Smackdown LIVE Hits Back in Superstar Shakeup Part 2
A New Number one Contender is crowned
Monday night we saw Smackdown LIVE loose a great deal of their best talents. The likes of the Miz, Intercontinental champion Dean Ambrose, and Bray Wyatt were amongst the nine that made the move and so last night was so important for the blue brand. They really had to bounce back with some new big names and re-assure fans that the hard work we had seen being put into Smackdown LIVE since the summer of last year hadn't gone to a waste and the future of the brand still looked bright. Thankfully they were able to do just that and I actually ended up enjoying Smackdown LIVE a little more than RAW this week for the sheer reason of how it was put together and how the new superstars were introduced. The opening of the night saw the United States Champion Kevin Owens kick start the show. We all know Owens was going to be making the mover over to Smackdown LIVE after Ambrose was named the newest member of the RAW roster during Mondays show. To be fair, Kevin is someone I have always felt belonged on Smackdown LIVE and seeing him debut last night wasn't a surprise and was in fact one of the decisions over the past two days that I really liked and supported. He automatically gave the show a new feel and it did feel as though it was a fresh start. Cutting a solid promo the former WWE Universal Champion made it clear that Smackdown LIVE was now the Kevin Owens show and cut a promo that sure did get everyone's attention, this involved mocking the crowd and the city he was in and claiming to be the champion and face of America. He was however soon interrupted by a good old favourite of mine in Baron Corbin. I honestly wasn't expecting this at all but I liked it. Straight away the attention was put on the United States championship and that's something we really haven't seen in quite some time. Corbin surprised me also with his mic skills last night and he really did do a fantastic job moving from chasing one title to another and making look as though it made sense. Claiming that after beating Ambrose the IC champ ran away to Monday night RAW and after Ambrose defeated Owens the US Champ ran away to Smackdown LIVE. It was just a good little sequence between the two and an impressive performance from Corbin. The segment wouldn't take long to develop with the arrival of Sami Zayn who announced he too would be joining Smackdown LIVE, another addition that came as no surprise. We all know Sami should have been drafted to Smackdown in the first place last Summer and so it was great to see him where he belongs. AJ Styles soon joined the mix and the opening really was strong as a whole. We were able to take a look at the new state of the Smackdown LIVE roster and get a feel as to who the knew big deals were. All four of these men nailed this opening and I preferred this far more than what we say on Monday. Zayn and Owens were introduced perfectly and fitted in amazingly well. I really do strongly believe that both these men will have a fantastic run on Smackdown LIVE and the future looks bright for the pair of them especially Zayn who hopefully can get a little closer to that big push he more than deserves.That opening did result in a triple threat number one contenders match for the United States Championship between Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, and the phenomenal one, AJ Styles. What I loved about this was the fact that there was once again a lot of attention on the US Championship. For the first time since Cena was champ the title feels like it means something and that its important again. All three of these superstars are such big names and seeing them chase after a title that for far long has been an after thought really is great to see and its as though we are seeing Smackdown LIVE now do exactly what they did with the IC title to the US title in the sense of building it back up and making it feel validated once again. Now, the winner of last nights triple threat would be facing the winner of the Chris Jericho/ Kevin Owens United States championship match in three weeks time at the Payback pay per view. The main event last night was without a shadow of a doubt the match of the night. I wanted to stay awake and watch the match (witch says a lot considering the majority of the time I don't bother especially with RAW shows). It was nice to see a match that actually meant something main event instead of a random tag team match between the biggest names on the roster. Again, it was a great way to introduce Zayn to the roster and put the spotlight on the US Championship. Every single one of these men made an impact and brought something different to the match and its that that made this match so much more entertaining and strong. There were no weak links and everyone had a role. I also found it difficult to pick a winner. This wasn't a predicable match at all and you guys know I loved that. It meant that I was sat on the edge of my seat wondering who was going to take the win. In the end it was AJ Styles who picked up the victory after what was a really strong main event. It didn't feel as though either Corbin or Zayn would suffer from the loss after both just looked so strong.
Shinsuke Nakamura Kick Starts his Debut Main roster feud
Shinsuke Nakamura is without a shadow of a doubt one of the biggest talking points in wrestling today and has been since his arrival in the WWE last year when he joined NXT. A little over a year later and he's the man no one can stop talking about over on Smackdown LIVE. His arrival last week was huge and one of the highlights of Wrestlemania week. this year. He had everyone talking and was the new big name the roster the needed. I know so many people were disappointed with the fact that he didn't actually do anything but as most of you will know by now he did compete against Dolph Ziggler on his debut night but the match wasn't aired. During this weeks show the pair kick started their feud and I'm actually pretty damn excited. I'm not a Ziggler fan, I never have been but I do prefer his work as a heel and I think this could be really good. Both these men are fantastic in ring performers and if they were to be given twenty plus minuets in the ring regardless of how strong or weak the actual storyline is they could very very easily put on a match of the year worthy bout. I enjoyed what we saw from the two last night and Nakamura's reaction was as big as ever. He really is one of the most over men in wrestling today.Tamina Snuka Returns & Charlotte Flair Arrives on Smackdown LIVE
I said it in yesterdays blog post but the the best thing to come out of the Superstar Shakeup was the good it did for the women's division over on Monday night RAW. The arrival of Mickie James and two time Smackdown LIVE Womens champion Alexa Bliss really did give the division the shake up that it needed and has really helped the women over there. It did however mean that Smackdown LIVE were down two women and during the show last night Shane McMahon came down to the ring to address the state of the Women's division on the blue brand and after inviting all the women on the roster out to join him in the ring he took it amongst himself to introduce the arrival of two new women to Smackdown LIVE. First up and a lovely surprise was Tamina. Now, I'll be honest, I've never been the worlds biggest Tamina fan. I haven't really every enjoyed her work but she does come from an amazing wrestling family and she has always been someone we all know has amazing potential all she has needed is the platform to showcase that. Smackdown LIVE really is the land of opportunity and I strongly believe that she is going to be perfectly fine over on the blue brand. It is without a shadow of a doubt the right show for her. I really do feel as though she will actually have strong run and finally find her place on the roster. She's a very experienced superstar and has a lot to bring to the table. She's different and there's no other women like her on the roster. She didn't get the biggest reaction of the night but the online response to her return was strong and we're all hoping she gets her moment and brings something exciting to the Smackdown LIVE Womens division, not to mention Shane's introduction for her was fantastic. She was soon joined by former four time RAW women's Champion Charlotte. While Tamina's return was a touch of a surprise we all expected Charlotte to make the move to the blue brand and she sure did get the pop that she deserves. Whether you love her or hate her Charlotte Flair is a phenomenal WWE Superstar, an all round package and she is sure to bring something amazing to the women's division on Smackdown. Both arrivals went down really well and there really is a different feel to the show with the arrival of these two women. Both having a similar background and both sure to be looking to get their eyes on the championship the next few months are going to be interesting and sure to watch when it comes to these two.More RAW Superstars are Set to Arrive on Smackdown LIVE
Last nights show was certainly done a little differently to what we saw on Monday over on RAW and I really did like that. At the start of the show we saw the arrivals of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and then of course Tamina and Charlotte and as the night progressed we learnt that several other superstars from Monday night RAW would me making the move to Smackdown LIVE. This includes Sin Cara ( I honestly have no idea why on earth and who on earth thought this was a good decision but I get it, we need a masked man on Smackdown LIVE), Jinder Mahal who competed in a one on one match against Mojo Rawley that left me having side eye the entire time just because of Mojo (yes, I still strongly dislike him), The New Day who didn't make an appearance on that show which I actually did really like. There was no need to shove everyone onto one show like we saw last night and instead it gives us something to look forward to. The Smackdown LIVE tag team division is something that I have been talking about a lot recently for all the wrong reasons. We all know that there has been issues in the tag team division. The lack of competition has meant that the roster has felt weak and the blue brand has been desperate for new teams. The New Day will be a perfect fit and are exactly what they need. We also saw Primo and Epico debut for Smackdown LIVE also last night. I'll be honest, I have zero interest in these two and you're going to need a damn miracle to get these two over. I would have much preferred to have seen the Club or Enzo and Cass take their place but I''m going to sit here miserable for a bit and then run with it. We also learnt that Rusev would also be joining the Smackdown LIVE roster. This was probably my favourite switch of the night. Rusev is a main event star and its time the WWE started treated him like one. I strongly believe he will get the treatment he deserves on the blue brand and this is something to be really excited about. Talking of things to be excited about we also got the news that Lana would too be moving to Smackdown LIVE and begin actually wrestling (properly this time). If you have been reading my blog for long enough or even following me you will know that I have wanted to see Lana wrestler and start he singles career as a wrestler for quite some time and I really do look forward to this. Also, Byron Saxton has joined the Smackdown LIVE announce team while David moves over to RAW.I really enjoyed both Smackdown LIVE and Monday night RAW this week and with a fresh start and new names on each brands the next couple of months will really show which is the stronger brand and if the decisions made this week were the right ones. If last nights show is anything to go by I really do believe that Smackdown LIVE will be ok despite losing such big names and the future does look promising for the new stars of the blue brand. As always you can let me know what you thought of both shows by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.
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