Csonka’s WWE Smackdown Review 5.29.18

Csonka’s WWE Smackdown Review 5.29.18

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Tye Dillinger @ 8:48 via pin [**½]
– The New Day defeated The Bar & Miz @ 12:07 via pin [***½]
– Asuka defeated Mandy Rose @ 5:33 via submission [**½]
– WWE MITB Qualifier: Samoa Joe defeated Daniel Bryan & Big Cass @ 21:20 via submission [***]

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Samoa Joe is Here: Samoa Joe arrives, gets a ladder, climbs it and grabs the briefcase. He then gets biblical and talks about the meaning of the ladder; salvation & heaven, but not in his version. He will climb the ladder and reign down on Smackdown and the champion, shaking the brand to its core. He will prove to Bryan that there are worse things than forced retirement. Call your wife Brie and have her tell your daughter a story, daddy will be home for MITB, but he won’t be the same man. He’ll be drenched in regret and missed opportunity, and that will be because of a bad man named Samoa Joe. Bryan interrupts as Joe has crossed a line, talk about my wife or daughter again and he will break his leg. Big Cass limps his way out and calls them the shrimp and the blimp. He says this is his chance and Bryan’s second chance crap has to stop. Cass says that he spoke with Paige, and that Bryan and Joe won’t happen, and he’s taking on Joe when he is cleared, which is tonight. Cass then lays out Joe & Bryan with the briefcase. This was going really well, Joe was on fire and Bryan was properly pissed. And then Cass arrived and it went from awesome to good. It isn’t that his inclusion didn’t make sense, but he wasn’t needed as the other two were having a great segment.

– Nakamura walks and counts to 10 backstage.

– Paige walks backstage and meets with Rose & Deville. They run down Asuka, and say she hasn’t done anything on Smackdown. Paige then books Rose vs. Asuka, and says tonight’s main event is Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe vs. Big Cass. Way to shit on a match everyone was excited for.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tye Dillinger: They brawl at the bell, Dillinger lays in chops and works over Nakamura in the corner. Mounted strikes follow, Nakamura powders and Dillinger follows but Nakamura attacks. He lays in knee strikes but Dillinger sends him to he barricade. Nakamura then cuts off the dive. We go screen in screen as Nakamura maintains control. Back in and Nakamura covers for 2. Bad vibrations follow and Nakamura then stomps away at Dillinger. The knee drop follows and Nakamura then grounds the action. Back to full screen as Dillinger hits a jawbreaker to escape. Nakamura cuts him off with a knee strike and then starts counting, practicing for his match with AJ. Dillinger fights to his feet, but is cut off right away. Nakamura counts again, and then works over Dillinger with knee strikes in the corner. Nakamura starts his count again. Dillinger again makes it to his feet and dares Nakamura to fight, and follows with strikes and chops. The big clothesline follows. Dillinger hits a modified Tye breaker, but Nakamura cuts him off, heads to the ropes and hits a knee strike. Kinshasa follows for the win. He hits another post match and then counts to 10. Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Tye Dillinger @ 8:48 via pin [**½] This was a sold match, and I really liked Nakamura doing the count to 10gimmick as he came off like a real asshole.

– Styles is interviewed backstage. Styles says he saw what Styles just did. Somewhere something snapped with Styles, and now, he’s more dangerous than he’s ever been. The story of his life has been being underestimated, but he fights smarter and harder than his opponents, which is why he doesn’t back down. At MITB, Nakamura will try to tear him down, but he will be the last man standing.

– Lana, Rusev, & English prepare backstage.

Lana & Naomi Have a Dance Off: It’s nice to see Road Dogg is taking angles right from Total Divas. Rusev & English introduce Lana. The Usos are out with Naomi. Each woman gets 60-seconds to dance. Lana goes first. Naomi goes next. The Usos celebrating in the background was hilarious. They now dance together, doing some Kid’nPlay, and then Lana attacks. She slaps Jimmy and the Usos and Naomi clear the ring. Well that was a dance off. It was fine and I’d expect a mixed tag coming out of this for next week.
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/1001625613910859776

– The Miz work on his Jedi skills, and he is blindfolded, fighting of pancakes being thrown at him by The Bar.

Pancakes, blindfolds, karate chops, OH MY! @mikethemiz @WWESheamus & @WWECesaro collide with @XavierWoodsPhD @TrueKofi @WWEBigE NEXT on #SDLive! pic.twitter.com/A6bSsGtr2L

— WWE (@WWE) May 30, 2018

The New Day vs. The Bar & Miz: Big E and Cesaro start off. Big E tosses him around and tags in Woods, he and Kofi work double teams and cover for 2. Kofi gets cut off and dumped to the floor. Post break, and Miz and Sheamus are working over Kofi. Sheamus grounds things, and then tags in Cesaro and they work quick tags and isolate Kofi. Kofi eventually avoids a Cesaro attack and dumps the Miz. Miz distracts Big E and he gets cut off on the floor. Back in and Kofi rolls up Cesaro for 2. More double teams follow, Miz tags in and Kofi counters the finale and hits SOS. Kofi manages to tag in Woods and Sheamus is in as well. Woods runs wild, takes out Miz and Sheamus then posts himself. Woods then hits a step up dive onto Cesaro. Back in and the tornado DDT gets 2 on Sheamus. Woods up top and Miz distracts him, Sheamus crotches him and Kofi then takes out Miz, but Cesaro takes him out. The Bar hit double teams, but Woods kicks out at 2. Woods fights of the neutralizer, Big E in and they hit a double team backstabber on Cesaro for 2. Big E looks for big ending, but Miz tags in and hits the short DDT for 2. It breaks down and Woods gets taken out on the floor. Kofi wipes out the Bar with a dive; big ending by Big E on Miz and that’s all. The New Day defeated The Bar & Miz @ 12:07 via pin [***½] This started off pretty good, but from the Woods hot tag on, kicked into a completely different level with great action, some good near falls, and a really hot crowd that was into everything. It was a ton of fun.

– Renee interviews the Good Brothers. They talk about their MITB title shot, and how Anderson’s hot Asian wife loves his abs. They buried the hatchet with the Usos, had some beers, and got some advice on how to handle the Bludgeon Brothers. The Bludgeon Brothers appear on the screen and cut a cryptic promo.

"Minds OBLITERATED. Souls CORRUPTED. Bodies LIQUEFIED. Prepare yourselves for The #BludgeonBrothers!"

@LukeGallowsWWE & @KarlAndersonWWE are in for the fight of their lives at #MITB. #SDLive @ERICKROWAN @LukeHarperWWE pic.twitter.com/1fqWe8Bpqo

— WWE (@WWE) May 30, 2018

– Carmella joins commentary.

– Deville attacks Asuka during her entrance. Asuka is pissed now.

Asuka vs. Mandy Rose: the bell rings and Rose lays in the boots and strikes on Asuka, beating her down in the corner. The suplex follows for 2. Rose continues to control, hitting a knee strike for 2. We go screen in screen as Rose maintains control, working a cravat. Asuka escapes and gets a back slide for 2. Rose cuts her off, but Asuka counters back with a head kick. Back to full screen, and Asuka is fired up and laying in strikes. She follows with kicks and a knee strike. The sliding kick follows, hits an ass attack and heads up top. The missile dropkick follows and Asuka covers for 2. Rose battles back with a clothesline but Asuka gets a cradle for 2. The Asuka lock follows and Rose taps. Asuka defeated Mandy Rose @ 5:33 via submission [**½] This was solid as the pre-match attack allowed Rose to get believable control. Rose is continuing to improve.

– Carmella confronts Asuka and poses with the championship.

– Charlotte & Becky talk backstage, and Charlotte says she’s winning MITB, but Becky disagrees. Paige arrives for some awkward conversation, it seems they were setting a match for next week.

– Next week, we get Becky vs. Charlotte as well as Lana & English vs. Naomi & Jimmy Uso.

– Andrade Almas meets with Sin Cara backstage, and Vega interrupts and tells him to back the fuck off. TENSION!

WWE MITB Qualifier: Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe vs. Big Cass: Bryan attacks Cass right away and then Joe joins in and they beat him down. They double-team him, and the Joe attacks Bryan. He follows with jabs, and then lays in chops. Bryan almost botches the backflip counter, but he then dumps Cass and Joe hits the elbow suicida. Post break, and Joe & Cass are battling back and forth. Joe hits an enziguri, looks for the choke and Bryan is back in. Joe cuts him off, and then Cass attacks him but Bryan joins back in and lays in leg kicks on Cass. Cass takes Bryan to the floor and tosses him over the announce table. Back in and Cass attacks Joe, but Bryan rushes back in. he takes out Cass and works up top with Joe and hits the RANA. He follows with corner dropkicks, but Cass in and cuts him off, covering for 2. Post break, and Joe and Cass are brawling. Cass lays in clubbing strikes, and hits the elbow drop but Bryan makes the save. Joe and Cass trade strikes, Bryan joins in and attacks the knee of Cass and then Joe. Bryan now lays in kicks to both, and covers Cass for 2. Bryan continues to attack the knee of Cass, but Joe gets the clutch on Bryan, but Bryan counters into a pinning combo for 2. Bryan dumps Joe, and looks for the yes lock on Cass, and gets it after a fight. Joe makes the save, but Bryan takes him out with the apron knee strike. Bryan up top now, and hits Cass with a missile dropkick. He fires up and hits the running knee strike, but Joe gets the clutch on Bryan. Bryan fades, and he’s out. Samoa Joe defeated Daniel Bryan & Big Cass @ 21:20 via submission [***] While I fond it a bit too slavish to the triple threat formula at times, I thought that tonight’s main event was a good match that gave everyone a chance to shine, and I feel the right man won since Joe’s been on fire, but I wasn’t too hot on Bryan taking the loss.

– Post match, Cass lays out Bryan; this feud must continue.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

6.6

The final score: review Average

The 411

Tonight’s episode of WWE Smackdown was a solid show, with good pacing, nice build to MITB, and also setting up some matches for next week.