SmackDown

King Corbin is such a fantastic heel, probably the best of this decade. He is so proficient in the art of getting under the skin of fans. For example, that little dig on SmackDown he made at Roman Reigns for not wanting the responsibility of being a champion anymore and instead choosing to do charity work (because he was off granting a child’s wish for Make-A-Wish). He is masterful at being able to generate heat while staying within the context of the current storyline.

As WrestleMania draws nearer, a new proposition is in order for the event (because I have fully given up on Kevin Owens). The new hypothesis may be much more accurate because some plans for the event have become clearer.

The Fiend could either hold the Universal Championship all the way until ‘Mania or Corbin could win the title in January or February and hold it until WrestleMania. Either one of the scenarios is very feasible. No matter what, I see one of these two men losing the Universal Championship at ‘Mania.

Corbin simply deserves a title match because of how great of a heel he is. And when someone gets the massive payoff of beating Roman Reigns, it might finally be time to pull the trigger. Everyone would hate it, but that would be the intent behind his title reign.

It looks like The Fiend will be challenging Daniel Bryan next, and Bryan is the perfect opponent for The Fiend because he is clearly in a state of transition with his character. It looks like Sami Zayn will have to wait for an answer. It is really how Daniel Bryan has turned the persona of his character into that of an extreme introvert, carefully planning out his next move.

Seven-time champs! The New Day is perfectly on pace to surpass the Dudley Boyz’ record of nine WWE Tag Team Championship reigns.

Travel issues on the way home from Saudi Arabia? No big deal; NXT covered in a great way for the SmackDown superstars and probably delivered every bit as good of a show as the originals would have, maybe even better. This was by far the best episode of SmackDown since its debut on FOX. The show follows a simple formula and each segment just seems too low right into the next; because of that, it’s a very easy episode to write about.

NXT as a third brand will add an entirely different and fresh feel to the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View. This is something the Survivor Series event is badly in need of; over the course of the last couple of years, the event has become somewhat stale and had a predictable feel. It was a very smart decision for some NXT superstars to show up on SmackDown and go 3-0 in matches against main roster superstars; the biggest being NXT Champion Adam Cole retaining his title against Daniel Bryan.

Even Pat McAfee showed up and filled in as a commentator for Aiden English after about 30 minutes, and he did a rather excellent job. It’s also so cool that he is a former NFL player; who knows, maybe his recently retired teammate Andrew Luck could get involved with WWE in the future. His dad, Oliver Luck, is the Commissioner of Vince McMahon’s XFL that will begin play in February 2020.

November 1, 2019 had to be a proud day for Triple H, but let’s also address Brock Lesnar. He and Paul Heyman quit SmackDown so Brock could go after Rey Mysterio on Monday Night Raw. This may be a way for WWE to compensate for the fact that both major champions are now on FOX; or I could be totally wrong, and WWE could be setting up for another major trade between brands.

This will also free up time for Paul Heyman to devote himself exclusively to the production of Monday Night Raw since he is the Executive Director and Bruce Prichard is the Executive Director of SmackDown.

This week’s episode of SD almost exclusively featured segments that included preparation for Crown Jewel. It wasn’t the most entertaining TV, but there were ups and downs just like any episode of WWE TV. It was subtle, but in the main event it was very unselfish of Roman Reigns to allow Ali to pick up the pin in the six-man tag match.

Cesaro’s value to the company can also never be underestimated. Maybe he could use a little work on the mic and from a character perspective, but in terms of his in-ring ability, he is absolutely incredible. It would be a shame to see a man with this much ability not get the opportunity he deserves to be WWE champion at some point.

Nikki Cross feels very authentic in the brand of crazy she brings to SmackDown. Because of this, she may be a champion on the main roster sooner rather than later. The WWE universe really connects with the fact that she is not afraid in the slightest to let her personality completely shine through. I was somewhat perplexed by the fact that she was so over in NXT, but it was probably because of this unspoken and authentic aura that permeates out of her.

It also has to be valued that Alexa Bliss, an established superstar, has helped her ingratiate her character into the WWE universe.

Brock Lesnar seems to be superhuman. It’s very nice to see Lesnar being booked very similar to the way he was during his first WWE tenure (2002 – 2004), as a soulless animal. The victims he demolished this week were Cain Velasquez along with Rey Mysterio, and his son Dominic. We also saw what may have been the greatest episode yet of Firefly Funhouse, in which Ramblin’ Rabbit came back to life, very similar to Kenny on South Park. Bray Wyatt is so bizarre that fans can’t help but like him. His character has gone from deranged cult leader during the first few years of his WWE career to children’s TV show host.

This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown seemed to flow very well, and viewers could clearly trace one event to the next. This is an extremely positive sign of the influence of SmackDown’s new Executive Director Bruce Prichard.

I have a feeling SmackDown on FOX will become a must-see weekly wrestling show with the newfound creative influence of Prichard each week. One cannot completely discount the possibility that the early success of AEW may have played a rather large role in motivating WWE to make this switch of the SmackDown Executive Director.

The only aspect of the show that was somewhat disappointing was that Roman Reigns did not claim the Intercontinental Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura. When this match was first announced I thought to myself “If there is no outside interference, then I cannot feasibly see a scenario in which Reigns does not win the title.”

But because there was outside interference from King Corbin, it seems that a match will surely be announced for Survivor Series on November 24 between Corbin and Roman. Reigns is already the captain for Team Hogan at Crown Jewel, and Corbin will most likely be involved in the match as well.

It also seems that, because of the result of the tag team match that occurred later in the night, Daniel Bryan will get an opportunity at IC Champ Shinsuke Nakamura. This might not happen until Survivor Series, however, because Bryan has refused to participate in Saudi Arabia events citing his dissension over political issues and how the kingdom has dealt with issues.

Another Crown Jewel update is that The Undertaker will not be competing at the event. This will mark the first WWE event in Saudi Arabia that The Undertaker won’t be a part of. Maybe WWE is becoming aware of his diminishing abilities physically. Or, maybe they just figure that they already have enough part-time stars performing at the event since the likes of Cain Velasquez, Tyson Fury, and Brock Lesnar are already competing at the event. Or, maybe WWE is gaining trust in their current roster of full-time superstars. Regardless of the reason, this marks a change in the tide for WWE. It doesn’t necessarily mean The Undertaker is quite finished in WWE just yet, but it could very well mean he is inching closer to retirement.

The Women’s Division on SmackDown looks to be in much better shape than people might have guessed after the conclusion of the WWE draft. I personally thought it was a little thin, but after seeing the women in action in the six-pack challenge to determine the no. 1 contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship I am rather confident in what I see. Dana Brooke and her flex appeal seemed to shine brightest of the six.

Nikki Cross will make a great next challenger for Bayley after apparently ending her partnership with Alexa Bliss. This was expected since they were drafted separately. But the most prominent story of the night was the fact that Bayley is doing a very good job of playing a believable heel who has a fractured and extremely bleak outlook on life. In addition, her new entrance suits her as well.

Ali also looks to have the makings of a big-time superstar. His major push got derailed in February when he was injured way before the Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View. The reason the WWE universe was okay with it was because #KofiMania began, which led to a much deserved six month stretch for Kofi Kingston as WWE Champion. This validated his 11 years of grinding and giving his heart and soul every night.

Side Note: The eight-man tag match was very entertaining and a great way for the guys involved to showcase their abilities heading into the World Cup match at Crown Jewel.

Shorty G is carving a niche for himself as an upper midcarder, even though he didn’t necessarily need the name change. The WWE universe was behind Chad Gable during the KOTR tournament as “Chad” and they will continue to love him as Shorty G.

Lastly, Drew Gulak deserves better booking than being fed to Braun Strowman for dinner. Unfortunately, Braun doesn’t care if Drew’s a former Cruiserweight Champion – The Monster’s gotta eat.

Since Bayley destroyed her inflatables, which was a great tactic to signify her change in attitude by the way. It’s safe to say that she has officially turned heel. Bayley was sort of trying to uphold the status of babyface for a couple of months by claiming that all she was doing was maintaining her loyalty to Sasha Banks, but now she has fully embraced the dark side. It was a very smart move by WWE to make Bayley’s heel turn gradual because her character was so firmly entrenched as a face that it took a while for the WWE universe to accept her in any other portrayal.

I personally like this character change for Bayley, simply because she was becoming a little bit stale and the WWE universe could basically script what to expect from her. It is a little bit surprising, however, from the perspective that one might guess that WWE and FOX would have elected to begin the new era of SmackDown with a familiar Women’s Champion in Charlotte Flair.

In my opinion, this will now solidify the women’s division in WWE as being viewed in the same light as the guys. I’m of course referring to Becky Lynch being the no.1 pick this past week in the WWE draft.

WWE probably missed a significant opportunity on SmackDown. This would have been a great way for Seth Rollins to turn heel on Roman Reigns because:

1. they have an extensive history together and it would have been sure to get a massive reaction from the WWE universe, and;
2. there have been hints of a character change for Seth since WrestleMania when he won the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar for the first time with a low blow.

The most recent example was on October 6 at Hell in a Cell in which he was heavily booed after displaying an excessive amount of aggression towards The Fiend. He already seems to be a villain on social media, so this would add to the heel persona.

The strong booking of Kofi Kingston continues, since he is the one who got the pin on AJ Styes in The New Day’s victory over The OC. WWE has made absolutely certain to book him as a strong competitor and a main event player against all competition except Brock Lesnar, who will be busy with Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel.

FOX has their fingerprints all over the production of SmackDown and making it feel like fans are watching a sports game. This was shown in the people who were featured on the show, like Erin Andrews, Michael Strahan, and Terry Bradshaw. The introduction of major sports figures like Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury can’t hurt either.

Brock Lesnar was simply too much for Kofi Kingston. He also adds more legitimacy to the format of SmackDown and the introduction of Cain Velasquez is the icing on the cake. Velasquez did make an appearance at AAA’s TripleMania 27 earlier this year. Velasquez vs. Lesnar is definitely a massive WrestleMania bout to start building which WWE very well may already have in the works. Cain also has a history with Lesnar, beating Brock for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in 2010.

My prediction is that Lesnar will lose the WWE Championship before that time comes so Vince McMahon does not have his hands tied and has to make this a title match. This can free up an opportunity for Kevin Owens to become WWE Champion, which the WWE universe will probably be more accepting of.

This could very well be the start of the build to a confrontation at ‘Mania between Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman, similar to the clash in 2008 between Floyd Mayweather and The Big Show. This makes perfect sense because Braun serves a very similar role within the company as Big Show did, almost as more of an ambassador, which is still very important.

This is a gigantic leap for Kevin Owens to go over on a McMahon. It would not surprise me at all if WWE elected to begin a big push for KO heading into WrestleMania, still possibly culminating with Owens winning the WWE Championship. I was wrong about the push beginning after SummerSlam, but I’m still confident that WWE could have major plans for Kevin Owens.

The final episode of SD Live on USA turned out to be a fun one. The new era on FOX will be a huge opportunity for WWE to further solidify itself as a company that is respected and beloved by mainstream society. Not only that, WWE has a great opportunity to change the way it is viewed by the majority of people and convince people worldwide to view it as a sport (Triple H has openly talked about how he would like WWE to be viewed as a sport as opposed to just entertainment).

One has to infer that the ladder match between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon will take place on the premiere episode of SmackDown on FOX October 4. This will be a great combination to the long-standing rivalry between the two men. It will also be Kevin Owens’ first ladder match since WrestleMania 32 in 2016 if I recall correctly. This may mean Kevin Owens will finally be able to move on to a meaningful feud – possibly for the WWE Championship – without Shane McMahon hanging over his head.

Erick Rowan has improved remarkably over the last several years in the ring and he is also much more comfortable on the mic. He just seems to be a perfect fit as a monster heel in WWE. Daniel Bryan officially turned babyface again, aligning with Roman Reigns to form a tag team to take on the former Wyatt family members/Bludgeon Brothers Luke Harper and Erick Rowan at Hell in a Cell. I don’t know about you, but I think I might be more behind Daniel Bryan than I was before he turned heel in November 2018.

Kofi Kingston very well may have conducted his best and most authentic interview of his WWE tenure this week with Michael Cole. He seems very comfortable, secure, and deeply rooted in who he is as a person. As much as you’ve got to love Kofi Kingston’s attitude, it’s still inevitable that The Beast Brock Lesnar will win the WWE Championship next week on FOX.

Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch took the next step in terms of advancing their rivalry. Their match at Clash of Champions was extremely intense and the rematch will surely be every bit as intense and maybe even a little more. It’s a possibility at this point for Sasha to win the title from Becky so she can gain more heat from the WWE universe. But the creative team is in a good spot with this match because either outcome could have a very plausible and interesting story.

A massive amount of respect has to be given to Ali because, while he took the L this week, he displayed his toughness while taking a major beating from Shinsuke Nakamura. I’m not a doctor, but Ali may be at least slightly concussed after that one. We have to feel for Ali a little because he looked as though he might get an intercontinental Championship match against Shinsuke after picking up a victory against him in a non-title match on the July 30 episode of SD Live.

Side Note: I feel like Carmella deserves an honorable mention because she has been thrust into the spotlight a little more after becoming the 24/7 Champion.

Any person who even remotely considers themselves to be a fan of WWE had to fully expect some big plans to be revealed for the October 4 episode of SmackDown Live, which is the debut episode on FOX. The plans are huge indeed, as the return of Brock Lesnar always proves to be a major draw (no matter how many fans refuse to admit) in an era where virtually no one by themselves is a draw anymore. This was Lesnar’s first appearance on SmackDown in about 15 years, because he hasn’t appeared once on SmackDown since making his return to WWE in 2012. He (and Paul Heyman) challenged Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship on October 4, which will be on FOX, the go-home episode before Hell in a Cell.

One has to wonder what the plan will be for Lesnar and the WWE Championship at the Pay-Per-View (I don’t see a feasible scenario where Kofi retains his title. He’s reigned as WWE Champion for much longer than anyone would have expected, and he’s been a great champion too). I can’t imagine a major title not being included at all. The Undertaker is also scheduled to make an appearance on the first episode of SD Live on FOX. This network jump is a monumental move for WWE. Well done, Vince. Triple H also deserves major credit for NXT’s move to USA starting this week.

So, Kevin Owens may not be going to NXT as many believed (he still might, given that they could use more star power with their move to USA, which begins this week). The fact is that Kevin has a legitimate case in his lawsuit against Shane McMahon could mean that they will be involved in a huge storyline heading into WrestleMania. It is just not what I would have chosen because they already had a rivalry in 2017 that ultimately led to a Hell in a Cell match in which Shane put his life on the line for a second time by jumping off the Cell. The WWE universe might quickly grow tired of seeing this rivalry play out for a second time.

AOP will imminently be a force to be reckoned with in the WWE Tag Team Division, whether they get drafted to Raw or SmackDown. They are being portrayed as intimidating freaks of nature who were too violent for UFC. WWE may want to consider drafting them to the same show as the Viking Raiders, because those two teams could do some serious damage in a match.

Another thing that’s extremely positive to see is that WWE creative is maintaining Chad Gable as a priority. He showed potential in the King of the Ring tournament to eventually develop into a Daniel Bryan-type character the WWE universe could embrace wholeheartedly and really put their arms around. Let’s hope the creative team doesn’t miss the boat with this one as they did with Rusev Day. I have a feeling that he will only be relevant otherwise for a finite amount of time. The WWE universe may not relentlessly fight for him to get pushed as they did for Daniel Bryan (Gable might not have quite as much natural and authentic charisma; Bryan truly is one all a kind.)

WWE might elect to book Charlotte Flair and Carmella, because in the recent past, Carmella hasn’t been doing anything except frantically helping R-Truth keep hold of the 24/7 Championship. It would be nice if she had something more meaningful to do.

This is easily the biggest opportunity of Chad Gable’s WWE career: advancing to the finals of the KOTR Tournament next week on Monday Night Raw to take on Baron Corbin (even though he will probably lose). It also has to feel like a demotion for Elias to be replaced by Shane McMahon in the semifinal match of the tournament. This may be a sign of the light in which WWE views Elias.

Kevin Owens was also obviously fired. This is my pick to become WWE Champion at WrestleMania, so I have a proposal for a way WWE could extend this storyline until then. Shane McMahon could use his tyrannical authority to become WWE Champion at say Royal Rumble, and Kevin Owens could dethrone him at WrestleMania. This could be a perfect way for Shane McMahon to potentially end his in-ring career.

The segment with The Undertaker was rather underwhelming, especially when considering the only reason he made an appearance was that WWE was back at MSG. The WWE universe got very excited because it was the go-home episode of SD Live before Clash of Champions, so fans were anticipating that he might have a match at the pay-per-view. It was smart, however, to give Sami Zayn a spotlight with The Undertaker considering how much of a contrasting element there is between their personas.

The match with Roman Reigns will put Rowan on the map in terms of being a monster heel. This match should ideally serve to progress the storyline as to who Reigns’ actual attacker is (someone had to have told Rowan to attack Reigns) rather than ending the storyline right now because it would feel incomplete. WWE has built up the storyline so that it seems there will be a huge final reveal on the first episode of SD Live on the FOX Network on October 4. Maybe the final reveal could be that Daniel Bryan turns out to have been behind the whole thing, or someone like Brock Lesnar. It turns out WWE creative has botched the entire storyline and taken it completely off track, so who knows where it will go.

Randy Orton feels real and like he means every word of every promo, even when he calls Kofi Kingston “stupid” about 15 times. It’s also impressive that Bayley is working two matches this week and is also defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions against Charlotte Flair (which Charlotte will win by the way to become a 10 – time Women’s Champion in WWE). Because it’s taking place from her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina). Also, you gotta love Heavy Machinery and how much sheer charisma they have in the ring, particularly Otis.

The Roman Reigns storyline has been built over the past month so that the final reveal is huge (and will probably take place on the first SD Live on Fox on October 4^th right before the Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View). It would feel incomplete if Rowan turned out to be the man responsible for the attacks on Roman Reigns. Nonetheless, this will still undoubtedly be the biggest match/opportunity of Rowan’s career. He’d better make the most of it because he will probably never get an opportunity like this again if it doesn’t go well.

I don’t know if I’ve ever admitted this before, but I was utterly confused by Bayley’s wishy-washy promo. She is teetering on the edge of babyface territory and not quite willing to take the final step into heel territory. As a result, Charlotte Flair along with the rest of the WWE universe doesn’t know how to react. Sasha Banks has quite a bit to teach Bayley on the art of being a heel, because she is so good at it.

The developments in the King of the Ring tournament turned out to be rather shocking, but I have to admit that it has been booked brilliantly. First of all, changing Elias’ music was a great idea because it is already commanding the audience to take his character more seriously. He has brought a much more aggressive demeanor in recent weeks and this will hopefully serve to create a niche for him as a heel. It also helps him that he is quite a bit bigger than many superstars on the roster because the wrestling industry has trended in recent years towards fans demanding men and women who are more athletic and agile then they were say a decade ago. The future looks like it could be potentially brighter than it has been for the last couple of years for Elias.

Chad Gable got the most surprising victory this week. He also received a massive pop from the crowd, and this very well may do some good in terms of his booking in the future. One thing that can be said for certain is that it’s a pretty safe bet that the KOTR final match at Clash of Champions will tear the house down and it is very likely to steal the show, because you can’t go wrong if you have Baron Corbin, Samoa Joe, Ricochet, Elias, and Chad Gable to choose from.

Respect has to be given to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross for working two matches this week on both Raw and SD Live. The team of Fire and Desire will likely be next in line for an opportunity at the Women’s Tag Team Championships at Clash of Champions because they pinned the champions. There is still not a significant amount of direction for these titles.

Slide Note: I still have not given up hope for Kevin Owens to receive a major push leading up to ‘Mania, creative just doesn’t have anything for him right now immediately following SummerSlam.