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KELLER’S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. AT CHASE CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
Announcers: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
[HOUR ONE]
-They opened with a clip of Erick Rowan talking about doing what he did to Roman Reigns “to change the perceived dominance he thinks he has.” (Trying to ram someone with car and crush them with scaffolding does more than “change a perception.”) Then he talked about preventing Daniel Bryan from ever disrespecting him again. Then they showed Luke Harper attacking Bryan from behind when Bryan told Rowan to do something about the disrespect he felt, with Reigns making the save, but then Harper and Rowan double-teaming him at ringside with a brutal attack.
(Keller’s Analysis: The editing of video and audio made things look crazy chaotic. Well done.)
-Phillips introduced Smackdown from San Francisco. Then Rowan made his way out to his slow plodding music. Graves said he has carved out a path of destruction and is more motivated than ever before. He said some people sing and some people paint, but he annihilates. Fans booed. “Just don’t call me an artist, call me a creator,” he said. “What I did was create violence that commands respect.” Fans chanted “You suck!” He said the fans like to belittle him and treat him as if he’s less than human by calling him a big redwood. He said it reminds him of a saying, “Might makes right.” He said what matters is whether you can destroy and dominate, and if you can, that makes you right. He said the entire Smackdown locker room knows he’s right and that’s why they’re afraid. Bryan’s music interrupted.
Bryan walked out and did not play into the crowd’s cheers and “Yes!” chants. He told Rowan if he feels he is right and wants respect, “fight me right now.” He dropped the mic and challenged Rowan. The ref made it official.
(1) DANIEL BRYAN vs. ERICK ROWAN
Rowan took control a minute in and twisted Bryan’s head. After a spin wheel kick stopped Bryan’s comeback, Rowan scored a two count. Then they cut to a break. [c]
Rowan took it to Bryan at ringside. He powerbombed Bryan into the ringpost. Bryan barely beat getting counted out. Bryan made a comeback and wrapped Rowan’s leg around the ringpost. Then he slidekicked his leg into the ringpost. Rowan took over again and put Bryan in a bear hug mid-ring. They cut to another break, but stayed with the action on split-screen. [c]
Rowan dominated during the break. Bryan ducked a charging Rowan, then dove at him at ringside. Rowan caught him, but Bryan slipped free and shoved Rowan into the ringpost. Bryan leaped off the top rope and dropkicked Rowan. Fans stood and chanted “Yes!” Bryan showed babyface-style fire and threw a barrage of Yes kicks at Rowan’s left shoulder and then head. That was good for a mere one count. Bryan leaped off the top rope, but Rowan grabbed his throat. Bryan shifted down into a Lebell Lock. Luke Harper showed up. Bryan released his hold just as Rowan grabbed the bottom rope. Bryan dropkicked Luke and then tackled him into the announce desk. Harper stood right up. Rowan grabbed Bryan from behind and Claw Slammed him into the ring. As he did it, a potentially bad botch happened where Bryan’s foot got caught up between the second and third rope. Bryan landed differently than planned and was dangling from the ropes. Rowan couldn’t pin him, so with the ref’s help they released Bryan. Rowan then went to another Claw Slam and scored the pin.
WINNER: Rowan in 17:00.
-Afterward, Rowan and Harper double-teamed Bryan. They cleared the announce desk. Reigns’s music played and he came out with a fast-walk. He leaped off the stairs with a Superman Punch to Harper and a uppercut to Rowan. He was soon overwhelmed by the double-team. Bryan tried to make the save. He gave Harper a running high knee in the ring. Harper rolled out of the ring. Rowan then set up another Claw Slam. Reigns speared Rowan. Bryan then asked for a one word answer. He asked the fans if they want to see him and Roman attack “their disrespecting asses.” Fans yelled, “Yes!” Fans weren’t being fickle there.
-The announcers hyped the women’s tag match and a look at The Beast. [c]
-They showed postcard shots of San Francisco.
-They showed San Francisco 49ers at ringside.
-A video package aired on Brock Lesnar narrated by Paul Heyman.
-Michael Cole interviewed Kofi Kingston in a backstage sit-down setting. Kofi didn’t like Cole introducing him without enthusiasm. Kofi showed him how. Cole said they tried that once, but it didn’t work out so well. Kofi admitted Cole’s hip movements need work. Cole asked why on earth did Kofi accept Brock’s challenge. Kofi said he made a promise when he became champion, he’d be a fighting champion, and this is just another chapter. He said he feels at the top of his game. He said he’s defeated Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, and Dolph Ziggler. He said he feels he is at the top of his game and he feels pretty good. Cole talked about the Friday Night Smackdown premiere on Fox. He asked if he feels pressure. Kofi said he always feel pressure, but this is a huge deal for WWE to be involved with Fox. He said people think Brock is going to just have his way and be the big attraction and walked out as champion. Kofi said he’s not ready to give up the title just yet after how hard he worked. He said he knows when he walks out of the Fox premiere on Oct. 4 after beating Lesnar, he’ll remain “your WWE World Heavyweight Champion, baby.”
-The announcers hyped the Kofi vs. Lesnar match next Friday.
-Chad Gable made his ring entrance. [c]
-They aired clips of Gable vs. King Corbin last night on Raw.
-Gable stood mid-ring with a mic in hand. He said last week Corbin said no matter how hard he tries, he’ll always come up short. “Yes, that’s a short joke,” he said. He said his run in the King of the Ring tournament was no joke, nor was his match last night where he had Corbin beat. He said Corbin took the low road and got himself disqualified. Mike Kanellis interrupted. He walked out and said he’s really sorry to come out there and “cut you short.” He said he wanted to prove to his pregnant wife that size does matter. (He’s barely taller than him, and he’s got booster boots with built in deep heels.)
(2) CHAD GABLE vs. MIKE KANELLIS
Gable gave Kanellis a quick overhead suplex, then finished him seconds later with a released German and ankle lock.
WINNER: Gable via tapout in under 30 seconds.
-Elias strummed his guitar and appeared on the big screen. “Hello shorty,” he said. He said he’s been following his story, which inspired him to write a little song. “Chad Gable the underdog has everyone inspired, if it was up to me, little people like you would be fired.” He went on to say the King of the Ring, if he won, wouldn’t have been able to see over the steering wheel. He said women laugh at him because he has nothing to give. Randy Newman said it best that short people have no reason to live. Gable made his “fuming mad face.”
-They went to the announcers at ringside who threw to a video clip of Carmella beating R-Truth for the 24/7 Title.
-Backstage Charlotte asked Truth if he’s seen Carmella. Truth said he doesn’t know anyone named that and she’s on the run as the “48 7-11 European Champion.” Carmella walked out of the locker room with her title. Charlotte asked if she’s focused on their tag match. Carmella said Bayley isn’t the Bayley she knew. Charlotte said she’s exactly the Bayley she always knew and laughed. Truth tried to “wooo.” He asked if he did it right.
-Phillips plugged Carmella & Charlotte vs. Bayley & Sasha. [c]
-WWE Fact: Smackdown’s first episode aired when Bill Clinton was president. It enters a new era, 1,050 episodes later, one week from Friday on Fox.
-They went back to the announcers. Phillips gave their sincerest thanks to USA Network for being home of Smackdown for years, but next week will be incredible when it moves to Fox. Graves hyped the season premiere of Monday Night Raw next week with Miz TV with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair plus the return of Brock Lesnar to Raw.
-Charlotte’s ring entrance took place. Charlotte still insisted on referee Charles Robinson opening the ropes for her. (Referees should not do that for anyone. They’re the enforcer of rules, not personal servants.) Carmella then skipped to the ring with the 24/7 Title over his shoulders. R-Truth followed closely behind. Then Sasha and Bayley came out. Saxton said it’s a shame what has happened to Bayley. Graves asked what is wrong with being a hometown hero. Phillips plugged the Becky Lynch title defense against Sasha at Hell in a Cell inside the Cell. Phillips noted that the 24/7 Title rules are suspended during the match.
(3) SASHA BANKS & BAYLEY vs. CHARLOTTE & CARMELLA (w/R-Truth)
Phillips asked Saxton why Carmella came to the aid of Charlotte. Saxton said she’s trying to figure out what happened to Bayley. Bayley threw Carmella to the floor a minute in. Bayley went after Carmella with some elbows to the face and then rammed her face-first into the announce table. Back in the ring she scored a soft two count. Sasha settled into a mid-match chinlock. [c]
Charlotte eventually got the hot-tag and rallied. Carmella then tagged back in and superkicked Sasha on the chin for a near fall, broken up by Bayley although Sasha’s shoulders were still down and the ref could have kept counting. Carmella knocked Bayley out of the ring, then rolled up Sasha. Sasha countered into a Bank Statement for the quick tapout.
WINNERS: Sasha & Bayley in 6:00.
-Afterward, parade of women from the locker room charged out. Truth carried Carmella away through the crowd. Sasha and Bayley then attacked Charlotte two-on-one. Becky Lynch’s music played and she marched out for the save. Becky tossed Sasha and Becky around. She put the disarm her on Sasha, but Bayley pulled her out of the ring by her leg.
-They showed Shane Mcmahon chatting with three people who could have been lawyers.
-A commercial aired for the season premiere of Raw focused on Rey Mysterio challenging Seth Rollins, the return of Brock Lesnar to Raw, and Miz TV with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. [c]
-The announcers hyped NXT tomorrow night including Killian Dane vs. Matt Riddle for a future shot at Adam Cole’s NXT Title.
(4) ALI vs. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA (w/Sami Zayn)
A Sami distraction opened up Nakamura to throwing Ali into the ringpost. Sami trash-talked Ali as they cut to a break. They stayed with the action on split-screen. [c]
Back from the break, Nakamura remained in control until an Ali comeback at 5:00. Nakamura gave Ali a slide-and-snap German suplex. They fought back and forth for a couple of minutes. Ali went for a top rope move, but Sami rolled Nakamura out of the ring. Saxton said every week it’s a joke and it’s ridiculous. Ali leaped over the top rope and over the referee and grazed Nakamura at ringside. He overshot him pretty badly, but Nakamura went down like he was speared. Ali chased Sami into the ring, then ran right into a Kinsasha for the loss.
WINNER: Nakamura in 8:00.
-A video recap aired of the Kevin Owens-Shane McMahon saga.
-They showed Shane chatting with those three suits backstage. [c]
-The announcers said Reigns & Bryan vs. Rowan & Harper was official for Hell in a Cell.
(5) THE NEW DAY (Xavier Woods & Big E) vs. THE B-TEAM
The announcers talked about how New Day and B-Team might not exist as teams after the draft. Saxton was scared about the possible break-up of New Day. B-Team got in some offense, but then New Day finished Bo Dallas with Midnight Hour. New Day leaped into the arms of a 49er after the match to celebrate.
WINNERS: New Day in 3:00.
-Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville were walking backstage. Mandy said they’re going to have a parade for her in Australia next month. She was handing out Maxim magazines. Otis showed up and took a selfie with them. He then looked intensely at the Maxim magazine picture. Tucker showed up and patted him on the shoulder.
-The Kabuki Warriors made their ring entrance. Phillips said Kairi Sane’s hat and Asuka’s mask would be auctioned off for charity. [c]
(6) MANDY ROSE & SONYA DEVILLE vs. THE KABUKI WARRIORS (Asuka & Kairi Sane)
Graves got way too excited about the Maxim magazine in his lap. Asuka hot-tagged in around 3:00 and went after Rose. Deville broke up her cover with a running knee. Rose then rolled up Asuka from behind for a near fall. Asuka landed a top rope insane elbow a minute later for the clean win.
WINNERS: Asuka & Sane in 4:00. [c]
-Shane McMahon and three lawyers walked out. Then Owens came out. Shane offered a “clean slate” and the rescinding of his giant fine if KO dropped his lawsuit since lawsuits can be so draining with all of the legal fees, appeals, and courtroom time that is bad for a family. Owens said Shane is an idiot. He said what he wants is Shane’s ass get fired because he doesn’t belong in a locker room with him. (This felt rushed, like they were short on time.) KO said he wanted one final match – loser leaves WWE. Shane asked what the catch was. KO said no catch, other than he wants a ladder match with their fate hanging over their heads. KO’s music played as it appeared Shane accepted the offer.
-Backstage Kayla Braxton quickly asked Becky Lynch if Sasha has the advantage facing her in a Her in a Cell match. Becky asked what is Sasha without a head start. Sasha attacked Becky from behind. Becky made a comeback and threw her into a rolling crate. Sasha fired back and said Becky is a nobody. A ref and a guy in a suit yelled at Sasha that it was enough. Sasha walked away as Becky writhed in pain on the floor after being rammed several times into fencing backstage.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Not a ton of note on this show. The Shane-KO segment was fast, which is probably good, but it ended up feeling rushed and anticlimactic. The last angle felt contrived because when does Smackdown ever end with a backstage promo? It obviously was going to end with an angle with Sasha.
I’m about to live podcast on this show, so join me in a couple minutes. Info below.
Just when you think hey Raw was really bad, this show comes on and is worse. Smackdown was really bad. Oh for Two in the new season thus far. Luckily AEW is on tonight.