SmackDown on Fox Episode #60
SmackDown Episode # 1,109
Orlando, FL – The Thunderdome (Amway Center)
11/20/20
We open the show in the back where the Street Profits hype up Survivor Series and Undertaker’s “Final Farewell” when we hear a voice that sounds like Undertaker, but it turns out to just be Big E. Big E tells the Street Profits not to take New Day lightly and they say they are going to kick their ass and then Big E reveals they are at SmackDown tonight and then he gives them the classic New Day intro and that leads to them coming out to the ring.
New Day talks some smack about the Street Profits and then do a very awkward tribute to The Undertaker where they do the Undertaker sit-up and roll their eyes into the back of their heads and then do the throat slash. Sami Zayn then comes out and is pissed that Undertaker is getting all kinds of attention when it should be focused on him since he is the Intercontinental Champion. This eventually leads to King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode coming to the ring and they whine about a lot of stuff like you would expect and then New Day tries to turn Ziggler and Roode against Corbin and Zayn, and just when it looks like it worked Roode and Ziggler attack New Day and that brings out the Street Profits to even the odds and sends us to a commercial break.
For the go-home show to one of the big four shows of the year this was not the best way to open the show as it felt like they just threw out a bunch of guys because they couldn’t come up with a better way to start the show and it just ended up being a complete mess. If you are trying to push this whole brand vs brand concept for the PPV that is only two days away then why would you have a SmackDown team come out to help a Raw team and they weren’t just any two teams from Raw and SmackDown they were the two teams that are set to face each other at Survivor Series. I could continue to complain about this segment by mentioning my frustration with Raw guys getting time to cut a promo without having the entire locker room come out to attack them but to save time I’ll just shake my head in disgust and move on.
We come back and go right into our first match of the night.
Match #1: New Day & Street Profits vs Sami Zayn, King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, & Robert Roode
We come back from commercial to the match already in progress with Ziggler in control of Ford but when he goes to send him into the corner Ford jumps up and over Ziggler and does a cartwheel and a backflip in order to show off in front of the Show Off and then we get a drop-down and leapfrog spot that ends with Ford taking Ziggler down with a dropkick. We get a tag by the Street Profits as Dawkins comes in and takes Ziggler down with a shoulder block and then he backflips Ford onto Ziggler for a 2 count. Dawkins picks up Ziggler but takes his focus away from him in order to jaw at New Day and this allows Ziggler to hit him with a dropkick and then make a tag to Roode only for Roode to be hit with a dropkick from Dawkins.
Kingston tags himself in and looks to go to work on the arm of Roode, but Roode hits him with a knee to stop that and then grabs a side headlock only to be shot off into the ropes which leads to another drop-down and leapfrog sequence which ends this time with Kingston taking Roode down with a spinning back elbow. Kingston knocks Roode into the corner and then New Day hits Roode with the Unicorn Stampede for another 2 count. Woods wrenches on the arm of Roode only to be sent into the ropes and taken down with a back elbow and then he tags in Corbin.
Corbin works Woods over in the corner with punches and then brings him into the center of the ring where Woods starts to fight back as he chops Corbin to the point where he has him backing into the corner, Corbin reverses a whip into the corner and then charges toward Woods who gets his boot up, Woods goes for the Honor Roll only to be caught by Corbin and hit with a Deep Six for a 2 count. Corbin stands over Woods and drives his elbow into his chest. Corbin grabs Woods by the throat looking for the chokeslam backbreaker, but Woods counters it into a pinfall combination for a 2 count.
Woods rolls back into his corner and makes a tag to Ford who comes in a house of fire as he takes Corbin down with a flying clothesline and then hits a standing moonsault for a 2 count when Ziggler and Roode break up the pin. Everyone gets in the ring and Kingston looks to hit a springboard crossbody onto but he is able to get out of the way and Kingston ends up hitting Ford instead which does not sit well with Dawkins as he bickers with Kingston as we go to a commercial.
We come back to see that Ziggler has Ford grounded with a reverse chinlock, Ford gets to his feet and tries to make a tag but Ziggler throws him back down to the mat and then drags him over to the heel corner where he makes a tag to Corbin and as Corbin enters the ring he has words with Sami Zayn who has yet to get into the ring as he avoids being tagged into the match. Ford tries to fight his way out of the heel corner but Corbin grabs him and sends him face-first into another corner and then attempts to charge in but Ford gets a boot up and dives off the middle rope with a crossbody but Corbin catches him and slams him hard down to the mat for a 2 count. Corbin tags in Ziggler who brings Ford out of the corner and then Ford starts to make a comeback as he takes Ziggler down with a couple of wild swings and then he starts knocking the heels off the apron and then he lands on his feet off a back suplex and takes Ziggler down with an enziguri and this leaves an opening for Ford to make a hot tag to Kingston while Ziggler tags in Roode.
Kingston is fired up as he takes Roode down with clotheslines, chops, and a dropkick which allows him to hit Roode with the Boom Drop. Kingston sets up to hit Trouble in Paradise, but Roode ducks and then he tries to hit the Glorious DDT but Kingston escapes that and runs off the ropes where Woods makes a blind tag and then Roode sends Kingston flying over the top rope. Woods catches Roode with a kick from the apron and then hits him with a rope-assisted tornado DDT into the ring for a 2 count.
Woods stalks Roode as he waits for him to get up, but he backs up too far as Dawkins tags himself in and he hits Roode with the spinning splash in the corner only to run into a Roode spinebuster moments later and then Roode finally tags in an unsuspecting Zayn. Zayn refuses to enter the ring so Dawkins biels him into the ring and then he hits Zayn with the big spinebuster and then he tags in Ford who comes off the top rope with the big frog splash to pick up the win for his team.
Winners: New Day & Street Profits via Pinfall Match Rating: **¾
This was a fine match as you would expect from those competing in it, but it was nothing too out of the ordinary and wasn’t good enough to make up for the terrible opening segment that set up the match.
We get some hype for a contract signing between McIntyre and Reigns as well as the return of Daniel Bryan.
We go to the back where Bryan is getting ready to be interviewed when Sami Zayn walks up still recovering from the match he just had and he starts getting close to Bryan and Bryan pulls his mask up and shoves Zayn to the floor and this causes Zayn to back off. Bryan tells Kayla Braxton that he believes in social distancing as much as possible and that sends us to a commercial break.
We come back and go to the Daniel Bryan interview where he talks about how he understands that the beatdown that Jey Uso gave him wasn’t personal because everyone has an angel and a devil on their shoulders talking to them and clearly on that night the devil was talking to Uso and that Uso needs to be concerned, but assures Uso that what happens tonight isn’t going to be personal.
We then cut to Adam Pearce talking to someone and telling them the reasons as to why he is making them the fifth man on the Survivor Series team and as the camera pans over we see that it is Otis. Chad Gable walks up and takes credit for being the reason that Otis was picked and then he tells him they need to go get ready for Sunday.
While I like Otis I feel like his stock has dropped over the past couple of months and would have much rather saw Daniel Bryan or even better Big E get that final spot.
Adam Pearce then turns around and walks right into Natalya who is still complaining about not being on Team SmackDown and he explains that he was only allowed to pick one spot and he wanted a former champion so he chose Bayley and furthermore if she wants to take that final spot she has to win her match against Tamina which is coming up next.
We come back from break and go to a backstage promo from Rollins who takes credit for everything that has happened with Murphy’s career and then says he is going to teach Murphy one final lesson tonight and then he will send him back to being what he was before which is a nothing and a no one.
We then go to our next match of the night.
Match #2: Natalya vs Tamina Snuka (Women’s SmackDown Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match)
Bianca Belair and Bayley are on commentary for this match.
Natalya goes right at Tamina with right hands but gets pushes away and walks right into a superkick which sends Natalya rolling out to the floor. Tamina goes out after Natalya and sends her into the steps before throwing her back into the ring where she goes for a cover but only gets a 2 count. Tamina lifts Natalya up looking for a Samoan drop but Natalya slides out and tries for a waist lock takedown but Tamina backs her into the corner and delivers repeated back elbows and then sends Natalya into her knee. Tamina looks to charge at Natalya in the corner but she moves sending Tamina into the ring post shoulder-first and then Natalya hits Tamina with a discus clothesline. Natalya locks in the Sharpshooter and Tamina quickly taps out.
Winner: Natalya via Submission Match Rating: ¾*
After the match, Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan come out and all five women of Team SmackDown stand together in the ring.
There was absolutely nothing worth talking about in this match as it was over as soon as it began. Now that the women’s SmackDown team is complete I think I like it better than what the Raw women’s team has to offer as I am a fan of four out of the five women on Team SmackDown (with the exception being Natalya) whereas there are only two people on the Raw team that I care about (Shayna and Peyton). I’m sure this match will be a lot of fun on Sunday and I hope Bianca has a very strong showing as she is the next biggest star out of all ten women in the match.
We get a video package covering the confrontation between Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns last week as well as the title win by McIntyre this past Monday. Drew McIntyre makes his way to the ring for the contract signing which is coming up next.
We come back and it’s time for the contract signing Reigns eventually comes to the ring after making McIntyre wait a couple of minutes. Adam Pearce is in the ring to oversee the contract signing and Reigns takes a seat at the head of the table instead of sitting right across from McIntyre.
Reigns tells McIntyre that he knew McIntyre would win the title because he was once in McIntyre’s shoes and all the lessons that he is fixing to tell McIntyre he learned from Heyman a long time ago and that McIntyre was the right guy in the right place but at the wrong time.
McIntyre tells Reigns that he realizes what Reigns is trying to do which is to get in his head so he will get pissed off and punch Reigns in the face, but that’s not going to happen, McIntyre says he already has his match with Reigns because he did what he had to do which was win the title and he is going to sign the contract because that is why he was ordered to be on SmackDown. McIntyre signs the contract and then hands it over to Reigns telling him it’s now his turn but before he hands him the contract he has a piece of advice for Reigns which is to take the next two days to prepare for war.
Reigns goes to sign the contract but before he does Heyman grabs the pen that McIntyre used out of Reigns’ hand and gave him another one. Reigns stares at the contract and then questions who McIntyre is to give him advice on his show and instead says he is going to give McIntyre advice which he isn’t going to like or understand but the brutal truth is that McIntyre is just a secondary champion who is a stand-in for whenever he isn’t available or doesn’t feel like making an appearance. Reigns tells McIntyre one last time that he is the champion, the face of the WWE, the tribal chief, and the head of the table, and one day McIntyre will have that opportunity to be where he is at and when that time comes McIntyre will look back at moments like this and he will thank Reigns for them. One day McIntyre will look in the mirror and see the man he has always wanted to be and he will think about these moments and he will love Reigns for the lessons Reigns has taught him and Reigns says he will love McIntyre right back. Reigns signs the contract and then tells McIntyre that he will always be his favorite number two.
Wheew boy, this was one delicious segment that I ate up like a carton of ice cream, as bad as the rest of the show was when it came to hyping up Survivor Series this segment delivered on the hype for Sunday and then some. First off, I loved that without saying a word Reigns’ mere presence was enough to make Adam Pearce move to the other seat so that Reigns could sit at the head of the table. I like how Reigns did most of the talking throughout the segment and was super overconfident while McIntyre was very direct and to the point and wasn’t going to fall for the head games that Reigns was trying to play. I really liked when Reigns was talking about how McIntyre is the champion WWE uses when Reigns is busy or just doesn’t want to do what is asked of him. I can’t think of a time when WWE had a champion on both brands that look and feel like they were made to be the top guy of the company like Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre do in 2020. I am so hyped for this match on Sunday as I think it has the chance to be a really great match.
We get a video package of the Mysterio and Rollins match from last week and what led to this week’s match between Rollins and Murphy. Seth Rollins makes his way to the ring as we go to commercial.
Match #3: Seth Rollins vs Buddy Murphy w/ The Mysterio Family
Rollins looks surprised to see the Mysterio Family coming out with Murphy.
Rollins attacks Murphy as he tries to enter the ring sending him back down to the floor which causes the Mysterios to check on him and threaten to take care of Rollins themselves, but Murphy tells them to hold back as he wants to do this on his own. Murphy runs in the ring and tries for the jumping knee but Rollins dodges it and drives Murphy into the corner and they start fighting it out before being forced to break. Murphy lands a kick and then he takes Rollins down and they trade punches on the mat until Rollins gets to his feet and Murphy tries to connect with a knee but Rollins moves once again and rolls out to the floor. Murphy goes to get Rollins, but Rollins catches him while he is on the apron and launches him into the barricade. Rollins sends Murphy into the ring post and then throws him back inside the ring where he takes his attention off Murphy in order to taunt the Mysterio family.
Rollins takes Murphy down with a short-arm clothesline and then ties him up in the ropes and asks him if he remembers this from when they did it to Dominick a few months ago, Rollins goes outside and grabs a Singapore cane from under the ring, Rey Mysterio grabs the cane trying to stop Rollins but gets taken down with a big right hand for his troubles, Dominick then runs over but Rollins knocks him off the apron and sends him into the barricade. All of those distractions gave Murphy enough time to untie himself from the ropes and he goes outside and attacks Rollins before throwing him back into the ring where he goes up top, but before he has a chance to do anything Rollins shoves him off the top and sends him flying into the barricade at ringside. Aaliyah runs over to check on Murphy but Rollins comes out and starts stalking her which causes her to trip which gets a maniacal laugh out of Rollins as we go to commercial.
We come back to Rollins choking Murphy in the corner and then he sends him hard into the corner. Murphy then reverses a whip into the corner but Rollins stops himself and hits Murphy with a back elbow when he charges toward him. Rollins climbs up the turnbuckles backward but Murphy cuts him off and looks to hit a Cheeky Nandos kick, but Rollins blocks it with a kick of his own and then he takes Murphy down with a sling blade which gets a 2 count. Rollins hits Murphy with mounted punches in the corner while also taunting the Mysterio family which allows Murphy to escape and hit that Cheeky Nando’s kick he was looking for earlier. Rollins charges at Murphy, but Murphy sidesteps and sends him to the outside where he dropkicks him through the ropes and then takes him down with a tope con hilo.
Murphy throws Rollins into the ring but when he gets up on the apron Rollins tries to knock him off just as he did before the match started, but this time Murphy is able to dodge and he hits Rollins with a kick, Murphy goes up top but Rollins runs up and joins him and hits the superplex and falcon arrow combo for another 2 count. Murphy rolls out to the apron and Rollins joins him and we get both men trading strikes until Murphy hits Rollins with a big kick and a jumping knee strike which sends him flying off the apron. Murphy gets to his feet slowly and shoves Rollins back into the ring, but when he tries to get back in the ring Rollins catches him with a Curb Stomp as he puts his head through the ropes. Rollins slowly makes the cover but Murphy still has enough in him to put his foot on the rope and break the count.
Rollins starts screaming at Murphy and then he hits him with a buckle bomb, Rollins runs to the ropes looking for another Curb Stomp but Murphy jumps to his feet and hits Rollins with a knee strikes and then he ducks out of the way of another Curb Stomp attempt and hits another jumping knee and then he catches Rollins in the Murphy’s Law to finish him off.
Winner: Buddy Murphy via Pinfall Match Rating: ***¼
This was another really good match between these two and hopefully, this is the final nail in the coffin to everything involving Rollins feuding with Murphy and the Mysterios seeing as Rollins is set to be going away soon due to the birth of his child being in the next month or two. I really hope that Murphy doesn’t disappear now that he is not involved with Rollins as he is so talented, I actually wouldn’t mind if they teamed him up with Dominik and put them in the tag division because SmackDown definitely could use another team.
Sasha Banks makes her way out to the ring as we go to commercial.
We come back and Michael Cole is in the ring to interview Sasha and Asuka before their match this Sunday. We get some bickering back and forth (which included Asuka quoting both Road Dogg and John Cena) before Cole asks Sasha if she thinks that Asuka has her number given that she was the one that ended Sasha’s Raw Women’s Championship reign earlier this year, Sasha reminds Cole that it’s Boss Time and eventually she throws her shoes off as she tells Sasha they don’t have to wait until Sunday. Just before Sasha and Asuka come to blows Carmella attacks Sasha once again as she lays her out with a superkick and then hangs her up in the tree of woe where she gives her another superkick right into the jaw and as all of this is happening Asuka just looks on.
What an odd segment this was as you had Sasha cutting a really good promo on Asuka but Asuka kept coming back with catchphrases from other WWE superstars and then instead of getting a brawl between Asuka and Sasha to help hype their match on Sunday we get Carmella attacking Sasha with Asuka just standing there. I would understand not having Sasha and Asuka come to blows if this was the first time they had faced each other but we just saw them feud this past summer so the bloom is already off that rose. Not the best way to hype the match on Sunday but I guess it was better than nothing.
We go to the back for an interview with Jey Uso who tells us that he got permission to do the interview from Roman Reigns and then he makes it clear that Reigns wasn’t the devil on his shoulder when he did what he did to Bryan as he acted on his own volition and he is going to do the exact same thing tonight.
Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring and that sends us to a commercial break.
We come back and go straight into out main event.
Match #4: Daniel Bryan vs Jey Uso
Bryan and Uso start the match out hot as they trade punches until Uso gets the better of Bryan and sends him into the ropes, but he ducks his head too early which allows Bryan to leapfrog over him and hit him with several kicks to the leg and then he grounds Uso and puts him in a deathlock where he delivers crossface punches to the face. Bryan lights Uso’s chest up with some chops and then he hits him with a knee drop onto the head. Bryan goes over to pick Uso up but is hit with a big right hand and then a back elbow after being sent into the ropes. Uso undoes his wrist tape and removes his elbow pad before kicking Bryan to the outside where he sends him into the steps, Uso clears the announce table as he looks to put Bryan through it but before he can Bryan comes back with some punches and then he throws Uso back into the ring.
Bryan goes up top and connects with a missile dropkkick and then he works Uso over in the corner with kicks and punches to the body. Bryan sends Uso into the ropes but ducks his head too early which leads to Uso kicking him in the chest, but when Uso charges toward Bryan he gets backdropped to the floor and then he takes Uso down with a tope suicida. Bryan hits Uso with more strikes next to the announce table until Uso pushes him away and then he backdrops Bryan through the announce table and this sends us to a commercial.
We come back to Uso in control as he stomps on the back of Bryan and then he hits Bryan with some mounted punches. Uso picks Bryan up just so he can slam him right back down. Uso picks Bryan up and places him in the corner where he gives Bryan some payback from earlier as he lands some chops of his own, Bryan staggers out of the corner and Uso hits him with a backbreaker which sends Bryan rolling out to the apron. Bryan slowly uses the ropes to get back to his feet and when he does he blocks a punch from Uso and lands some of his own before going back up top, however, this time Uso cuts him off and ends up hitting Bryan with a superplex which gets a very close 2 count.
Uso and Bryan slowly get back to their feet and when they do Uso sends Bryan into the ropes and attempts to hit a Samoan drop, but Bryan counters it into a crucifix pin for a 2 count. Bryan then catches Uso and tries to lock in the Yes Lock, but Uso fights it off and then drives elbows and knees into Bryan’s ribs and back. Uso climbs up to the top but ends up getting crotched by Bryan who ends up hitting him with a super back suplex and this fires up Bryan as he follows that up with the Yes Kicks on Uso for another 2 count. Bryan grabs the wrists of Uso and kicks his head in and then sets up for the running knee, but he runs right into a superkick from Uso and Uso follows that up with two basement dropkicks before going up top where he attempts the Uso Splash, but Bryan gets his knees up and then he rolls Uso up with an inside cradle to pick up the win.
Winner: Daniel Bryan via Pinfall Match Rating: ***½
After the match, Bryan celebrates his win while Uso looks on dejected at his loss and the wrath of Roman Reigns that he knows he has coming for him.
I really enjoyed this match and thought it was better than the match they had a couple of weeks ago which is no disservice to that match as it was really good as well. Uso continues to deliver in SmackDown main event matches and if he continues to deliver like this every week I wonder if WWE might keep him and Jimmy apart once Jimmy is cleared to come back as Jimmy is on track to becoming a big singles star which is something I thought I would never say about one of the Usos as I thought they were destined to be a tag team for their entire career. After watching this match it makes it even more puzzling as to why Otis got the final spot on Team SmackDown over Daniel Bryan because you would think the tension of Bryan and Uso being on the same team would be something WWE would love to remind us of throughout the entire match.
This was an interesting episode of SmackDown as it was a really good episode in terms of being a SmackDown episode, however, in terms of being the go-home show leading into Survivor Series it was terrible with the exception of the Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns contract signing. There was hardly any talk of the 10 man elimination tag match outside of the quick segment of Otis being picked as the fifth member which was strange as that is usually one of the big matches on the show but this year it feels like a complete afterthought. We also had the two teams who are facing each other on Sunday teaming up just two days prior which made zero sense in a PPV that is supposed to be centered around “brand warfare”. This also may be the first time in a long time where we didn’t get a big Raw vs SmackDown brawl to end the show which was both surprising and refreshing as there are only so many times you can do that before it gets old.
Outside of the Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns and whatever they do for Undertaker’s “Final Farewell” there is nothing that is grabbing my attention about this year’s Survivor Series, but with that said I’m sure we will get some quality matches because this roster always delivers in the ring even when the booking and hype for the show leaves a lot to be desired.
That’s it for me for this week I’ll be back next week for all of the Survivor Series fallout.
