dolph says he suffers for his art in the ring but he sure as hell doesn't call himself the Artist, that's pathetic. He's the strongest man that ever set foot in this ring because everything he did, he did by himself, and he never needed any of us. We never cared, but we sure as hell will now.
He calls Nakamura down, and Shinsuke obligingly makes his entrance and gets in the ring. They have a bit of a staredown and Ziggler tells him to cut the theatrics. It's been almost a month of him sashaying down to the ring, and if he's gonna stand toe-to-toe with Dolph, it's time for him to either put up or--
Shinsuke yanks the mic away and tells Ziggler to shut up. You want to see what he can do? Get a referee, he'll show you, now. Nakamura takes his ring jacket off, referee Dan Engler comes down, they're fired up... and Dolph "nope"s it. They do this when he says so, and he's gonna expose him for the fraud that he is at Backlash.
Dolph throws his jacket at Shinsuke and gets on him with a sleeper! Nakamura fights out, strike rush, knee after knee on the mat! He ducks a lariat, big boot, Ziggler bails! Dolph makes like he's gonna climb back in but, of course, backs off.
Sami Zayn is in the locker room with AJ Styles and Randy Orton babbling about how historic their team-up ais and how they have to win. He wants to discuss strategy, what do Vipers do? They strike hard, they strike fast, and they strike first, Orton's they're heavy artillery.
For AJ, nobody knows KO better than Sami does, so he'll brief Styles later about that, and he wants to get them on the same wavelength. He closes his eyes and visualizes the win, but the other two make a break for it while his eyes are shut and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a video game themed vignette reminding us that the New Day are coming soon.
Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze) vs. the Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)
Fandango and Konnor start, Fandango with a side headlock, Konnor shoves him off, running the ropes, ducking lariats, crossbody for a cover, Konnor whips him into his own corner and Viktor yanks him to the mat by his hair. Elbow drop for one, tag to Viktor, they club Fandango and Viktor locks a reverse chinlock in to keep the fashion cop grounded.
Fandango to his feet, Viktor puts him down, stomps and a knee drop, only two, back to the reverse chinlock. Slips away, tag to Breeze, he cleans house, whip, Viktor kicks him in the chops and uses him to knock Fandango off the apron before climbing for mounted punches. Superkick to the knee, tag to Fandango, Konnor taken care of...
Breezango win by pinfall with the Last Dance from Fandango on Viktor.
Fandango dances on the turnbuckles when the Usos interrupt. They say they're too excited, but they ain't gonna rush the ring yet. In twelve days these tag titles could be theirs, but it ain't going down like that. They're getting beat down, knocked down, slapped out, and so on. They better watch each other's backs, tan, shave, wax, rub, kiss, lick, paint, all manner of things they can do to their backs.
Because in twelve days, they're gonna feel those goosebumps, their heads are gonna feel like they're on a swivel, but it's not paranoia, it's the Usos!
And with a little hype for our main event, we go to break.
Back from commercial we get an ad for the home video release of WrestleMania 33.
Brian Kendrick cuts a promo to hype up 205 Live, admitting that he's impressed by Tozawa taking his lessons so well. But he's got a history lesson for him to remind him who's the teacher.
Mojo Rawley is giving some kids a tour of backstage, and he tells them a story about Andre the Giant. He could talk about his undefeated streak or his legendary battle with Hulk Hogan, but he wants to tell them about a boy who was different. People treated him different and even bullied him, but he took what was different and used it as motivation to become a legend.
Mojo shows them the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in Memory of Andre the Giant trophy and one of the kids asks if they can touch it. Mojo makes like the kid better not break it and the kid kicks him in the shin, but it's all good and he leads the kids elsewhere to continue the tour.
Rusev is cutting a promo about his previous declaration to walk if he doesn't get a title shot at Money in the Bank. He hasn't heard anything about that and he doesn't like it, it's more disrespectful that just turning him down. He wants an answer and he'll get one next week on SmackDown.
We get the heel entrances for our main event, which will begin after the break.
Back from commercial, we get the babyface entrances, naturally.
AJ Styles, Randy Orton, & Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal, & Kevin Owens
Corbin and Styles to start, circling, AJ goes behind, side headlock, Baron just hosses his way out of it but Styles throws some keg kicks. Off the ropes, over his back, the Lone Wolf throws him in the corner, slips outside but AJ tags him with a dropkick and tags Zayn in.
Baron tags Jinder in, circling, kick to the gut, big slap, forearm, shoulder thrusts, Maharaja on a roll. Stomps in passing, whip, springboard leapfrog, off the ropes for the tilt-a-whirl headscissors takeover and Orton wants in so the underdog obliges him, but Mahal tags right out to Owens.
KO jawing at the Viper but Randy has punches for him, whip reversed, lariat ducked, near-RKO and Kev bails as we go to break.
Back from commercial, Corbin has Styles in a test of strength, forcing him into the corner for punches. whip across, AJ catches him, thinking Calf Killer but the Lone Wolf holds the ropes to block and tags Jinder back in. Mahal throwing forearms, whip reversed, dropkick, tag to Zayn.
Owens tags in, putting boots to Sami, but the underdog fights back with punches and chops, slamming KO's head into the turnbuckles before climbing for mounted punches. Lariat blocked, step-up tornado DDT blocked in turn by crotching him on the ropes and Kev puts boots to him once again.
Tag to Corbin, knee lifts, he dumps Sami outside where Jinder takes a few shots before Baron pulls him back in for a nearfall. Half nelson neck crank in, Zayn fighting to his feet, body blows, Corbin with a knee and he tosses the underdog to the apron. Sami smashes his face into the turnbuckle but Baron has a right hand to cut him off on the springboard and tags Mahal back in.
Snapmare, off the ropes for a short dropkick that's only good for two and Jinder locks a rear chinlock on momentarily before shifting to the half nelson neck crank. Sami standing, Jinder forces him in the corner and Owens tags in, pummeling him before locking the reverse chinlock on and grounding the underdog.
The senton connects when Zayn tries to escape and we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Lone Wolf is throwing punches at Sami Zayn's head. A knee lift begets a response, Sami throwing hands desperately but Corbin picks him up and puts him in a neutral corner. Right hand, he knocks Orton off the apron in passing and dumps Sami to the apron. Zayn with a shoulder thrust, slingshot sunset flip blocked but he gets the tag to AJ!
Styles Rush, leaping forearm, hamstring kick, off the ropes, sliding forearm, only two! Drawing Baron up, calling for the Styles Clash but the big man throws him away. On a charge, Calf Killer but KO breaks it up! Orton dumps Owens, Sami dumps Jinder... TOPE CON GIRO!
Corbin back in, back drop to the apron, AJ looking to get back in but Owens catches him and Corbin's able to get a nearfall off the Hot Shot! Right hands, off the ropes, back body drop hits and Styles is in agony but he kicks out. Jinder tags in, off the ropes, knee drop, not even two so he starts laying knees into AJ's back before locking a reverse chinlock on.
AJ gets away but is caught by a jumping knee strike and KO tags in to put boots to him, yelling that it's his title before locking the reverse chinlock in. A mat slam when Styles goes to escape, but he gets behind Owens and hits the back suplex facebuster!
Tag to Orton, lariats on Mahal, he ducks one in return, snap scoop powerslam for him, one for Corbin, shoot kick for KO and he snaps him down with the rope-hung DDT! He stops to remove th Singh Brothers and gets caught. Sami with the Blue Thunder Driver, Corbin with the chokebreaker, AJ with the Pele kick, KO with a lariat, the Viper gets the RKO! But Jinder is legal...
Jinder Mahal wins by pinfall with the cobra clutch slam.
Mahal celebrates with the Singh Brothers on the ramp making belt gestures as Orton looks on.
That's the show, folks.