SmackDown on Fox Episode #7
SmackDown Episode # 1,056
Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
11/15/19
The show opens with a video package covering everything that happened last week between King Corbin and Roman Reigns including the terrible promo that opened last week’s show.
Just like last week, we get the show starting out with yet another King Corbin promo, except this time he is carried to the ring on a Sedan and is joined by the two men who assisted him last week Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. Corbin once again talks trash about Roman Reigns and says that he is the new captain of Team SmackDown. Ziggler and Roode talk about how Ali and Shorty G are weak links to the team and that they only got on the team in the first place because they had been hanging around Roman Reigns lately, they will beat Ali and Shorty G tonight and take their place on Team SmackDown. King Corbin invites Reigns to ringside which leads to a guy in a bulldog mascot uniform coming out to the ring.
I hated that we got yet another boring promo from Corbin to start the show with the same shitty material as last week except for this week he has Roode, Ziggler, & a bulldog mascot that served zero purposes by his side. At least have it be Reigns inside the costume or let the mascot take a bump, then at least it would serve some purpose for why it is there. Why was the mascot a bulldog instead of a chihuahua since that is what Corbin accused Reigns of sounding like last week? I feel like this feud could make me regret wanting to review SmackDown every week, but don’t worry as I will continue to review the show no matter how bad it gets.
We go to commercial and when we come back it’s time for our first match.
Match #1: Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode w/ King Corbin vs Shorty G & Mustafa Ali
(If Roode & Ziggler win they take Ali & Shorty G’s place on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series)
Shorty G and Roode start the match with Roode getting control early on until Shorty works his way out of a wrist lock and takes Roode down with a drop toe hold. Shorty hits a couple of arm drags before Roode decks him with a right and tags in Ziggler. Ziggler tries for a neck breaker but Shorty counters and hits an arm drag on Ziggler before tagging in Ali. Ali works over the arm of Ziggler momentarily until Ziggler gets into the ropes and kicks Ali. Ali hits a hurricanrana on Ziggler and follows up with the rolling X-Factor for a 2 count. Ziggler is able to make the tag to Roode and works over Ali in the corner for a while and just as it looks like Ali is going to make a comeback, he is distracted by Corbin at ringside which allows Roode to knock Ali off the apron, sending him flying into the announce table. Corbin celebrates at ringside but the celebration is soon interrupted as Roman Reigns makes his way down to ringside to even the odds as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and we see Corbin and Reigns mouthing off to each other at ringside while Roode and Ziggler are trying to double team Ali but he fights them off momentarily, just when it looks like Ali is going to make the tag Ziggler runs back in and hits a fameasser on Ali for a 2 count. Ziggler signals for the superkick but instead he eats one of his own courtesy of Ali. Both Ziggler and Ali make hot tags and Shorty is cleaning house as he hits a running capo kick in the corner followed by a neck breaker. Shorty hits Roode with a moonsault for a 2 count and then tries for the Chaos Theory, but Roode holds onto the ropes and Ziggler makes a blind tag. Roode and Ziggler hit their spinebuster and Zig Zag combo that gets a 2 count when Ali breaks it up at the very last second. Ziggler hits a superkick on Ali knocking him off the apron and then tries to hit one on Shorty but Shorty catches his leg and puts him in the ankle lock only for Roode to break it moments later.
Roode signals to Corbin to hand him the scepter but as he does Reigns hits Corbin with a Drive-By. Roode sends Reigns into the announce table and then turns around to get hit with a tope suicida from Ali and then Reigns hits a Spear on Corbin. Ziggler tries to roll-up Shorty but he kicks out and then Shorty hits the Chaos Theory followed by a 450 from Ali (who made a blind tag) to get the win.
Winners: Shorty G & Mustafa Ali via Pinfall Match Rating: **¾
This match was better on my second watch (yes I watch twice in order to properly review the show) than it was when I first watched it. Corey got in a funny line about Shorty G vanquishing the Monstars and falling in love with Lola Bunny since he looks like a basketball player.
There is an edition of Firefly Funhouse where Bray turns the Universal Championship from red to blue so everyone knows that it is now a SmackDown championship.
Braun Strowman comes to the ring and is set to face the trio of Drew Gulak and the B-Team, but before it starts Gulak tries to show Strowman a slideshow of why he would be better for Team SmackDown than Strowman would. Strowman destroys the B-Team as Gulak escapes unharmed.
If I hadn’t been told already I would have no idea that Braun Strowman was part of Team SmackDown as he didn’t have any involvement with any of his teammates, although that’s probably best as we don’t need Strowman dragged into this horrible feud between Corbin and Reigns.
Daniel Bryan is walking backstage before he is stopped by Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura, once again Zayn tries to get Bryan to join them, but Bryan flat out denies Zayn’s attempts this time. Bryan suggests that Zayn try to recruit Braun Strowman which causes Zayn to run down Strowman only to find out he is standing behind him the entire time.
Match #2: The New Day © vs The Revival (SmackDown Tag Team Championships)
Kingston and Wilder start the match going toe to toe until Kingston goes for a jumping back elbow only to be caught by Wilder who sends him off to Dawson who suplexes Kingston across the top rope for a 2 count and then Dawson hits a northern lights suplex for another 2 count. Dawson sets Kingston up on the top rope looking for a superplex but Kingston fights him off sending Dawson down to the mat and then hitting him with a missile dropkick. Kingston tries to make the hot tag to Big E but is cut off by Wilder who hits him with a power slam for a 2 count as we go to commercial.
As we come back from break Kingston hits Wilder with a belly to back suplex but yet again The Revival with their excellent teamwork cut the ring off so Kingston can’t make the tag. Dawson hits a neck breaker and goes for a top rope elbow but Kingston moves and this finally allows Kingston to make the hot tag to Big E. Big E hits a couple of overhead belly to belly suplexes followed by a side belly to belly suplex. Big E grinds them hips and goes for the big splash but Wilder gets his knees up. Wilder makes the tag to Dawson who runs into a uranage out of the corner for 2. Dawson tags Wilder back in and he hits a tornado DDT on Big E for 2. Wilder shows off his strength by picking up Big E on his shoulders, but Big E slides out the back and we get a double down with Wilder and Big E.
Big E makes the tag and Kingston hits Dawson with a dropkick off the top and then dives out onto The Revival with the trust fall. New Day looks for the Midnight Hour but Wilder stops that from happening as he hits Kingston in mid-air. Dawson hits Big E with the Arn Anderson style DDT for a 2 count. The Revival looks to hit the double draping DDT which they learned from Orton but Big E backdrops them to the floor. Big E launches Kingston from inside the ring onto The Revival at ringside, but they catch Kingston and send him into the ring post and then they hit a double back suplex on Big E onto the announce table which they also learned from Randy Orton. The Revival gets Big E back into the ring and hit the Shatter Machine only for Kingston to fly into the ring out of nowhere to break up a pin attempt. All four men are down when The Undisputed Era show up and attack both teams.
Winners: No Contest Match Rating: ***½
Fish and O’Reilly give Wilder the high and low while Cole and Strong hit a superkick and jumping knee combo on Big E. Dawson then gets hit with the high and low which sends members of the SmackDown locker room out to make the save and chase off the Undisputed Era.
As great as last week’s match was between these two teams this one was even better and they were given two additional minutes that they didn’t get last week. I would like to see these two teams get a PPV match that lasts 12-15 minutes and let them tear the house down. It was a bummer we didn’t get a clean winner but it makes sense to keep both teams hot while also pushing the NXT invasion storyline at the same time. I still have to wonder what Adam Cole is doing at Survivor Series since the other members of Undisputed Era have matches already, I’m guessing he will be the team captain for the NXT men’s team.
Match #3: Heavy Machinery vs Kevin Tibbs & Kip Stevens
Otis throws Stevens across the ring which leads to him tagging in Kevin Tibbs, Tibbs tries for a sunset flip and Stevens tries for a crossbody but Otis catches Stevens and slams him onto Tibbs. Otis tags in Tucker and they hit simultaneous stalling vertical suplexes. The jobbers try for a double clothesline on Tucker but he breaks through and takes them both down with a running crossbody. Tucker clotheslines Stevens out of his boots and then smashes Tibbs in the corner with an avalanche. Tucker tags in Otis who hits a Caterpillar on Tibbs and then they hit the Compactor on Stevens to pick up an easy win.
Winners: Heavy Machinery via Pinfall Match Rating: ¼*
Nothing here to talk about except for Corey taking a shot at Billy Gunn by asking Cole if he had ever met a tough guy named Kip which is Gunn’s shoot name.
Sasha Banks and the SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley are interviewed by Kayla Braxton. Kayla asks Bayley about her attacks on Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler earlier this week, Bayley says that Becky and Shayna will never think of her as an afterthought again, every time she gets in the ring it’s personal because it’s all about her and that beating people brings her joy so it’s going to make her happy to crush Nikki Cross’s dreams. Sasha follows up by saying that Nikki doesn’t deserve to be on Team SmackDown because both Bayley and Sasha have beat her over the last few weeks. Bayley says that maybe she will join Team SmackDown and the two of them can beat Team Raw and Team NXT.
Last week I said that I am enjoying heel Bayley but in addition to it being a great change of character and showing off a different side of her, it has also somehow made her a lot more hachi machi I guess it has something to do with the bad girl/bad guy always being more attractive than the good girl/good guy also the fact they are letting her wear street clothes may have something to do with it as well.
It is announced that next week we are getting a six-man tag match featuring Roman Reigns, Shorty G, & Mustafa Ali going against the team of King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, & Robert Roode.
Bayley and Nikki Cross are having their scheduled match against each other but it doesn’t last long before Bayley spots Shayna Baszler and tries to escape through the crowd, but when she does other members of the women’s NXT locker room come up behind her and Rhea Ripley slams Bayley on the floor. Sasha attacks Shayna from behind and this leads to a brawl between the SmackDown and NXT women’s rosters. Shayna and Bayley fight to the back and Tamina, Sonya Deville, & Mandy Rose follow them leaving eight women to compete in the next match.
Match #4: Team SmackDown (Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, & Nikki Cross) vs Team NXT (Rhea Ripley, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, & Dakota Kai)
Nikki and Dakota start things off with Dakota beating down Nikki until Nikki comes back with a running crossbody. Dakota tags in Mia who enters the ring and gets arm dragged by Nikki, Nikki hollers for Carmella to make the tag. Carmella and Mia trade wrist locks before Mia takes control by hitting a big chop to the chest of Carmella. Carmella dodges a Yakuza kick in the corner by Mia and then shows off by moonwalking across the ring, Mia and Carmella trade kick attempts before Carmella successfully connects with a kick to the gut. Carmella is building momentum as she kicks Tegan off the apron while holding Mia in a front face lock until Mia slams her to the mat to break that momentum. Mia tags in Tegan who stomps a mudhole in Carmella before tagging Dakota back in, Dakota sweeps the leg of Carmella and then whips Tegan in her direction so she can hit Carmella with the inverted cannonball. Tegan goes for the cover but forgets that she had tagged in Dakota and is no longer the legal woman, this allows Carmella to have enough time to kick out at 2. Tegan is working over Carmella as Mia talks trash to her with a smile on her face. Carmella is finally able to make the hot tag to Sasha who goes for the running Meteora but Tegan counters it into a roll-up for 2. Rhea gets tagged in and we get a staredown between Rhea and Sasha before Sash slaps Rhea and then tries for a tornado DDT, but Rhea blocks it and powers Sasha up so she can hit a vertical suplex on The Boss. We get a sequence where Rhea and Sash keep countering each other until Sasha is able to lock in the Bank Statement but Rhea rolls through and then both women knock some of their opposing team members off the apron. This brings all eight women into the ring as we go to commercial.
Back from commercial and it’s Rhea and Nikki in the ring. Rhea kicks Sasha off the apron and then Nikki comes off the middle rope with a crossbody and returns the favor as she knocks Rhea’s teammates off the apron. Nikki hits an avalanche on Rhea in the corner and as she does Dakota is back on the apron to make a blind tag. Nikki hits a belly to back suplex on Dakota and goes for the pin which gets broken up by Tegan who hits Nikki with the Shiniest Wizard, this leads to a sequence where all the women hit their finishers. Dakota hits Nikki with a Scorpion kick and then tries for a suplex, but Nikki blocks it and hits The Purge out of nowhere to get the win for Team SmackDown.
Winners: Team SmackDown via Pinfall Match Rating: ***
After the match all the women start brawling again as Team SmackDown send Team NXT retreating back through the crowd.
From the Bayley and Sasha interview all the way to the NXT women leaving through the crowd I loved everything about these three segments involving the women. There were so many talented women that were involved here (except Tamina) and it just shows how much depth there is to the women’s roster that stands underneath the WWE umbrella and this didn’t even include all the women down in NXT or any of the women from Raw. The fact that they have that many talented women in their company and they can’t give them and their fans just one night every year dedicated solely to them is such a damn shame and a great injustice to all the hard work they put in all year. I can’t wait for the two women’s matches at Survivor Series as the 15 woman tag should be a lot of fun and the triple threat has a chance to steal the show. Rhea would later state on Twitter that the she and the women on her WarGames match came to SmackDown to get retribution on Bayley for stepping into their home and not to help out Shayna.
It’s now time for Miz TV with his guest Daniel Bryan. The Miz asks Bryan about being attacked by The Fiend and talks about how Daniel Bryan isn’t the same person that he was a decade ago, Miz questions which Daniel Bryan we are currently getting. Bryan lets Miz know that Miz TV sucks and it always has, he admits that he isn’t the same person he used to be. The Miz goes to interrupt Bryan but is quickly shouted down and told to shut up, Bryan goes on to say that he has become mentally unstable over the years and his passion for the business has caused his mental instability. Bryan says that nobody knows what it’s like to have the combination of passion and instability that he has except for one person and that one person is Bray Wyatt because Bray is just as mentally unstable as he is.
Bray pops up on the screen and says that the reason The Fiend attacked Bryan last week could be because he wanted to scare him or maybe he just wanted to play, this would lead to Bray pulling the Universal Championship out of a toy box. Bray then says that if Daniel wants to play he just has to say that one very special word which is Yes, but Bryan says No and this leads to a back and forth between the Firefly Funhouse puppets (and the crowd) chanting Yes while Bryan continued to say No. The segment ends with Bray repeatedly saying Yes with him getting more boisterous each time. The show ends very awkwardly as Miz is just standing in the ring while Bryan walks to the back.
This was a good segment to close the show with as the promo by Bryan was really great. I liked how he talked about Bray Wyatt being the only one who can understand what he is going through although they are mentally unstable for two completely different reasons as Bray is just wired that way whereas Bryan’s intense and non-stop passion for the business has made him that way over time. I also liked how Bray was going to force Bryan to say the one word that he has refused to say since last year, however the part that started to drag the segment down was when we got to the back and forth between the Funhouse puppets and Bryan as well as Bray repeatedly saying Yes as that lasted a bit longer than it needed to be. While I think the match between these two will be interesting (it will be even better if they decide to remove the red lighting during the matches) the winner is pretty much guaranteed to be Bray as he isn’t going to lose the title this soon, also Bryan still has his story going with Zayn and Nakamura so most likely they will cost Bryan the match.
This was a much better SmackDown than last week as other than the stuff with Roman Reigns and King Corbin the rest of the show was really solid as we saw three good tag matches and some great buildup to Survivor Series, especially when it came to the women as all of their interactions were the highlight of the show. That’s it for this week, next week will be the SmackDown go-home show for Survivor Series so I expect the annual locker room brawl to close the show and don’t forget about the “big” six-man tag match scheduled for next week.
Also, check out this fantasy booking I created for this year’s Survivor Series: http://bigelow34.proboards.com/thread/15213/fantasy-booking-survivor-series-2019?page=1&scrollTo=78945
