WWE Smackdown LIVE Highlights
Carmella Makes a Stand
This past Sunday the WWE hosted the two thousand and seventeen Money in the Bank pay per view and the historic night saw the first ever women's money in the bank ladder match. In the weeks building up to the show everyone spoke of how important this match was for the company, the female superstars competing and women's wrestling as a whole. I personally spent a great deal of time making predictions and talking about the importance of this historic match and so when the time finally rolled around and it was time for the women to take center stage I was beyond excited. This was hands down one of the matches I most anticipated and I genuinely could not wait for the action to kick start. Now, the match itself was pretty solid. The entire thing would have been a heck of a lot stronger than it was if they had been given more time but these women truly did prove that they can hang with the men and as far as the action goes it really did prove that this should be a regular thing and the WWE can trust its female talent to deliver in a match of this caliber annually. What's so sad is that fans haven't actually been talking about what we saw in the match instead everyone has been completely thrown off by the end result and how Carmella walked away with the victory. Even I haven't spent enough time actually talking about the competitive action throughout this match which honestly is such a shame. We have all been so distracted by the ending and the actions of James Ellsworth and while I hate that I'm talking about it again it has to be done. Now, I can see both sides of this situation. On the one hand I can completely understand why the WWE did what they did. Ellsworth climbing the ladder to retrieve the briefcase for Carmella gave the pair some serious heat. The WWE have been doing and trying everything in their power to get Carmella over, to have get pick up some kind of reaction from the fans, what we saw at the Money in the Bank pay per view did just that, it got people talking. When she came out last night in the opening of Smackdown LIVE she got nuclear heat. For the first time since her main roster call up she was receiving a genuine passionate reaction from the crowd and it proved a point. However, what I hate is the fact that the WWE had to resort to insulting women's wrestling to do so. To save going on another rant however, lets keep things positive and I have to say that Carmella really was a huge talking point last night for all the right reasons. I still hate how she originally won the women's Money in the bank ladder match however, she came out last night and delivered one killer promo. The WWE had given her time and a mic and she took full advantage. A passionate promo put her on notice and everyone in the arena and at home had their eyes firmly on the Ms Money in the bank. This was hands down Carmella's best mic work and was exactly what she needed. In the space of forty eight hours she went from getting next to no reaction to the biggest heel in the women's divison and if you were live tweeting during the show last night you would have seen that she really was the biggest talking point. I really do hope that the WWE can keep giving her this push and work on the momentum they have already started allowing her to have. She's finally getting a reaction and after her mic work last night I know that I personally defiantly want to see more of Carmella.
The Kevin Owens United States Championship Open Challenge
So the past couple of weeks have been pretty difficult for the current United States Champion, Kevin Owens. In all fairness he has managed to find himself competing in some solid matches and his performance this past Sunday at the Money in the Bank ladder match truly was a strong and impressive one. However, it's also been a while since he has picked up a strong meaningful singles victory and he desperately is in need of momentum and fresh feud heading into Summer Slam in August. During last nights show it looked as though things would be turning for Owens and with the Money int he bank ladder match out the way he was now able to focus on a singles story and a fresh new start with the United States championship once again becoming his number one priority. Owens did come out and cut a little promo that worked to his advantage. It reminded us all how much of a strong heel he actually is and an all around entertaining superstar. I a little surprised to see the WWE not focus on the fact that Nakamura has got a couple of pin fall victories over the champ and instead AJ Styles came out to face Owens when the champ announced the start of an open challenge for the US title. Of course, Kevin was not about to put his championship on the line against the phenomenal one making it clear that the open challenge was exclusive to local competitors which resulted in Chad Gable making an appearance and accepting the open challenge after recently moving to the area. Now, I actually haven't thought about American Alpha in a very long time and so when the their music hit last night it was a total surprise and for a moment I had to remind myself who the theme belonged to. Now, you guys know I freaking love Jason Jordan and Chad Gable and I am hoping that within the next six months they can find their feet again and start making an impact. Their presence really is needed in the tag team divison here on Smackdown LIVE. Now, it was interesting seeing Gable work a singles title match and while we all knew he wouldn't be walking away wit the victory it was nice seeing a rare kind of match and seeing Gable get some TV time. The sheer surprise factor of the contender being Gable really did make this one of my favourite moments of the night and I'm so glad this is what was booked. Of course, Owens picked up the win retaining his championship but what we can take away from this is the likely hood of us now seeing a feud for the United States championship between current champ Kevin Owens and former WWE champion, AJ Styles. This is a feud I honestly cannot wait to see and their up and coming singles matches for that title are bound to be must see and main event material. Hopefully, this also means we edge one step closer to Nakamura VS Styles which lets be honest is what we are all waiting for. There is a part of me that also feels as though the WWE could book a triple threat between Nakamura, Styles and Owens for the title at SummerSlam. While a singles match with Nakamura and Styles would be epic and what we all truly want, the WWE like to fit as many superstars on this card as they can and a triple threat may just be the way here. Regardless,I'm totally interested and invested in this growing storyline/feud and I cannot wait to see where it goes next.
Can Jinder Cope with the Huge Target on his Back?
During Sunday's Money in the Bank pay per view we saw Jinder Mahal defend his WWE Championship against former Champion Randy Orton in what was actually a pretty decent match. Far better than their previous collision at the Backlash pay per view the pair actually worked really well together to put on a match that left me on the edge of my seat at times and I did really like the story being told throughout the match and while it was pretty predicable I was still entertained. As a big Jinder fan I was of course over the moon to see him pick up the victory on Sunday and retain his championship. In previous posts I have mentioned how much I really want to see him walk into Summer Slam as the WWE Champion and I am planning on writing a full post explaining why. so keep an eye out for that over the next few weeks. Following his huge second straight victory over Randy Orton, Jinder walked into Smackdown LIVE and his main event match up against Luke Harper full of confidence and momentum. Last nights main event was okay, I was a little sleepy so i struggled to really enjoy the match but I liked the booking. While Harper was never going to walk away with the victory he was over last night and he has a solid performance reminding us all why he deserves better. I really am hoping that the WWE find something strong for Harper. He really is such a brilliant talent and there is totally a story waiting for him the WWE just need to invest time in him. Now, what last nights main event did do is highlight just how much pressure the champ is under with a huge target on his back. Towards the ending of this match the new Mr Money in the bank's music hit and it was only a matter of time before Corbin was circling the ring with his briefcase telling Jinder he's in his head. Brilliant. Corbin really did play those mind games perfectly last night and I wast watching this think yes, this is exactly what he should be doing. He really is finding what works for his character and owning and last night really proved why he was one hundred percent the right choice for the two thousand and seventeen money in the bank win. After picking up the win last night against Harper Jinder was attacked by Orton which honestly did come as a surprise. I was hoping that the WWE would move away from this feud and give them both something new but the attack was a good way to close the show and it worked, showing just how much pressure Jinder is now under as champion further into his reign. I do still want to see Orton feud with Mike Kanellis but I am interested in seeing what next week holds for all three of these superstars.
Huge Matches announced for next weeks Show
Smackdown LIVE right now is the home of women's wrestling. This is the place to be if you are a women in the world of pro wrestling. It's crazy seeing just how big the difference is between how women are treated on Monday night and Smackdown LIVE. This past Monday the female talent were given around five to ten minuets if that and I honestly didn't have much of an interest at all in what we saw there while over on Smackdown LIVE the women are genuinely coming across as though they are just as important as the male talent. Throughout the night the divison was the most talked about with the women constantly on our TV screen all night long. It felt as though they were the main attraction and the crowd and everyone at home was completely invested in everything we were being shown. Now, during the show two huge announcements were made in regards to the women's divison. First up, a backstage segment saw Naomi grant Lana another championship opportunity for next weeks show. I am looking forward to this match. What we saw from them this past Sunday wasn't the best but I do think they could deliver a better match during the show next week.
After hearing from all the women that competed in Sunday's women's money in the bank ladder match Smackdown LIVE general Manager Daniel Bryan finally came to a conclusion on what he was going to to in regards to the whole situation. Bringing all the competitors out to the ring he announced that no rule had actually been broken because there are no ruled in a money in a bank ladder match. However, this was a historic women's match won by a man and that wasn't going to go down so after shutting Ellsworth up Bryan stripped Carmella of the money in the bank briefcase and announced that during next weeks show a second women's money in the bank ladder match will take place next week hopefully in the main event. Totally the right decision and the way it was done and the way the story was told throughout the night, it was well received and I genuinely cannot wait for next weeks show and this match. I am hoping that Carmella still picks up the win. She is still the right women to hold the briefcase and I hope she can prove a point and get the win next week on her own. Just to note, James Ellsworth has been banned from ringside for this match.
Overall Thoughts
As I mentioned over on twitter last night I really really enjoyed this weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE. I thought everything was done right, the booking made sense, there was plenty to enjoy and nothing I really had a problem with. Shinsuke Nakamura and Dolph Ziggler had the match of the night, the women's divison was a heavy focus point, and we had plenty to enjoy and looking forward to looking ahead. Maria and Mike did have an appearance that didn't air on TV but I'm hoping we see them on the show next week. As always, any recent blog posts will be linked bellow including my Monday night RAW highlights post from yesterday and finally, you can let me know what you thought of last nights show by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
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