WWE SmackDown returned last night (Sept. 5) from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. You can find all the results at the live blog here.
DRAMA!
While the big main event was Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Randy Orton in a #1 contenders match, that wasn’t the story of the show. No, instead that went to Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon.
The show opened with Carmella and good ol’ James Ellsworth about to cut a promo. Standard fare... but then Kevin Owens immediately came out. He was out to take the referee’s shirt to officiate their match like he did last week. And that would have been fun enough. Kevin Owens Rogue Referee is hilarious in its own right. But instead, they headed up the Shane McMahon/KO feud to a boil.
Shane came out, shutting down Kevin Owens’ referee plans immediately. Rightfully so too. Kevin Owens may speak truth at times but his character right now is no more than a petulant child who didn’t get his way. (In the best way possible of course.)
And the Prizefighter did speak truth for awhile. He blamed Shane for not being US champion and he’s not completely wrong in that regard. Then he started ripping into McMahon for being a glory hound who uses his position on SmackDown to give himself a spotlight. While not entirely true, there are certainly fans out there who could nod their head in agreement.
Owens then kicked it into the next gear, telling Shane that all of his antics, from jumping off Hell in a Cell to surviving a helicopter crash, were all to get his dear old dad’s attention.
At this point, we could all say “OK, Kevin is getting a bit personal here.” But we’d be wrong. Because he had just begun. He went onto say everyone would be better off if Shane didn’t survive that helicopter crash, including his father, his wife, and his children.
That was it. Shane snapped. And rightfully so! This insubordinate that has been a thorn in his side had wished death upon him and invoked his wife and children, something Shane warned him about minutes earlier.
As Shane O’Mac beat the hell out of his employee, referees and GM Daniel Bryan came out. Bryan was incensed with his boss, knowing that Shane put them in a bad position.
And that’s true. Because what was Owens response? He told Daniel Bryan backstage that he’s suing the hell out of them, which is always the biggest heel response in pro wrestling, even if it’d be totally reasonable in real life.
This was threaded throughout the first half of the show until Bryan got a phone call from the Chairman of the Board, who instructed him to take care of some business in public.
Daniel reluctantly went to the ring, called Shane to join him, and then after a good back and forth between two men who understood the other’s position, Bryan informed Shane that Vince is suspending him indefinitely.
The best part about that was it’s completely on brand for Vince not just to have someone else suspend his son, but to make him do it in public since humiliating his son is how Vince gets his jollies. Great stuff. (My man ReverendKain had a great point that Bryan “Should have done the big ‘YOU'RE FIRED!’ and then be like ‘sorry man, he told me I HAD to say it that way. No choice.’ “
At the end of the show, Bryan informed KO that next week, Vince will be on SmackDown to address the situation.
This was a great angle. Kevin Owens, while making a couple points, still came off looking like the villain because he wished death on a man and then played the victim. Shane reacted poorly for a man in charge, but KO took it far enough that his actions are understandable. And Daniel Bryan was put in a horrible position. I love that he made a point to say he was more concerned that KO’s lawsuit could cost people their jobs than any lawsuit Shane could have to deal with.
Great stuff all around.
New #1 Contender
The main event of the night was Randy Orton vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the right to face Jinder Mahal for the WWE title.
Nakamura defeated Randy with the Kinshasa knee.
Say what you will about Nakamura’s main roster run, and it hasn’t been without issue, Shinsuke defeated John Cena and Randy Orton within a month of each other. Despite both guys putting others over more, that’s a big deal.
As the match started, Byron Saxton ran down a couple similarities between the two men, such as the fact they were the youngest to hold major titles and the face they’ve both been working for 15 years. The one similarity he left out was that both men can put on a damn good match... if they’re motivated enough to do so.
Luckily, they seemed up to that task tonight. The last five minutes was a fun back and forth, with Shinsuke trying to avoid the RKO at all costs. He reversed the Viper’s finisher into a arm bar once and a backstabber another. He avoided the lethal RKO but Randy couldn’t avoid the equally lethal Kinshasa. 1-2-3.
Now Shinsuke has another date with Jinder Mahal. Unfortunately, I find myself more interested the matches Nakamura has to earn a title shot than the actual title matches.
All the Rest:
Dumb ol’ Jimmy Dream
After dumb James Ellsworth continued to be dumb, almost costing Carmella her briefcase and costing her a match with Natty, Carm cruelly kicked her tagalong to the curb.
Later on, Jimmy Dream pleaded with Carmella to take him back. That is totally part of his character model. That’s what he did with Dean Ambrose last year. He can’t be alone. Ellsworth absolutely knows if he wants to stay alive in WWE, he needs to latch on to someone.
She agreed, but said they’re doing things her way. Then she kissed him, following it by immediately slapping him. Just messing with him? I don’t know. What I do know is Natalya and Naomi are having a title match next week. Does “her way” end with Carmella walking out with the title?
What a Dolph-bag
Dolph Ziggler is a douchebag. He’s all upset that fans like other, more exciting wrestlers and not him. So he was a complete D and emulated entrances like John Cena’s, Macho Man Randy Savage’s, and even Naomi’s. He ended it by telling the fans that we make him sick.
Looks like they’ve completely embraced how some really feel about Dolph and made it his character. He was SUCH a good dickhead here, that I’m all about seeing people kick the tar out of him. Starting with Naomi.
He’s a cheater!
Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger in a match that stemmed from their issues last week. Corbin used a screen from the ref to nail a dirty punch, which AJ Styles, who was watching on commentary, was not a fan of.
Styles felt that Tye got screwed the last two weeks and told him next week, the US open challenge is only open to the Perfect 10. I’m sure Corbin won’t get involved.
Let the man sing!
Aiden English defeated Sami Zayn... clean. I’m sure that will make plenty of people unhappy, but I’m a big English fan, so I’m cool with it.
After the match, Aiden went to sing the song that he wanted to prior when Sami interrupted him. Sore loser Sami chased him off.
This was one of their strongest episodes in awhile. The Shane/KO story was really great tonight and the title match ended up being fun. It was a really enjoyable show.
Grade: A-
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