WWE SmackDown Live – July 16, 2019 (Review)

WWE SmackDown Live – July 16, 2019 (Review)

One of the hottest talking points coming out of last week’s SmackDown Live was the repositioning of Kevin Owens as the show’s top babyface. Fans, myself included, found themselves tantalised by the prospect of a renegade KO running roughshod across the blue brand.

At a time when WWE seems desperately in need of a shot in the arm, someone to inject a bit of excitement into the increasingly stale product, the hope is that a freshly-turned Owens may the one to drag us out of the doldrums. Whispers from the corners of wrestling punditry has even gone so far as to anoint him the next ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. That’s where I reluctantly draw the line.

Without pouring too much cold water on those lofty aspirations, it should perhaps be pointed out that comparison overlooks three basic facts. One, and perhaps least relevant, it wasn’t so long ago that Becky Lynch was being dubbed the ‘new’ Stone Cold. How did that work out? Although not stone cold, ‘The Man’ is far from being white hot either. Events since WrestleMania have criminally cooled off the Raw Women’s Champion, to the point where she’s worryingly starting to feel like a spent force.

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Second, Owens is still far from being the generation-defining babyface some expect him to become. As charismatic as KO is, one scathing promo on Shane McMahon does not elevate you to the upper echelon of wrestling talent. Just ask The Miz or Roman Reigns how far they got by feuding with Shane O’Mac. His promo last week wasn’t so much a “pipe bomb” as it was a carefully scripted articulation of fans’ frustrations with Shane’s placement atop the WWE card. It was nowhere near as risqué as some would make it out to be.

And thirdly, and most importantly, Shane McMahon is no Vince. He lacks that vile, egomaniacal gait. He doesn’t portray the same kind of devious, scheming mind, nor the ability to be the kind of antagonist that catalyses a star-making performance. How many people have feuded with Shane and come out bigger stars? Vince had that effect two decades ago. Crossing paths with the chairman became the golden touch, catapulting wrestlers into superstardom.

But none of this is to say that I’m not excited by the rise of Kevin Owens. If he becomes the leading star of SmackDown Live, then I could certainly accept that as a good thing. I’m just cautioning fans on getting too excited, too early. Wait to see how it plays out.

Speaking of how things played out, let’s get to the review.

The Best of SmackDown Live

KO on Tape Delay

SmackDown kicked off not with a bang, but with a pre-taped segment of what occurred “earlier today”.

As Kevin Owens arrived at the arena, he was greeted by a decidedly smug Shane McMahon, flanked by a half dozen or so incredibly stern indie wrest– I mean, security guards. One of them was at least a foot and a half shorter than the rest. No jokes there, just thought I’d point it out.

McMahon informed KO that his outburst last week had caused him to convene a special “Town Hall” meeting of all SmackDown wrestlers, so that they could publicly voice their grievances, live and on-air. But while Shane welcomed honesty, one thing he simply wouldn’t stand for is insubordination. (Says the man who once led ‘The Invasion’, whose sole purpose was to put WWE out of business…)

And so, with an “au revoir”, Owens was sent home for the evening, out the same door he had entered moments earlier. As simple as this segment was in its setup, it effectively cast Shane as the egomaniacal tyrant and KO as the unfairly prejudiced truth-speaker. I can’t wait to see how this plays out later in the show.

An Unhinged Former Champ

The announcers introduced a backstage interview with Daniel Bryan, recorded shortly after he lost the tag team belts at Extreme Rules. The former champ furiously paced back and forth, restlessly recounting his unfulfilled dreams of carrying the tag division to the main event of WrestleMania.

But just as Bryan appeared to be completely unraveling, he was seemingly struck by a moment of clarity. With a far-off stare, Bryan mumbled that if he truly wanted to be the Planet’s Champion, he’d have to aim higher. He’d have to go where he had never gone before. He knew what he’d have to do.

This was a terrific promo, as we’ve come to expect from Bryan. With an intriguing tease of things to come.

Where’s Liv Morgan Been Hiding?

Building on their exchange during the “Town Hall”, Charlotte faced off against Liv Morgan next. In a match that, I think it’s fair to say, really surprised a lot of people.

I’ve long been a fan of Liv’s character work, but it was her ability between the ropes that really shone here. Morgan dominated the early portion of the match, hitting an awesome hurricanrana and a great dropkick.

The brief flurry was, however, ultimately halted by Charlotte, who knocked her opponent down before locking in the Figure-8 for the win. Despite picking up the ‘L’ though, Morgan was thoroughly impressive last night. After the match, she defiantly announced that she would be “real” when she came back. I just pray that isn’t a reference to Enzo in any form.

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The “Career-Altering” Announcement

The New Day were out next to show off their collection of titles and tease Daniel Bryan’s big announcement. They understandably assumed that it would be a request for a rematch for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

But they were wrong! (Kind of.)

Bryan emerged, brandishing a microphone. Except he never said a thing. Bryan marched up and down the ramp, seemingly conflicted. Occasionally he would point at the New Day, but the words never came. Eventually he just dropped the mic and walked off.

On another day this lack of payoff may have drawn a more critical response, but Daniel Bryan has earned my trust with these segments. So I remain intrigued.

From the Streets of Chicago

Ali crossed paths with Nakamura backstage, cutting off an interview and seemingly becoming next in line for a shot at the Intercontinental Champion. That should be fun.

A Conveyer Belt of Challengers

Samoa Joe, Elias and Randy Orton trotted out one after the other, each demanding to be Kofi Kingston’s next opponent for the WWE Title. The ever-alert Elias, assessing the situation, realised that there were six men in and around the ring, and proposed a six-man tag match. Randy Orton was less than thrilled by the idea, but after a thinly-veiled impotence joke by Kingston, even ‘The Viper’ got on board.

So that’s precisely what we got, in a pretty fun matchup. The heels appeared to be getting the upper hand, until a hot tag to Kofi reversed course. Before long though – true to form – it all broke down, with guys hitting big moves on each other all over the place.

To close, Kofi hit a Trouble in Paradise on Elias, which allowed Orton to sneak up behind the champion for an RKO and the pin.

And so, Kingston racked up anther loss, this time to Orton. The commentary team was doing their best to market the third-generation star as a legitimate threat to the WWE Champion. And although I don’t think he’ll win ultimately, Orton isn’t a bad challenger to have at this stage.

The Worst of SmackDown Live

The “Town Hall” Meeting

The live portion of the show got underway with what appeared to be the entire roster neatly gathered at the top of the entrance ramp. Tom Phillips kindly pointed out that this was the “Town Hall” that Shane had alluded to in the pre-taped opening – the one purportedly convened to allow aggrieved wrestlers to get their frustrations off their chests. I wonder if Buddy Murphy’s tired of being ‘WWE’s Best Kept Secret’ for the past three months?

As Shane stood in the ring, clearly expecting nothing but endless praise, he called upon the first speaker. And Roman Reigns stepped up.

The ‘Big Dog’ made it clear that no one in the arena respected Shane, which caused the boss’s son to visibly flinch. He then directed Shane O’Mac to kiss his ass (eliciting a major pop from both the crowd and Bayley), before casually walking to the back.

Still relatively undeterred, a composed McMahon next called on Charlotte Flair to speak. This proved to be a much better choice, as ‘The Queen’ – ever keen to ingratiate herself with whomever happens to wield authority – went about thanking the McMahon family for everything they’ve done.

She, however, was quickly cut off by Liv Morgan, much to the delight of Bayley. I can’t impress upon you enough just how much Bayley enjoyed this segment. She was LOVING it.

And so it proceeded, with Buddy Murphy, Apollo Crews, Zelina Vega, Elias and New Day each taking turns on the mic, alternating criticism and praise for Shane’s leadership. Eventually the man in charge, tired of hearing from his charges, gave the instruction to technical to cut the microphone and started to leave.

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And then Cesaro randomly challenged Aleister Black to a rematch and Kevin Owens magically appeared to not hit a Stunner on Shane. I’m assuming that last part was a mistake, because he landed it on the second attempt. What an overstuffed mess this segment was.

Superman vs. Amster-man

Of all of WWE’s troublesome vices, the one I’m most tolerant of is its over-reliance on rematches. Make no mistake, I don’t love them. But on a scale from zero to a Street Profits segment, I consider rematches to be on the fairly innocuous end.

With that said, and despite a decent Extreme Rules encounter, I see little value in having Aleister Black face Cesaro once again. The ‘Man from Amsterdam’ quickly defeated ‘The Swiss Superman’ in around three minutes, accomplishing very little that we hadn’t already seen on Sunday. In fact, if anything, the result only served to lower Cesaro’s stock even further.

Although I did appreciate the visual of Cesaro’s mouthpiece flying across the ring as the Dutchman hit the Black Mass. Now move on to something else.

Dolph The Fixer

Dolph Ziggler tracked down Shane McMahon backstage to inform him that he intended facing the illusive Kevin Owens in the main event of the evening. So he would place a few calls, shake a few stockings, rub a lamp or two, and make sure that KO magically returned for the match.

He was later seen getting Owens’ number from a referee. Why couldn’t your stand-up career have just been a success, Dolph?!

The Forgotten Tag Match

In a match I had honestly forgotten was set up last week, Fire & Desire took on Ember Moon and a partner of her choice. The apparent hook here being that Ember has no friends and almost certainly, on a wrestling show, won’t be able to find anyone prepared to wrestle. And get on TV. I still hate this storyline.

Without dragging this out unnecessarily, Bayley was revealed as Ember’s partner and they easily dispatched of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.

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If you – like me – were wondering what the point of this weeks-long debacle was, Bayley announced after the match that Moon would be her next title challenger. So absolutely nothing at all to do with Rose and Deville then. What a waste of time.

Truth Heads to Comic-Con

Carmella stumbled upon R-Truth stuck in a battered old washing machine backstage. He was hiding.

After a few silly lines, Carmella came up with the idea to dress the 24/7 Champion up in a costume and take him to Comic-Con.

The strength of these segments has traditionally been their humour and creativity. By that measure, this was a relatively pointless and unfunny affair. I wouldn’t mind skipping the occasional week of 24/7 shenanigans if it means that things are kept fresh and interesting.

The Promised Title Defence

I can’t lie, there were certainly plenty of red flags heading into this match. Like, for instance, that the match had taken over a month between the time it was booked and when it ultimately came to pass. Or how The Kabuki Warriors didn’t even get a televised entrance last night.

But setting those concerns aside, it came as a massive relief to finally see The IIconics defend their Tag Team gold against Asuka and Kairi Sane.

And then – within A MINUTE of the opening bell – the Aussies intentionally got themselves counted out in order to retain their belts. Followed by the babyface duo mercilessly throttling the champs after the bell.

So weeks of build, backstage interviews, online promotion… and all we got was this shambles? If the Women’s Tag Division ever becomes a respectable entity in WWE, it certainly won’t be on the back of feuds like this one.

The Bi-Annual Apollo Push

In yet more fallout from the opening “Town Hall” segment, Andrade and Apollo Crews decided to settle their differences in the ring.

Andrade jumped Crews right out of the gate, getting a few good shots in before the bell rang. Once officially underway, the Mexican continued to beat Apollo down, before hitting the running double-knees in the corner.

As he went for the pin though, Crews grapevined Andrade’s arms and countered into a crucifix rollup for the shock victory.

So I guess it’s that time of the year again – when Apollo gets one of his customary mini-pushes. Too bad it came at the expense of someone who could actually be a genuine star for the company. And in a fashion that makes everyone look like chumps, with one man literally taking the entire match, only for the other to win via quick rollup.

Kevin Owens’ Punishment

I’m going to get this out of the way early: I enjoyed the match. Owens and Ziggler are two trusted veterans, so it should come as no surprise that they were able to put on a show.

Where they started to lose me a bit – as with so many things on SmackDown – is when Shane got involved. A few minutes into the bout, McMahon led out his hand-picked selection of ‘heels with nothing better to do’. They encircled the ring, seemingly in an effort to intimidate / distract Kevin Owens.

This was branded as Shane dolling out justice for the perceived slights committed by KO. He was looking to get back at the SmackDown star for his insubordination. But, if that’s the case, why just stand around outside the ring like a bunch of goofs? Shane presumably has the power to make any match No Holds Barred, or convert an existing bout into a handicap contest. Or put him through the gauntlet – they love those things on Tuesday nights! If he really wanted to punish KO, why not just do that?

Instead, Owens got dragged out of the ring by McMahon after hitting a Stunner on Ziggler. Owens then delivered a second Stunner to Shane, before fleeing up the ramp and out of the building. What a heroic babyface. A real Braveheart, he is.

As an aside, commentary was especially awful during this match. Corey Graves and Byron Saxton spent a solid five minutes bickering about whether the “Town Hall” from earlier in the night had been an equitable, fair, open forum. Who cares?

Overall Rating for the Show (From best to worst: SmackDamn, SmackTastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, SmackDowner and A Smack in the Face)

Eerily similar to my own personal life, this edition of SmackDown Live started strong and then petered out as the night progressed.

I was genuinely intrigued heading into the show, as Kevin Owens continued to lead an insurrection against Shane McMahon’s particularly sweaty brand of tyranny, resulting in SmackDown’s first “Town Hall” in which wrestlers were allowed to respectfully air the grievances. Overlay that with the mystery surrounding Daniel Bryan’s “career-altering” announcement and a frankly awesome performance by Liv Morgan, and we appeared to be on track for a great instalment of the blue brand.

But then things went frighteningly careening off the rails. Dolph Ziggler once again found himself in an uninspired main event, R-Truth got stuck in a washing machine and Apollo Crews beat Andrade in a painful match. Perhaps worst of all though, The IIconics retained their Tag Team Titles via intentional count-out.

With such a long string of ineptitude to end the night, I’m tempted to give the show a negative rating overall. But it’s impossible to overlook the promising start and Daniel Bryan’s character work. So all things considered, this week’s SmackDown Live was Smack Bang in the Middle.

Let us know your thoughts on SmackDown Live in the comments below. Follow WrestleTalk on Twitter, and join the conversation with the entire community on Discord.

5 years ago by Nicholas Holicki

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