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WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER
JUNE 19, 2018
TOLEDO, OH AT HUNTINGTON CENTER
AIRS ON USA NETWORK 8:00 P.M. EDT
BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Arena/Opening Thoughts
WWE will arrive in Toledo, OH tonight as they bring Smackdown into the Huntington Center where the show last appeared over a year ago on May 23, 2017. We’ll continue the fallout from Sunday’s Money in the Bank PPV and, as we did on Raw last night, start to turn our attention towards the next PPV event Extreme Rules set to take place just under a month from now on July 15, 2018.
Both the women’s and men’s MITB contracts went to Raw wrestlers, so we’ll look to see what General Manager Paige may or may not have to say about that. A.J. Styles retained the WWE Championship and will get ready for a new #1 contender. Carmella is still Smackdown Women’s Champion thanks to a returning James Ellsworth. The Bludgeon Brothers are still Tag Team Champions as they defeated “The Good Brothers” Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in the MITB kickoff show. We’ll take a look at the next chapters of these stories as well as what else WWE is advertising for this evening.
Gauntlet Match: Determination of #1 Contender for WWE Championship at Extreme Rules
Following the last man standing match at MITB which saw A.J. Styles retain the WWE Championship over Shinsuke Nakamura, he needs a new #1 contender for his upcoming title defense at Extreme Rules. Tonight we’ll see a gauntlet match to determine that contender involving Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Big E, The Miz, and Rusev. For those not familiar with a gauntlet match, two wrestlers begin in a one-on-one matchup. One a decision is recorded, the wrestler on the losing end is eliminated and the next participant comes out. This continues until all participants have entered and a final decision is recorded. As I talked about earlier, that individual will go on to face A.J. Styles for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules.
It’s not known at the moment which two wrestlers will start and in what order the remaining competitors will come out.
Thoughts: It’s obvious with Shinsuke Nakamura not in the match that the Nakamura/Styles rivalry is over for the time being. As far as this match tonight what I find most interesting is the involvement of Daniel Bryan and The Miz. They have been linked for so long and if you’ve been following WWE closely in recent years, a rivalry has been teased which began on Talking Smack over a year and a half ago when Bryan was Smackdown G.M. It will be interesting to see if they keep them separate tonight or they decide to begin the first chapter of what many people feel will be an intense rivalry. We should also look to see if Rusev and Samoa Joe sell any injuries after being in the MITB ladder match Sunday. Big E’s participation certain has my interest, especially to see how the rest of New Day fits into the picture.
Sanity Debut: Sanity vs. The Usos
It’s been a while since we were told they’d be coming to Smackdown. Tonight we finally get the debut of Sanity consisting of Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe. They will take on The Usos, Jimmy and Jey. What is not clear is if it will be all three members of Sanity in the match. It’s not being advertised as a handicap match, so I’d imagine it will be a two-on-two. We’ll have to tune in to find out which two wrestlers will partake! It’s not know if this match has any implications on the Smackdown tag team championship picture.
Thoughts: I always look forward to debuts. Judging by their work in NXT I think we will enjoy what we see; however, buyer beware as we’ve seen several acts come up to the main roster and not replicate or even come close to the success they had in NXT. You can ask Bayley, Sasha Banks, The Revival, or Becky Lynch if you don’t believe me. It’s interesting to see them debut against The Usos, who find themselves in a weird spot after losing to Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson several weeks ago.
Becky Lynch vs. Billie Kay
Becky Lynch came ever so close to becoming Ms. Money in the Bank Sunday. She nearly unhooked the briefcase atop the ladder when Alexa Bliss came over and knocked her off. If you saw the event, your mileage may vary as to whether or not it was a blown spot. I have my opinion, but I’ll keep it to myself if that tells you anything. Nonetheless Becky takes on Billie Kay of The IIconics tonight in a one-on-one matchup. The two were opposite each other in a 10-woman tag match on last week’s Smackdown.
Thoughts: I’m oddly looking forward to this matchup. I don’t mind when WWE announces these contests ahead of time even though this isn’t a match that blows the doors off. I’m sure we’ll be treated to some pre-match IIconics trolling certainly if Peyton Royce accompanies Billie at ringside. I’m curious to see Becky’s trajectory as she did defeat Charlotte a few weeks ago and came close to winning MITB Sunday. Let’s also look to see if anything develops between those two as they did go at it pretty hard Sunday night.
Possible “Mellabration”
WWE.com is alluding to a possible “Mellabration” following Carmella’s successful Smackdown Women’s Championship defense over Asuka this past Sunday at MITB. (I’m assuming they’re not sending out invitations?) That victory was aided by a returning James Ellsworth as he appeared on the apron wearing Asuka’s mask, distracting Asuka and helping Carmella score the pin fall. Ellsworth in his previous WWE stint from 2016-2017, was Carmella’s “sidekick.” (She once made him wear a dog collar. Take that as you will.)
Thoughts: I’m certain we’ll get some sort of follow-up as Asuka can’t be too pleased losing due to outside interference. Carmella I’m sure will tout how she’s beaten both Charlotte and Asuka, both of whom many consider arguably the best women on the roster considering they were featured in a WrestleMania match only two months ago. We’ll need to determine a #1 contender to Carmella’s championship if we’re not going to get a rematch between her and Asuka. This is just a thought, but don’t be surprised if a rematch happens tonight.
Other Items
- Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Sin Cara is still in play
- Big Cass lost his second PPV match in a row to Daniel Bryan. He’s not involved in the gauntlet match tonight. We’ll see his what his new direction is coming out of Sunday.
- U.S. Champion Jeff Hardy defeated Shinsuke Nakamura by DQ in a non-title match last week. There could be follow up as the Nakamura-Styles rivalry appears to have come to an end.
Wrestlers Advertised/Dark Matches
The Huntington Center’s website is advertising a “double main event” featuring:
- WWE Champion A.J. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Smackdown Women’s Champion Carmella vs. Charlotte
The website was definitely not updated because, as of today, they are advertising “Smackdown General Manager” Daniel Bryan, The Usos, New Day, and “many more live.” The matches don’t really make a lot of sense as those rivalries are behind us.
Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani or email me at fpeteani@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!
To say that Sasha hasn’t replicated or come close to her success in NXT is utter rubbish. She’s a multiple time women’s champion, she has had a marquee Wrestlemania match, main evented Raw before it wasn’t a big deal to do that AND first women to main event a PPV!
Just because she hasn’t been booked right and needs a heel turn to rejuvenate her career doesn’t mean everything she has done up till this point isn’t impressive.
Totally agree about sasha. Multiple t.v. main events, first women’s hell in a cell, on tv weekly.
Your Becky Lynch comment is nonsense. Becky’s had a fine run so far. The only NXT alumnus who’s had a definitively better run is Charlotte.