411’s WWE The SmackDown LowDown Report 06.10.23: Zelina Vega Challenges Damage CTRL

-Welcome to your weekly coverage of all things SmackDown LowDown related. I watched most of the show last night between flipping back to the Pirates’ game. Let’s get to it!

-Scott Stanford is our fill-in host this week as Jackie is still off with Stanley Cup duties. Matt Camp is here as well, and they start with Jimmy Uso taking on Austin Theory for The US Title. I enjoyed Heyman (and Reigns) playing mind games with Jimmy knowing he is the mentally weak one that has PTSD from all the gas-lighting.

-To the video where Pretty Deadly get involved which brings down Jey Uso and Solo. Jimmy accidentally superkicks Jey which lets Theory retain. Jimmy then walks out without picking a side, but Heyman seems pleased.

-Camp hopes that Jey knows that kick was a mistake and hopes he can’t be manipulated by Roman anymore. Roman is back on SmackDown next week as this story continues to be awesome and must see each week.

-Next we get to the two women’s qualifying matches for MITB. Bayley gets a win over Michin with The Rose Plant. Scarlett blows dust in AJ Styles’ face (he was on commentary) and Karrion Kross chokes him out from behind.

-To the video as Damage CTRL went 2-0 as Iyo gets a win over Shotzi to qualify for Money in The Bank. Both members being in MITB should be interesting.

-Bayley and Iyo are backstage with Megan. She reminds Megan that they told her they both were going to qualify this week and that’s what they did. Zelina Vega shows up and notes Damage CTRL is underestimating her. They aren’t go to walk over her, as she is going to win at MITB. Zelina throws out a challenge to either and Iyo accepts for next week. ANGLE ADVANCEMENT ON THE SMACKDOWN LOWDOWN!

-The field currently is Bayley, Iyo, Zelina, Zoey Stark, and Becky Lynch. There is one spot left to be filled!

-Next week it is official as it will be Zelina vs. Iyo.

-The Brawling Brutes and Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre still to come.

-Peacock commercials!

-Asuka is presented with a new Championship Belt as she is officially the WWE Woman’s Champion. It has the same look as Roman’s new belt, but with a white strap. I said a few weeks back it would make sense to rebrand the two titles as WWE and World so we didn’t have to go through a RAW and SmackDown Title swap every year. I assume on Monday, Rhea gets a new Title that looks similar to Seth’s. Again, that is so much better than Asuka and Rhea swapping belts to make sure they end up on the same show. I always disliked the RAW and SmackDown designation, and I consider this a plus. Charlotte makes her return and immediately gets a Title Match as she will face off with Asuka on SmackDown in three weeks. I assume Bianca gets involved and we get a Triple Threat at some point.

-To the video as Shayna and Ronda want face Isla and Alba to unify the NXT and Woman’s Tag Titles. I am cool with this as well. They don’t need two sets of Woman’s Tag Titles. Just go with the original idea of one set of Titles that can defended on all three brands. Isla and Alba lay out Ronda and Shayna which means they are toast in two weeks.

-Megan is backstage with Isla and Alba. They knew when they came to SmackDown inflated egos wouldn’t let two sets of champions hang around. SmackDown will learn it is the dawn of a new era, and fire will reign! Again, they are toast!

-Two weeks it’s the unification match and Camp feels that The NXT kids have more to lose. It also makes sense now that they didn’t make them vacate their titles like Mrs. Lumis had to when she was drafted.

-The Brawling Brutes are up next!

-Money In The Bank! London!

-To the video as Santos Escobar qualifies for MITB with a win over Ali. They crammed in a lot in a fun little sprint. Good pop for Santos when he got the win.

-To the video as Butch qualifies with a won over Baron Corbin. Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes get involved to continue their issues with Corbin. Same with Cameron Grimes as Corbin has been all over the place.

-MITB Men’s Field: Butch, LA Knight, Nakamura, Santos, and Ricochet. Good group there!

-To the back where The Brawling Brutes are with Megan. Butch has a ladder and decides to sit on top of it while Ridge notes they will be cheering Butch on as Undisputed Tag Champions. They are involved in next week’s #1 Contender’s Gauntlet. The crowd in London should be hot for Butch.

-Next week on SmackDown, Gray Waller will have Charlotte Flair as his guest on The Waller Effect. Also, it’s AJ Styles and Michin vs. Karrion Kross and Scarlett. We also have the 5 Team Gauntlet Match to see who is next for Owens and Zayn. Finally, Roman Reigns returns and we will see if Jey has made a decision.

-Stanford wraps things up and we are out for the week. Thanks for reading!