Chris Jericho returns!
Another United States title change!
And John Cena wants to face Jinder Mahal at Summerslam.
Why?
How does he do that?
Because he’s John Cena, that’s why.
I, however, am Oli Davis, and this is the 25th July 2017 edition of Smackdown Live...in
about 4 minutes.
Chris Jericho Returns Continuingly losing and regaining the United
States Championship sure is one way to keep your ‘New Face of America’ gimmick still
applicable.
AJ Styles demanded his rematch from Kevin Owens - making nothing of their bizarre, potentially
botched finish, at Battleground - but someone else wanted a piece of KO: a returning Chris
Jericho, the guy who claimed he wouldn’t come back to WWE until next year.
Because Smackdown is the place where title shots aren’t given, they’re earned by
having surprise entrances, Shane McMahon immediately made a US title three way between them for
tonight’s main event.
As fun as Jericho’s return was, creatively it squandered a lot of potential.
Think of his Y2J countdown WWE debut, or his 2013 Royal Rumble return.
In comparison, his Smackdown 2017 comeback is a footnote, simply interrupting the show’s
opening segment.
Shinsuke Nakamura beat Baron Corbin After their disappointing Battleground match,
Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin had...a slightly better second encounter.
At least this one had a definitive ending, with Nakamura picking up the clean win - building
him up for his big match next week.
The Corbin/Nakamura feud has done nothing for either guy so far, and WWE’s old booking
logic - if you have the Money in the Bank briefcase, we’re going to beat you all the
time - isn’t helping Baron either.
Charlotte & Becky Lynch vs Tamina & Lana Lana had slightly longer tights this week.
Not that I was specifically paying attention to that part of her costume.
I read that observation on a forum…
The story is still that Lana can’t wrestle, with Charlotte and Becky Lynch easily beating
her and Tamina.
Whatever Lana and Tamina’s dynamic is, it’s not getting over.
Jinder Mahal Summerslam Match After beating Randy Orton at Battleground,
still WWE Champion Jinder Mahal demanded to know who his Summerslam opponent will be...about
20 decibels lower than anyone else cutting a promo.
He was answered by John Cena’s music, and another reason behind Jinder’s huge push
made itself apparent - he’s just another foreigner for Cena to conquer.
Daniel Bryan interrupted, reminding everyone that it’s him and Shane who make the matches
around here, so next week we’ll have a No. 1 contender’s match for the WWE title between
John Cena...and Shinsuke Nakamura!
Which is such a huge dream match….why not save it for a larger programme?
Why squander it on TV with a one-week build?
Maybe my fears are displaced, and some Corbin interference will stop the match from starting.
But I’m not hopeful.
Sami Zayn & Tye Dillinger beat Aiden English & Mike Kanellis
Aiden English & Mike Kanellis vs Sami Zayn & Tye Dillinger - all of Smackdown’s lower-mid
card in one handy five minute tag team match!
Zayn pinned Kanellis yet again, hammering another nail in Mike & Maria’s coffin.
New Day Tag Title Celebration We only got the first few words of Big E’s
opening ‘DON’T YOU DARE BE SOUR’ in the arena, as The Usos heelishly attacked
them backstage before their tag title celebration.
This feud is set to continue, which probably means four weeks of Jimmy vs Kofi, Jay vs
Woods, Big E vs Jay, Big E vs Jimmy, etc, exposing the lack of depth in Smackdown’s
tag division.
AJ Styles beat Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens AJ, Jericho and Owens put on a really solid
main event, with several terrific sequences and strike exchanges.
For some reason, though, two finisher kick-outs bugged me more than usual.
AJ’s kick out of Jericho’s codebreaker, when he could’ve just fallen out the ring
rather than get covered; and Jericho kicking out of KO’s pop-up powerbomb (why not have
that as the last move instead of the Frog Splash.
Those two spots and the finish marred the main event for me.
AJ threw Owens out and stole his winning pin on Jericho.
Styles is once again the United States champion, and KO’s two day reign is over, his third
run in four months.
So that was this week’s Smackdown Live in about 4 minutes, here’s the usual ratings
recap from top to bottom: SmackDamn, Smacktastic, Smack Bang In The Middle, Ellsworthy and Kurt
Angle’s illegitimate son storyline.
I’ve had to replace Raw as the bottom ranking, because it’s actually been pretty good recently.
I’ll reveal my score very shortly, but first, vote in the poll above my head to give it
your own rating.
I’ll announce the results in tomorrow’s WrestleTalk News.
This was certainly a jam-packed episode, with Jericho’s return, Cena setting up a Summerslam
match and a US title change.
A lot of people have told me how much they enjoyed it.
But sadly, I don’t feel the same way.
Behind each newsworthy moment, there’s a creative decision I don’t agree with.
Jericho’s return could’ve been so much better, Cena vs Nakamura is probably only
getting a one-week build, and the United States title picture is a mess that’s reducing
all those involved.
This week’s Smackdown is, for me, Ellsworthy.
WWE reportedly want a John Morrison return!
And which ex-WWE star recently teased a return!
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I’ve been Oli Davis and that was wrestling.