{"id":66546,"date":"2018-09-25T12:59:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T17:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=66546"},"modified":"2018-09-25T12:59:58","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T17:59:58","slug":"wwe-smackdown-primer-9-25-wwe-championship-contract-signing-big-e-vs-sheamus-follow-up-on-rusev-english-nakamura-vs-dillinger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/09\/25\/wwe-smackdown-primer-9-25-wwe-championship-contract-signing-big-e-vs-sheamus-follow-up-on-rusev-english-nakamura-vs-dillinger\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 9\/25: WWE Championship contract signing, Big E vs. Sheamus, Follow-up on Rusev &#038; English, Nakamura vs. Dillinger?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3810373193\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3><strong>WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>SEPTEMBER 25, 2018<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>DENVER, COL. AT THE PEPSI CENTER<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>AIRS ON USA NETWORK 8:00 P.M. EDT<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Arena \/ Recap of Last Week<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As Raw did last night, Smackdown will emanate from the Pepsi Center as WWE stays put in the arena which is the home of the NHL\u2019s Colorado Avalanche, a team that hopes to return to the playoffs after a first-round elimination last season.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Samoa Joe furthered his issues with WWE Champion A.J. Styles by attacking A.J. following his victory in a non-title match over Andrade \u201cCien\u201d Almas.\u00a0 Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Becky Lynch was \u201ccoronated\u201d as champion and poured fuel over what is now an intense feud with former champion Charlotte Flair by once again calling her a \u201cbitch.\u201d\u00a0 Aiden English decided to stop celebrating Rusev Day by attacking Rusev following his unsuccessful attempt to win the U.S. Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura.\u00a0 Cesaro defeated Kofi Kingston of the Smackdown Tag Team Champions New Day.\u00a0 Asuka defeated Billie Kay of the IIconics.\u00a0 Finally, the Miz\u2019s wife Maryse appeared as the \u201cguest\u201d on MizTV and announced it would be her last night on Smackdown, but not before faking an injury following an appearance by Daniel Bryan who arrived to dropkick Miz into Maryse.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, we turn our attention towards the WWE Super Showdown coming Oct. 6 and follow up on some of the items from last week\u2019s show.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Super Showdown WWE Championship Contract Signing: A.J. Styles (champion) and Samoa Joe<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A.J. Styles will defend the WWE Championship against Samoa Joe at the Super Showdown on Oct. 6 in a no-DQ, no count-out match.\u00a0 This will be the third straight PPV\/WWE Network event in a row where these two will go at it.\u00a0 This past Saturday, G.M. Paige made this announcement on Twitter:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealPaigeWWE\/status\/1043636729876545536<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen many contract signings in the past, so it\u2019s hard to get excited when one is announced.\u00a0 In this case, I like what was done from a few standpoints.\u00a0 Number one, it was announced in advance.\u00a0 You can build some anticipation for it vs. WWE telling you the night of the show.\u00a0 Granted the announcement was on Paige\u2019s Twitter feed, but that has become more of a norm as of late so it\u2019s fine.\u00a0 Number two, the rivalry is organically intense between these two.\u00a0 The dialogue should be good, especially from Samoa Joe who has shown why he is arguably the one of the top heels in this company right now.\u00a0 I would expect some sort of brawl to end the signing, but it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if they switch things up and end it with a stare down of some sort.\u00a0 That would save the physicality for their match at the Showdown.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Big E vs. Sheamus <\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Smackdown Tag Team Champions New Day continue their budding feud with the Bar tonight as Big E of New Day takes on Sheamus of the Bar.\u00a0 Last week, Sheamus\u2019s partner Cesaro picked up a win over New Day\u2019s Kofi Kingston in just under ten minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Big E and Sheamus had this interesting back and forth on Twitter about their history in WWE\u2019s previous developmental territory, FCW:<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4253360744\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWESheamus\/status\/1044300958203875328<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 It will be interesting to see if the announcers bring up this little tidbit of history between Big E and Sheamus.\u00a0 As for the match tonight, it\u2019s fairly straight forward and a way to continue the feud between these teams.\u00a0 The New Day will defend the Smackdown Tag Team Championship against the Bar at the Super Showdown.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Rusev Demands an Answer from Aiden English<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last week, Rusev challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the U.S. Championship.\u00a0 He came up short when Aiden English, in Rusev\u2019s corner along with his wife Lana, jumped up on the ring apron and began cheering for Rusev on the microphone which somehow distracted him and allowed Nakamura to roll him up for the victory.\u00a0 Following the match, English attacked Rusev from behind and with him laying on the mat grabbed a mic and said \u201cHappy Rusev Day,\u201d effectively ending their partnership.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a few tweets from Rusev and English following their \u201cbreakup\u201d:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You make your bed you lay in it ! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RusevDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RusevDay<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Miro (@ToBeMiro) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ToBeMiro\/status\/1042450711022366720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 19, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Happy Aiden Day.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Matthew Rehwoldt (@DramaKingMatt) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DramaKingMatt\/status\/1042221135973294080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 19, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 I was the guest co-host with long time excellent PWTorch columnist Greg Parks this past Sunday on Wrestling Night in America on the PWTorch Livecast.\u00a0 We discussed this situation and in particular if WWE got the timing and the characters right.\u00a0 I believe they got the characters correct as Rusev has clearly been over with the fans even if it\u2019s because of a cheesy \u201cRusev Day\u201d chant.\u00a0 It also makes sense to have them on the babyface side considering you have another \u201ccouple\u201d in Andrade \u201cCien\u201d Almas and Zelina Vega as heels.\u00a0 English will be fine as a heel in the mid-card and could even be a foil in the main event scene given his match last year with Randy Orton.\u00a0 Even if he turns out to be a \u201cjobber to the stars,\u201d at this point it works better if he\u2019s a heel.\u00a0 As far as the timing it\u2019s hard to say, as Rusev was a lot hotter earlier in the year.\u00a0 I was in attendance though at the Smackdown in the Barclays Center and the fans were into him for sure.\u00a0 There\u2019s also a lack of babyfaces on Smackdown, so in that regard with the right opponents and promos things should be fine.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tye Dillinger?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For those of you clamoring to see Tye Dillinger in the ring, there has been a Twitter exchange between him and U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cPledge your allegiance\u201d<\/p>\n<p>**WARNING** Crazy person alert!<\/p>\n<p>Sounds like someone needs to pledge a foot in your ass. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IXAgxde46M\">https:\/\/t.co\/IXAgxde46M<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shawn Spears\u2122\ufe0f (@ShawnSpears) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnSpears\/status\/1043964761862549504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 23, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWEDillinger\/status\/1044007903303278594<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWEDillinger\/status\/1044333007518208000<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 I toss a little sarcasm in there, but as I mentioned earlier there are a lack of babyfaces on Smackdown at the moment.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to need guys like Tye Dillinger to be elevated if anything to have a foil for Nakamura or any of the other heels on the show.\u00a0 Rusev makes sense to slide into the U.S. title picture, but until that happens if it\u2019s even planned they need somebody to work with Nakamura.\u00a0 Dillinger is fine as long as everything isn\u2019t reference as a \u201c10\u201d every two minutes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-296226471\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3><strong>Other Items<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>I\u2019m not sure what it means, but Paige tweeted this on Sunday:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealPaigeWWE\/status\/1043990223921860608<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Naomi accompanied Asuka as she took on Billie Kay, who had her IIconics partner Peyton Royce in her corner.\u00a0 If the women\u2019s tag team championships are still a possibility at some point, look for Asuka &amp; Naomi to work more as a tandem and even be in line for the championship.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a tweet showing their partnership \u201csolidifying\u201d:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/NaomiWWE\/status\/1043566016150814720<\/p>\n<p>WWE doesn\u2019t seem to be committed to either woman as a single\u2019s wrestler.\u00a0 Asuka &amp; Naomi take on the IIconics at the Super Showdown.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Randy Orton was shown in the production truck forcing one of the video technicians to watch stuff he had done to Jeff Hardy.\u00a0 He said it was nothing compared to what he will do to his next victim.<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Start Time &amp; Matches Advertised<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The arena website shows a start time of 5:30 p.m. local time with doors opening at 4:00 p.m.\u00a0 They advertise these matches:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>AJ Styles &amp; Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz &amp; Samoa Joe<\/li>\n<li>Women&#8217;s Champion Becky Lynch &amp; The IIconics vs. Charlotte Flair &amp; Asuka &amp; Naomi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani and ask any questions you may have.\u00a0 Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NOW CATCH UP ON LAST WEEK&#8217;S SHOW:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/09\/19\/9-18-elders-wwe-smackdown-report-alt-perspective-report-on-lynch-and-charlotte-miz-bryan-rusev-day-implodes-and-more-fallout-from-hell-in-a-cell\/\">9\/18 ELDER\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: Alt-perspective report on Lynch and Charlotte, Miz &amp; Bryan, Rusev Day implodes, and more fallout from Hell in a Cell\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2526577681\"><div id=\"pwtor-3910008054\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 DENVER, COL. AT THE PEPSI CENTER AIRS ON USA NETWORK 8:00 P.M. EDT BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR Arena \/ Recap of Last Week As Raw did last night, <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/09\/25\/wwe-smackdown-primer-9-25-wwe-championship-contract-signing-big-e-vs-sheamus-follow-up-on-rusev-english-nakamura-vs-dillinger\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 9\/25: WWE Championship contract signing, Big E vs. Sheamus, Follow-up on Rusev &#038; English, Nakamura vs. Dillinger?\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,4403,27,5893],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-smackdown-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/RusevWK2_3x2_600-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66546"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66558,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66546\/revisions\/66558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}