WWE SmackDown Live – July 9, 2019 (Review)

WWE SmackDown Live – July 9, 2019 (Review)

SmackDown has been experiencing a bit of an identity crisis of late. Is it meant to be Raw’s supplement show, simply designed to compliment and at times augment the red brand’s weekly offering? Or is it its own governor, built to develop its own stars, storylines and feuds?

Because at the moment it feels like a bit of both. And yet, somehow, at the same time also the worst of each. Like when Dolph Ziggler was appropriating everyone else’s gimmick.

As we all know, wrestlers are now free to move between brands, with the result that Tuesday nights are often contaminated by Raw’s most garbagey segments. Shane McMahon regularly invites his coalition of tedium to advance narratives that were pretty boring the first time we saw them. Alexa Bliss occasionally graces us with her presence to remind us all how inferior SmackDown is, and that we’re all losers for watching it. And – as was the case again last night – the main event of the show continues to be infested with more Raw stars than actual SmackDown wrestlers.

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SmackDown is unquestionably at its best when afforded the opportunity to be its own show, free from the burden of carrying Raw’s (at times) decrepit creative carcass. It’s what gave us the more intriguing incarnation of the Usos, the rise of a refreshingly un-coupled Becky Lynch and the start of the all-encompassing Kofi Kingston babyface run.

Those are the days I long for when I lay my head on the pillow at night. A return to the glory period of mid-to-late 2018 SmackDown. What a time that was to be alive!

Fortunately, SmackDown took some strides last night to re-establish itself as a show unto itself. Finn Bálor returned to TV, future title matches were set up, and a new face of the brand was introduced. If the blue show can capitalise on some of this groundwork, then we could be on the path back to glory. It’s coming home!

Let’s get to the review.


The Best of SmackDown Live

Brawl for All

In place of the usual opening credits, we saw Dolph Ziggler arriving at the arena. While making his way through the parking area, he was confronted by Kayla Braxton who wanted to know about his relationship with Kevin Owens.

As Ziggler ran down KO for being fat and lazy, the man in question drove up in the back of frame. He pulled over, Kayla magically vanished and harsh words were had. This led to a brawl, which the B-Team quickly broke up – proving that they’re still employed and mostly just hanging around outside the arena these days.

It didn’t take long for the Omni-Shane McMahon to materialise too, who immediately banned Owens from the building. Apparently we were meant to be seeing a Ziggler / Owens main event on SmackDown last night, but that needed to be called off in light of the pre-show debacle. I liked that little detail.

As an aside, if this segment shed any light on WWE’s backstage personalities, it appears that Kevin Owens like to travel in rented muscle cars and wear PPV-branded, WWE crew shirts. Take that for what it’s worth.

The Prodigal Owens Returns

As mentioned in the last act, Kevin Owens was sent home by Shane McMahon for his role in instigating the pre-show fight with Dolph Ziggler.

Well, it took all of 45 seconds for him to barge into the arena through the crowd, pick up a mic at ringside, and absolutely lay into the former SmackDown Live GM (and definitely not authority figure because we don’t have those anymore, remember?).

Owens brought up the McMahon-led announcement in December last year, which ostensibly did away with brand General Managers and anointed the audience “the only authority“. He lamented that since that announcement was made, Shane McMahon’s influence has only grown, leading him to be a perennial presence on WWE programming. Worst of all, he pointed out that no-one, anywhere, ever, in any dimension, wants that. And don’t even get him started on the “Best in the World” business.

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Anyway, this diatribe brought out Shane, who battled to have Owens’ mic cut off. Each time he was silenced though, KO would grab another mic and return to his position atop the commentary desk, eventually even resorting to snatching the headset off Byron Saxton’s noggin to speak directly to the viewers at home.

Eventually, having grown frustrated by the efforts to shut him up, Owens stormed off. But not before having made his point. This was exactly what we’ve all been saying about Shane for months: he’s an over-exposed presence, trapping far superior stars in his fortress of perpetual mediocrity.

KO’s sudden babyface turn last week left me feeling a little cold. But, having seen this performance, he already feels like an marked crowd favourite.

Finn Bluer is Back

After not appearing on either Raw or SmackDown for months, Finn Bálor returned to competition against Shinsuke Nakamura last night.

I, for one, have been critical of the Japanese legend of late. While always a sure hand in the ring, I wasn’t certain that he was still capable of putting on a truly great match. However, while last night’s bout certainly wasn’t an all-time classic, it did go some way to changing my mind.

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The two men battled all over the ring and the outside. There were plenty of stiff kicks, heavy strikes and innovative moves. After just about avoiding being counted out three times, Finn eventually rolled back into the ring – and directly into a Kinshasa. So, Nakamura claims a win over the Intercontinental Champion, presumably setting up a title match at Extreme Rules (or beyond) in the process.

Samoa Promo

Samoa Joe cut a direct-to-camera promo backstage, in which he vowed to take Kofi Kingston’s title come Sunday. While this was little more than the usual fare we’ve come to expect from Joe, it was nevertheless incredibly effective.

You can firmly count me in the category of people who don’t believe that the challenger has any shot whatsoever of wrestling the title away from Kofi. But, having seen this intense promo, I can guarantee he won’t go down easily.

The (Iconic!) Tag Champs

The Kabuki Warriors cornered The IIconics backstage to demand their tag team title match. And by “cornered”, I of course mean “weirdly faced one another across a hallway in a convenient, carefully scripted manner”.

Asuka and Kairi Sane were looking to cash-in their opportunity at the IIconics’ belts, having won the right by beating the duo during WWE’s recent tour of Japan. Sadly though, Billie Kay had fallen ill with an extremely rare case of “Mad Cow Bird Fluuu Disease”. I love them.

Unfortunately, Paige didn’t see the humour in this and tore into the tag champs, calling them cowardly and incompetent. Then she slapped Billie before reinforcing that The Kabuki Warriors would be getting their match in the future. For a promotion that routinely has people slap one another backstage, this still somehow came as a surprise to me. It was an awesome little segment.

Steaks & Weights, Pancakes and The Planet

The New Day, Daniel Bryan and Heavy Machinery each cut very good promos staking their claim to the tag team gold. While far from being the best line of the piece, Xavier Woods’ observation that Rowan frequently shifts allegiances was particularly poignant. He claimed that it was impossible to keep track of who Rowan’s daddy was… which ignited chants from the crowd of “Who’s your Daddy?

In the not too distant future, people will be chanting the same thing at Maria Kanellis’ baby.

This heated exchange was fodder to set up a fun triple threat between Woods, Daniel Bryan and Otis. Rather surprisingly, Otis claimed the win by pinning Woods after a pop-up powerslam. Until then, I had no idea what his finishing move even was. Two caterpillars maybe?

Whatever the result, this is the match I’m most looking forward to at Extreme Rules.

Roman vs Everyone

Roman Reigns took on Dolph Ziggler in a decent main event, marked by plenty of interference by Shane McMahon and his cronies around ringside. This all naturally served to build into Roman & The Undertaker vs. Shane and Drew McIntyre at Extreme Rules. Only sans Undertaker of course.

Throughout the match, Saxton and Phillips on commentary harked on the confusing idea that The Undertaker had returned specifically for Shane McMahon. Did he though? I thought he returned to specifically take out Goldberg? And before that Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Not to mention the time he came back specifically for Roman Reigns. In other words, I still have no idea why this match is happening.

Regardless, Roman took out McIntyre and Elias and a returning Kevin Owens took care of Shane McMahon, clearing the path for Reigns to land a spear on Ziggler for the 1-2-3.

This was fine. The definition of wrestling neutral – neither adding to, nor detracting from the match at Extreme Rules.


The Worst of SmackDown Live

The Women’s Contract Signing

Who died and made Bayley Dr. Phil?

The SmackDown’s Women’s Champion started off the contract signing segment by loudly announcing that she was only there to put pen to paper. She then immediately started psycho-analysing Nikki Cross in the most obnoxious way possible. Bayley recounted tales of how she had been manipulated when she first arrived on the main roster, and asked Cross if she was genuinely okay with being used by Alexa Bliss.

None of this advanced the story in any meaningful way, being in large part exactly the same sort of thing we’ve been hearing for weeks. I was grateful then when Cross brought an end to it, divulging the latest promise that Bliss has made her. Apparently, should Bliss and Cross beat Bayley at Extreme Rules, then they will become the first ever SmackDown Women’s C0-champions. Hey, it almost worked for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

Cross then signed the contract in the most aggressive fashion I’ve ever witnessed. She looked like she was trying to scratch a lottery ticket with an uncooperative lobster.

Meaningless Squash

Nikki Cross quickly dispatched of Carmella, while Bayley looked on. Champion and one of her challengers then yelled at each other while the commentary team informed us of what lay ahead.

This was a giant heap of nothing, designed to pass a bit of time.

Orange You Glad She Didn’t Say Banana?

The vitriol between Ember Moon and the pairing of Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville has spilled over to the fruit platter in catering. I knew it was only a matter of time before this feud got really out of hand!

Fire & Desire cut in line ahead of Ember Moon, setting the ‘War Goddess’ off. A baffling exchange then ensued, in which Sonya Deville first brought up Ember’s victory last week, only for Mandy Rose to immediately claim they’ve forgotten about it. Ember said something that I’ve already forgotten, and a tag match was set up for next week. Assuming that a nerd like Ember could even find a friend to partner with her (Mandy’s words, not mine).

Oh, and Deville and Rose were still teasing the lesbian lover angle, with the former claiming that their loss last week “only brought them closer than ever“. Oh, boy.

The only good part of this entire segment? Seeing Drake Maverick peek out from his hiding spot beneath the table.

Ali Wants To Dance With The Devil

Ali again cut a promo from a deserted street in what I assume to be the general Chicago area. And as per usual, it was brilliantly shot and excellently delivered.

But I just can’t identify with any of it. He spoke at length about the evil of man and how he’s come face-to-face with the devil, and would gladly do so again. My guy, you’re a wrestler. There hasn’t been a devil in WWE since Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Fun House skits ended. Speaking of, where is he hiding?

While I’m glad that Ali is still regularly getting on TV, I just wish it were a little more focused than this. For right now, it feels like there’s nothing for him. So he’s just cutting random, scattershot promos on the street. Like an old man yelling at the clouds.

Aleister Black’s Opponent Revealed

Aleister Black has been sitting alone in a dark room for months, just waiting for a challenger to find him. Eventually a few weeks ago, someone knocked on the door… only to run away before Black opened it. Then, this week, we were promised that the identity of the mystery knocker would unveiled.

Aleister Black had clearly gotten the same info, as when he was confronted by an empty chair, the ‘Dutch Destroyer’ started to get a little bit hot under the collar. Although what’s new? I think Black only ever operates at various degrees of agitated.

A few seconds into his complaints though, a hand belonging to a remarkably well-dressed man was placed on the back of the chair. As the man came into shot, he was revealed to be none other than… the Yeti! No, wrong show. It was Cesaro! Confirming reports from several weeks ago.

While I’m glad that Aleister Black finally has an opponent, it’s a shame that it has to come at the expense of Cesaro. Was this the plan all along? To have Cesaro build a bit of momentum by beating No Way Jose, only to get his head kicked off by Aleister Black? Is this the most intriguing pairing WWE could muster? After literally months of build, Black will face Cesaro? It should be a great match, no question, but how much will Black get out of it?

Shelton Benjamin Has The Worst Gimmick Of All Time

Has Shelton Benjamin had a lobotomy that no-one knows about? Once again he was asked about a match on the card, only to roll his eyes to every corner of his head, try to articulate a word or two and then walk off.

WHAT. IS. THIS?


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

This was a largely good go-home edition of SmackDown Live. While not without a few obvious (and sometimes highly frustrating) poor moments, none of them factored into the important matches at Extreme Rules.

Ali is trapped in the Upside-Down still desperately searching for a way back to civilisation. Aleister Black will hopefully be able to parlay an underwhelming match against Cesaro into a spot higher up the WWE food chain. We won’t have to worry about the Mandy Rose / Sonya Deville / Ember Moon cluster-mess until next week. And Shelton Benjamin… well, at least that will be short.

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On the flip side however, there was much to be excited about, both for this weekend’s pay-per-view and beyond. After a fun triple threat with accompanying promos, I’m fully invested in the SmackDown Tag Team division. And that’s not to mention their female counterparts. The IIconics remain wholly entertaining as a comedy duo, and while this may sound contradictory at first, I can’t wait for the Kabuki Warriors to take the belts off them. Plus – most surprising of all – Kevin Owens seems to have successfully reinvented himself as a compelling babyface. Who knew that insulting Shane McMahon would immediately ingratiate someone with the audience?

So, with my rose-tinted glasses firmly in place, this week’s SmackDown was SmackTastic.

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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