(S): Decent match from these guys. Surprising as I'm not big on either. I do like Corbin's finish though. Weird thing when Crews did some sort of Fallaway slam and they called it a Samoan drop. Ending was fine. Crews needs some sort of character soon, he's boring with just being athletic. 2.75/5
(J): The match was solid, and the fact they were willing to take it to the outside for some high impact stuff set a nice tone for the night. I agree that Crews needs to work on his character a bit more. I personally think he might have left NXT too early. Especially since NXT lately feels like it's been depleted. Corbin on the other hand, just needs the room to run. I think we can expect some good things from him in the future. Match rating: 3/5
Interlude: Social Media Lounge:
(J): Rhyno is killing me! Heath is cracking me up, too, but Rhyno's subtlety is taking the cake in this duo. I just hope they can keep this dynamic going after tonight because I think whichever way it goe, it will have to impact the current relationship.
*Opening Segment – Shane and Bryan out to hype the show and eat time.
(S): I'm not sure how they are going to fill 3 hours. Seems the Women's championship is up first *Match 1- WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship 6-Pack Elimination Match:
(S): Becky Lynch V Nattie V Naomi V Alexa Bliss V Carmella V Nikki Bella- Some amusing stuff here. Naomi needed to remover her glasses during her entrance to do her spin. Lol. Alexa Bliss is growing on me, and her Harley look was nice. Good match from the ladies. The Blockbuster/Powerbomb combo was cool af. Naomis rope botch was terrible though, she should have let that die when she failed instead of just setting it up over and over. My other complaints would be the odd throw everyone out of the ring series and when Becky hit the ring to fight Carmella she just flailed on her and then finally won. To be honest though, a really good match considering these women. They are getting better. So 3.5/5.
(J): I'm digging Alexa's Harley look. She's definitely indicating that she's got some nerd girl in here given her previous Iron Man and Freddy Kruger inspired outfits. Apparently, it's not just the look she's emulating tonight. Her attitude has been very Harleyesque as well. I really want Naomi to make some big strides, but I feel like she faltered tonight in her in-ring performance. I also agree that the "throw everyone out of the ring" spot seemed weird. I thought maybe they were just wanting to showcase a couple of the divas for a moment, but most of the time it was just one of them left in before someone else tossed them out. Sooooo glad to see Becky get the title! I have no idea where they are going to go from here other than the Bella/Mella feud. Match Rating: 3.5/5
(J): Miz's little segment doesn't bode well for the match. I'm not seeing the intensity I was hoping he'd be bringing tonight. And who the hell is this kid and why should I care?
*Backstage segment, Bray beats down Orton-
(S): Playing the hurt face versus mean heel bit for their match? Interesting. edit- Learned Orton isn't cleared, sad day. 3.5/5, until I learned then 0/5
(J): Orton injured backstage. Could lead to Bray finally getting a big win while not letting Randy lose face. Here's to hoping.
(J): MOJO RAWLEY!!! Wow, that guy had some great spots in this match. I think his energy might be too much for a singles competitor. I don't think he could focus well enough to really drive a solid story through (hence his pairing with Ryder), but if he can harness that, I could see him holding some gold at some point. The Uso's are impressing me with their heel turn. I honestly didn't think they would have it in them to sell me on them being heels. Well done, and I like the finisher combo. Would be even cooler if they could find a smooth way to transition into that submission hold. Match Rating: 3.5/5
(J): Nice work her from Miz. He finally brought a little more intensity than I'm used to seeing in his matches, but still I was hoping for so much more here. Very disappointed in the "tainted" victory. I would much rather have seen this one end cleanly either way. I guess this does mean though that Ziggler will have to "reevaluate". This is probably a good thing as he's been running this character for a while and I think he needs something to reinvigorate him. Like maybe a new name... Match rating: 3.5/5.
(J): I kept waiting for Orton's music to hit and him to come down and fight anyway. Very surprised that we didn't see anything from him.
(J): I agree that Wyatt needs a win, but this was a great match. Kane can still go, and Wyatt just goes balls-to-the-walls in these sorts of matches. The reckless abandon with which he throws himself into everything is just awesome. Match Rating 4/5.
(J): Heath is probably doing some of the best work of his career so far. The "he's got kids" chant cracked me up! This was a great classic match up. No one did anything that was phenomenal in terms of moves that took the crowds breath away, but these four guys told one hell of a story in the ring and everyone's stock went up at least a couple of notches. It was fun, exciting, emotional, and wrapped up with a satisfying ending. I kind of wish that Heath and Rhyno hadn't pulled out the victory though because I'm not sure what will happen with Heath now that this story is wrapped up. I hope we'll see more great things from him and Rhyno. Match rating: 4.5/5.
*Match 7 - AJ Styles V Dean Ambrose WWE World Title-
(S): Great match. Lots of back and forth and just a watchable match. Just go watch it. Aj with the ref bump into the low blow and Styles clash for the win and title. People are freaking about the “tainted” win, but hey, he is HEEL. Also now we get to see Dean chase the title, and he is actually really good in that role, probably twice as good as champ if not more. If not for how amazing AJ is as heel, a double turn would have been perfect here. Expect AJ v Cena soon so Cena can get the title and match Flair. 4.5/5
(J): I didn't know what to expect from this match. I really wasn't sure how the two would work together in the ring. Not because I thought there would be points of contention, but simply their styles and personalities. I didn't feel like there was really enough build up for this to have the weight behind it that a title bout should really have. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the match though. They put on a great show and I hope that we can get a little more character development out of this rivalry leading up to the re-match. I'm sure that we will see AJ and Cena for the title at some point, but I think if they do put the title back on Cena, it will come back to AJ by the end of the rivalry. Match Rating: 4/5.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
(S): I had medium expectations and was blown away by the quality. Overall a 4.5/5 show to me. All the right people won, and for once a happy ending to many stories (Becky, Slater/Rhyno, AJ... lol) Sure they won't stay happy, and they will lose those titles, but that's half the fun.
(J): This was a good start for Smackdown Live as a brand when it comes to PPV quality. I don't think it set a ridiculously high standard, or put Raw on notice, but they set a good tone and laid some ground work to grow from. It's pretty much what I expected given the short turn around from Summer Slam. There were new champs crowned all around, but nothing was actually settled here. So I look for a lot of repeats at No Mercy. Over all show results 3.5/5.
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