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SmackDown Live returns tonight (Aug. 13) from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the final night in Ontario and SmackDown’s fallout from Sunday’s SummerSlam.
The Headliner:
One of the disappointing moments at the SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) was the non-finish between WWE champion Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton.
Instead of getting a definitive finish, it ended in a double count out when the men started fighting outside the ring because Orton started taunting Kofi’s family. This ensures that the feud will continue.
In retrospect, we should have expected this. The build to this feud was limited. There was one in ring segment and two video packages. That’s pretty slim when it comes to a program involving one of the top prizes in the company, especially given the history they’ve been drawing on. It was a fine feud. but it felt lacking.
That’s because it was just the beginning.
Now that we know this is going to go longer, we have to wonder how long that is? It will at least go until Clash of (the) Champions on September 15. But now that we know this is going long, my money is on it going all the way until Hell in a Cell in October.
One reason is just the pattern of WWE. Usually, a feud that isn’t just a one and done feud extends three PPVs. And with Hell in a Cell, they need to start thinking about stories that actually deserve that stipulation. This is a good candidate.
They have the history that stems back ten years. Then on Sunday, they had Kofi go nuts because Randy taunted Kingston’s family, adding more of a personal aspect to it.
If they finish it in Hell in a Cell, they means their inevitable Clash of Champions match is going to be used to extend the feud. Perhaps that will be another non-finish. Or perhaps Randy will win the title so Kofi could win it back inside the Cell.
We’ll have to wait and see the way it goes. If they’re going to extend this feud for three months, they’ll need to make sure not to let it drag.
The Championship Picture:
Ember Moon wants another chance at Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s championship. But does she really deserve it? She lost clean, and while it was a good match, there’s nothing there to continue it. Unfortunately, outside Charlotte, there aren’t any credible challengers for Bayley’s belt that feel legit. Everyone else will need to be built up prior to feeling like a real contender.
The New Day did not have a match for the SmackDown tag team championships at SummerSlam and there aren’t any obvious teams to challenge them.
It was looking like Ali was going to challenge for Shinsuke Nakamura’s Intercontinental title, but then Ali went and quickly lost to Dolph Ziggler, who was then utterly humiliated by Goldberg on Sunday and then by Miz yesterday. So Ali’s not really positioned for that title shot any more.
With Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross the Women’s tag team champions, it’s possible we’ll see those belts represented on TV more often.
Other things to keep an eye on:
- Buddy Murphy vs. Roman Reigns, a match stemming from the “Who attacked Roman?” story, is a match I’m low key very excited for.
- On the other side of that story, Rowan is very angry that he was accused (wrongfully?) by Buddy Murphy for being the perpetrator.
- Kevin Owens’ victory over Shane McMahon didn’t ensure the commissioner would be leaving our TVs. So we’ll probably hear some excuses for taking the L on Sunday.
What will we be CN tonight in Toronto? Tune into SmackDown Live to find out.