WWE SmackDown – November 22, 2019 (Review)

Do you remember when The Hobbit was split across three movies, with barely a reason for doing so? That’s kind of how I felt heading into this week’s SmackDown. We’re just two days out from Survivor Series, meaning that – in a sane world – this edition of the blue brand should serve as the final opportunity to build some much-needed hype ahead of the pay-per-view. The last series of major moments convincing you to tune in this Sunday.

But this isn’t a sane world. Vince McMahon is in charge of it, after all. And the truth is that if you weren’t already sold on Survivor Series, then little that happened on this show could possibly change your mind.

Because, apart from being a somewhat scattershot build in general, SmackDown felt like a largely unnecessary intervention. If anything, Wednesday night’s NXT felt like the true go-home edition of WWE programming leading into the pay-per-view.

On that night, all three brands came face-to-face in a ludicrous sea of red, blue and black-and-gold. Tensions were meaningfully escalated through run-ins, blindside attacks and most importantly, cracking matches. That show ended with an ocean of multi-coloured bodies scattered around ringside, while Seth Rollins and Tommaso Ciampa slugged it out inside the ropes. Crucially, for the first time since the ‘Takeover’ angle started, NXT felt like a genuine threat to the main roster once again. The show as a whole was chaotic, easily understandable and generally effective.

So then, what was left for SmackDown to do except retread the ground that had already been laboriously covered for weeks now? Well, aside from the obvious (being Baron Corbin finding a new way to introduce his dog mascot friend), it seemed that the focus would be on the Universal Title frame.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5LpiCXF2zv/

In an uncharacteristically barren pre-show rundown, the only items on the agenda were a possible confrontation between Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt, and a six-man tag pitting Roman Reigns and pals against Baron Corbin and his assorted cronies.

So, perhaps there was some uncovered terrain left to address before Survivor Series. Or maybe it would just be two long segments with a boatload of invasion shenanigans to pad the runtime. There’s only one way to find out. Let’s get to the review!

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The Best of SmackDown

Daniel Bryan Summons The Fiend

Following their kerfuffle with Nakamura, Zayn and Roderick Strong, The O.C. stayed on the ramp to deliver a pretty pointless ‘Your Town Sticks’ promo.

Thankfully, this was brought to an end by the arrival of Daniel Bryan, who wasn’t in the mood for silliness. He queued a video package recapping the events of last week, in which his match against The Fiend was booked.

Bryan said that he was there to summon the Fiend. Because he wasn’t going to be another trophy on the Funhouse’s wall or another puppet for Wyatt’s collection. He invited Bray out to the ring to clear the air between the two, reminisce about their history together – or simply have a fight.

At that point, the lights went off. But when they came back on, there was no sign of The Fiend.

.@WWEDanielBryan may have summoned @WWEBrayWyatt, but he got @mikethemiz!#SmackDown. pic.twitter.com/cy0TSRWmxt

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2019

Instead, The Miz came down to the ring. He claimed to be a friend to Bryan, concerned about his fragility. Miz had hoped to slap some sense into Bryan. But if that wasn’t possible, then he’d do half of it. And so he slapped Bryan across the face.

A Rivalry Renewed

This exchange led to a match between Bryan and The Miz, rekindling their largely failed feud of last year.

The bout was fine from a technical perspective. But in reality, this was all about the looming threat posed by The Fiend. And when he would strike.

With Bryan in control, his exuberance overcame him and he teased doing the ‘Yes’ chant. Unfortunately, I don’t think the crowd fully appreciated what was going on, so they didn’t quite get behind it.

#TheFiend @WWEBrayWyatt is HERE!!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/0uPhhKPl6s

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2019

As Bryan raised his hands into the air though, the arena lighting once again went out. A few seconds later, the ring was awash in red lighting and the Miz had been replaced by The Fiend. To the sound of a sustained bass note (as opposed to the screeching noise which had previously signalled appearances by The Fiend), Daniel Bryan was choked out by the Mandible Claw.

And once again – as had happened regularly throughout the night – this moment was greeted with general silence by the crowd.

A Cowardly Force Meets an Immovable Object

Shayna Baszler strode to the ring to call out Bayley. But with her eyes firmly planted on the ramp, Baszler didn’t see Bayley coming from behind.

This strategy however turned out not to work so well for the SmackDown Women’s Champion, who quickly found herself locked in the Kirifuda Clutch. Bayley managed to drive her Survivor Series opponent into the barricade, which granted her momentary relief as she scampered up the ramp to safety.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5MRA5dB4WA/

This was a short segment. But I thought it added a little more to their encounter on Sunday. Baszler continues to look like an unstoppable monster… which hopefully won’t be too badly damaged when Bayley wins at the pay-per-view.

Team Blue Implodes

I was conflicted as the main event got underway. A part of me was relieved that Baron Corbin had seemingly jettisoned the giant dog mascot he had introduced last week. It was horrifically terrible. But, for that very reason, I was kind of disappointed that we weren’t going to get a payoff to that garbage angle.

I quickly forgot about that minor gripe as the six-man tag match unfolded. This was an all-action ten minutes, pitting Reigns, Ali and Shorty G against Corbin, Ziggler and Roode. Early on, Gable was brutally slammed onto the announce table, briefly reducing the babyfaces to two members.

.@AliWWE is picking up the pace in this HUGE 6-Man Tag Team Match main event on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/zF8SKh0agx

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2019

The hometown hero, Ali, took it upon himself to become the first wrestler to enter low Earth orbit as he flew all over the place. But after some ringside shenanigans, Ziggler pushed Ali off the top rope. Corbin capitalised with a Deep Six to claim the victory.

Despite losing the match, Reigns decided to spear Corbin anyway. And Seth Rollins led a battalion of Raw stars through the crowd. Rollins and Reigns started slugging it out, which prompted a mass brawl between Team Raw and Team SmackDown.

NXT were then led to the ring by Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Road Dogg in a Jeep, evoking memories of DX’s 1998 “invasion” of WCW Nitro. Given that NXT is strongest in the 50+ demographic, that reference might have just about worked. Anyway, NXT joined the fray and the brawl got slightly bigger.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5MVO5NhHVd/

It feels like WWE only knows one way to build Survivor Series and that’s through giant brawls. I’ve lost count of how many we’ve seen in recent weeks, and this one was no better than the last.

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The Worst of SmackDown

The ‘Big Dog’ Rallies the Troops

SmackDown started with something we’ve grown increasingly accustomed to: a throng of wrestlers in blue babbling over one another. And I don’t just mean that we’ve seen it recently… I’m fairly certain this exact scene played out in the run-up to last year’s Survivor Series too.

Baron Corbin tried to quieten the mass of humanity, but no-one in the locker room respected him enough to cut off their conversations. At least, I think that’s the story we were meant to take from his half-heartened efforts. Because then Roman Reigns stepped onto the stage and everyone immediately zipped it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5MFeBzhLcY/

He acknowledged that Raw and NXT were likely to be invading, but SmackDown would be ready. Inviting, in fact, as Reigns announced that they’d be leaving their doors wide open. There was some disagreement in the ranks, and Sasha Banks proclaimed that the blue brand’s women weren’t just going to hang around. So they went to the ring to await their Raw and NXT opponents.

Apart from feeling like a carbon copy of Shane McMahon’s ‘Rah-Rah’ speech of last year, this was just a very mundane way to start a go-home show. It felt like we were watching a meeting of SmackDown’s workers’ union. And you know WWE doesn’t tolerate those!

The Women’s Teams Arrive

The women of Team SmackDown stood in the ring, awaiting the arrival of their pay-per-view foes. Somehow the timing worked out perfectly, because it was only a few seconds before Team Raw marched down, led by Charlotte.

The ‘Queen’ challenged Sasha Banks to a singles match. But before anything could get going, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, Rhea Ripley and Candice LeRae emerged through the crowd. Oh, and Toni Storm was there too, just to remind us all that NXT UK is still a thing that exists.

HERE WE GO!

Chaos has already ERUPTED on #SmackDown ahead of #SurvivorSeries! pic.twitter.com/ECjY335pLN

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2019

Ripley suggested that the proposed singles match be turned into a “captain vs. captain vs. captain” triple threat… apparently revealing that Rhea was now the captain of the as-of-yet unannounced Team NXT. And perhaps that the four women alongside her comprised the team? I’m not sure.

Captain vs Captain vs Captain

After an initial scuffle, the match started, with the balance of each team surrounding ringside. I’m sure this won’t lead to another brawl at all!

#TheBoss welcomes #TheNightmare to #SmackDown!

@SashaBanksWWE @RheaRipley_WWE pic.twitter.com/hr0EQZ2XSQ

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2019

Honestly though, it was a bit of a mess from the get-go. With twelve women passionately cheering on proceedings from the outside, the three women in the ring spent far too much time bickering with their counterparts at ringside. Even when the match was flowing unabated, all I could hear was the incessant pounding of the mat and non-stop screaming from the cheerleaders. It was kind of annoying.

The finish was really inventive though. Charlotte locked Banks in the Figure-8, only for Ripley to crawl under the bridge and pin Charlotte’s shoulders to the mat in a crucifix. Team NXT celebrated what Michael Cole termed a “statement win“. I called it a “hollow victory”.

.@RheaRipley_WWE picks up the win in a hard-hitting Triple Threat Match with @SashaBanksWWE and @MsCharlotteWWE!#WeAreNXT! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/8jJQV0Y1aK

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) November 23, 2019

Predictably, Team Raw and Team SmackDown ignited the umpteenth brawl after the bell.

Sami Gets his Feelings Hurt

Baron Corbin was backstage strategising with Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler. They were scheduled to face Roman Reigns, Shorty G and Mustafa Ali in six-man tag action later in the night. Corbin’s plan was for the three heels to skedaddle when the Raw and NXT lads inevitably showed up to attack Roman & Co. Then, when that was done, Corbin and his buddies would re-enter the fray to beat up Roman, Gable and Ali some more.

What happened to brand loyalty? Isn’t that the sole motivation for this entire Survivor Series debacle?

WHAT is in the bag, @SamiZayn???#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/HnDZKatEib

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2019

Anyway, Sami Zayn then turned up holding a black bag. Corbin openly dismissed him, which Zayn took personally. He challenged Corbin to insult him in the ring – which is somehow different from having just insulted him backstage, I guess?

But what bothered me most is that, as if by magic, Sami’s music then simply started to play! As if the sound technician had overheard this heated exchange and rushed to play the competitor’s entrance music. What is going on here? Who’s booking these matches?

Sami marched to the ring and was joined by Shinsuke Nakamura.

Nakamura is Gifted a New Belt

Alone in the ring, Sami claimed that King Corbin was too afraid to come out and fight him. SO WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT EARLIER SEGMENT?

Zayn turned to Nakamura to reveal that he had gotten him a gift for being such a “stud”. He raised the mysterious black bag and unfurled a brand new Intercontinental Championship belt. Which my gut instinct told me wasn’t as nice as the one it was replacing. But then again, Shinsuke hasn’t been as good a Champion as the one he replaced, so…

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5MJJRChLhB/

Zayn turned his attention to Survivor Series, which will see Nakamura take on AJ Styles and Roderick Strong. Sami pretended not to be able to recall Strong’s name, which brought out the entirety of the Undisputed Era!

Utter silence rang out around the arena as the four NXT champions made their way to the ring. What an absolute dire sign of these guys’ future on the main roster. Please never leave the safety of NXT!

Zayn and Nakamura bid a hasty retreat, while Adam Cole cut a promo claiming that NXT would “wipe the floor” with Raw and SmackDown at Survivor Series. He was, however, cut off by the arrival of the New Day. Despite Big E’s encouragement, it’s safe to say that I was feeling rather sour by this point.

Regardless, Kofi challenged the Undisputed Era to a match, with the former pair being joined by Heavy Machinery to even the numbers.

Era vs. New Day and Heavy Machinery

Following the commercial break, the Undisputed Era and New Day & Heavy Machinery had a remarkably uneventful tag match. This was a real disappointment in comparison to the barnburner between Era and The Revival on Wednesday.

The NXT team isolated Kofi Kingston for ages. Finally Kofi looked to turn the tide, but he was dropkicked into Tucker. This accidental collision sparked a disagreement between Otis and Big E, because absolutely no-one can get along this time of year. November really brings out the worst in people.

.@tuckerwwe FROM THE TOP ROPE?!?!?!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/HydbXYeMnc

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2019

Eventually Otis got the hot tag and introduced some excitement to a lagging encounter. The giant bowling ball took out all four members of the opposing team, before Tucker tagged himself in. He pulled off a scary-looking moonsault, with the ensuing pin broken up by Adam Cole.

From there, everything broke down. O’Reilly and Fish took out both New Day members with dual High / Lows. Heavy Machinery looked to briefly get the upper hand, but Roderick Strong hit Tucker with a Running Knee for the win. This match really only picked up for the last two minutes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5MOa6Sh9t5/

 

In the aftermath, AJ Styles jumped Strong and Nakamura on the ramp. Sami started whacking people with a chair, and he and Nakamura escaped while being chased by the rest of the Undisputed Era.

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

This was another lacklustre edition of SmackDown, made to seem exciting under the guise of mass brawls.

In reality, it simply exposed how creatively bankrupt the main roster has become. Since NXT first launched its “take-over”, every week has showcased at least one massive in-ring brawl. It’s reductive, unimaginative and a clear attempt to distract the viewer from the lack of substance which lies beneath Keith Lee powerbombing Montez Ford.

👊For the FIRST time ever, it's #TeamRAW vs #SmackDown vs #WWENXT

⏰Don't miss your chance to witness #SurvivorSeries HISTORY this Sunday!

🎟Get your tickets on @StubHub now 🎟https://t.co/uLKZ5V9bgm pic.twitter.com/0N5OaMXhIJ

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2019

Even worse is how little WWE cares to provide the viewer with a reason behind the madness. Shinsuke Nakamura was gifted a new title belt “for being a stud”. Sami Zayn got into an argument with Baron Corbin that went absolutely nowhere. And these star-studded teams keep marching through the crowd with perfect synchronicity.

Sure, it was fun seeing D-X haul their 20-year-old Jeep out of storage to lead Team NXT. But it raises uncomfortable questions, like who is leading this team of young, athletic, innovative talent? Is it really three middle-aged men who won’t even be wrestling this Sunday?

Once again, if it weren’t for Daniel Bryan and Shayna Baszler, this would’ve been an irredeemable show. Given that things didn’t start to pick up until the final thirty minutes, it’s hard to criticise the crowd for being wholly uninvested. But it’s worth mentioning that the only time they demonstrated any passion was when chants of “CM Punk” broke out.

In that context, this week’s SmackDown was a SmackDowner. I can’t wait for Sunday. Not only because the show will be great, but because we can also finally move on from all this contrived Survivor Series nonsense.

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• review
• survivor series
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