SMACKDOWN PRIMER 6/6: When Shinsuke met Kevin; Open Fields… Deadly Ladies; It’s a Blue Day, Yes it is; Harper’s Hometown

SMACKDOWN PRIMER
JUNE 6, 2017
ROCHESTER, N.Y. AT BLUE CROSS ARENA
By Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTORCH SPECIALIST

“WHEN SHINSUKE MET KEVIN”

Since debuting on the main roster, Shinsuke has certainly held his own. He may not have had a “lights out” match against Ziggler, but he did defeat the Show Off at Backlash and has already pinned the face of America in a tag team action. Tonight, K.O. gets an opportunity to face the King one-on-one, and possibly hand Swaguske his first loss since signing with the blue brand. If there were ever a time to be envious of Rochester, tonight is the night. (I miss that song.)

As for the other competitors of the MITB: Ziggler and A.J. Styles will meet again in a rematch from last week, where Dolph surprisingly got the upset victory over the Phenomenal One. (In A.J.’s hometown, of course.) I may not be a prophet, but it’s blatantly obvious Styles regains some momentum by returning the favor.

Sami and Corbin still hate each other… so…. yeah. (I have Austin Aries level of great journalistic research.)

“OPEN FIELDS… DEADLY LADIES”

Speaking of rematches, according to WWE.com, we’ll see the Welcoming Committee take on Charlotte, Becky, and Naomi for the second time. Since the faction was formed, the babyfaces have yet to best the trio consisting of Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina including singles matches. I’m as confused as you are as to why. Last week the necessary spark was added to make the Women’s Division slightly interesting again when Shane McMahon pitted these six in the first ever women’s MITB ladder match. That’s all fine, but that means that current champion Naomi (who is literally the only babyface champion between Raw, SD, and NXT) doesn’t have a current challenger and, for the second PPV in a row, her title will go undefended. It’s questionable booking like this that can really derail a wrestler’s momentum. As for tonight, if the story adds the necessary layers to promote the match, I’m on board.

“IT’S A BLUE DAY, YES IT IS.”

-The longest reigning tag champs will be making their in-ring debut for SD Live. The Usos should take a ringside seat to scout out the Unicorn train before their title clash at Money in the Bank.

-Fashion Files seems to still be going strong. Tyler and Fandango may not have defeated the Ugos, but they’re still hard on the case to rid the WWE of disgusting fashion sense, and they may have a new culprit in the “Colognes.” (It’s actually Colons, but everyone is making this joke and I tend to submit to peer pressure.)

-Still awaiting Lana to make her first appearance since getting repackaged. Wouldn’t mind seeing her face Naomi in two weeks.

-Her man-candy Rusev must be stoked that his Predators have tied the Stanley-Cup series at 2-2. However, we the WWE Universe will be stoked when he finally returns to SD Live.

-WHERE THE $%^& IS TYE DILLINGER?

-Rochester is my boy Luke Harper’s hometown. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.

-It’s weird to think that the WWE Championship wouldn’t get a main headline, but it doesn’t seem to be as important these days as the above material. Jinder Mahal had a fun celebration a couple weeks ago, but will he be appearing tonight to tell the good people of Rochester that they discriminate against him? At some point something will have to happen to excite us for his rematch against the Viper.

-Dare I say it, but 205 Live has given us a reason to watch tonight. Neville promised T.J.P. that down the line he’d give him a title opportunity. Last night, T.J. forced the issue and received a beating from the King for doing so. Now the title match is on, and any past collusion between the two is gone.

Smackdown has quite a Raw to follow. You think it’s up to the task?

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S ARTICLE: SMACKDOWN PRIMER 5/30: Will Blue Brand one-up Red Brand on making women look dumber this week? Jinder Week Two, MITB hype