WWE Smackdown Review and results – July 11th, 2017

AJ Styles US Championship win recap

Social media reported Styles had beaten KO at an MSG house show, and it turns out WWE honored that match as part of the main storyline. A video package showed highlights from the match and plenty of tweets inspired from the show.

Styles US Open Challenge

Styles talked about the US Open Challenge Cena used to do and how he wants the belt to represent the very best.

Cena comes down

Cena asks if Styles is sure about the Open Challenge and if that includes him. He then accepts the challenge and wants a match right then and there.

AJ Styles vs John Cena

Kevin Owens interrupts

KO draws huge heat for interrupting what could have been the best Smackdown kickoff match of the year. He declares that no one wants to see another ‘stupid’ Cena/Styles match, and that he should get a rematch.

Rusev sneak attack!

Rusev takes out Cena and KO pop-up-powerbombs Styles. The heels leave to Rusev’s music while the crowd chants ‘USA’.

Another swerve! Although disapponting to not see Styles and Cena clash, it made sense that KO was the man to stop the fun. Of course this means a tag match with all involved for the main event.

Jinder Mahal vs Tye Dillinger

While it’s great to pit other wrestlers against the champ, where is the story of Dillinger’s path to the Championship? Last we saw Dillinger he had lost last week’s Battle Royal for the US Championship no.1 contender. So now he’s rewarded with a shot at the (theoretically) more important title? 

Mahal beats Dillinger easily.

Dillinger’s impressive display in last week’s Battle Royal has been squandered to make Mahal look stronger in the bland feud with Orton. There are so many other jobbers they could have fed to him instead. What a waste.

Jey Uso vs Xavier Woods

Jimmy tripped up Woods from the outside and Jey shoved the complaining Big E and Kofi, causing them to enter the ring in defense. The ref had enough of the shenanigans and tossed all outside members from the match.

Jey got a two-count off a superkick, but Woods hit a flying elbow while Jey was dangling on the second rope to score the win.

Not much here other than trying to build the feud for their PPV match. Maybe WWE’s mindset is to deny the fans a real match on TV to entice watching on the Network? I’d much prefer to see one of the teams beat the hell out of some jobbers. 

Shane McMahon and the Women’s Division

Naomi asks who her next opponent will be and the rest of the division gets involved in the discussion. Shane makes a 5-way Elimination match for Battlegrounds to determine the no.1 Contender.

Nakamura vs Corbin

Nakamura attacked Corbin before he could get to the ring and the pair battled in the crowd. They worked back towards the ring but the officials interfered. Nakamura stood tall in the ring but Corbin walked to the back while Nakamura’s music played.

Wow, either the WWE wrote this show under a crippling deadline, or their new philosophy is to make Smackdown matches so unwatchable that fans go running to the Network to actually see two guys wrestle!

Charlotte & Becky vs Tamina & Natalya

Months of working together has paid off, as the women showed wonderful chemistry and co-ordination. Charlotte especially has hit a new gear of fun and comfort; she’s still the obvious star despite not being involved in any big profile 1-on-1 matches.

Becky started and eventually took the beating.

Charlotte made the hot tag but was distracted by Lana on the outside. Natalya made the tag but Tamina stayed on the outside until Charlotte put the non-legal Natalya into the figure-four. Tamina used the opportunity to nail a superkick and get the win.

The women have looked great and there’s enough talent to run two storylines instead of always involving the whole crew while Naomi waits on the sidelines. However, I’m still looking forward to what they come up with for their 5-way Elimination at Battlegrounds.

Breezango Sexy Fashion Rangers

Breezango continue to evolve, this time parodying Chuck Norris’ Walker: Texas Ranger. While riding toy horses down the hall, they come on to Zack Ryder, interrogating him on his possible involvement with the Breeze beatdown. Mojo Rawley comes along to defend Ryder, but the Broski still complains about Rawley eliminating him from the Battle Royal.

FanTango’s toy horse was stolen and the pair conclude it was ‘ghosts, aliens, alien-ghosts!’. A teaser background suggests an X-Files parody for next week.

Cena & Styles vs Rusev & Owens

Yup, one of these.

Cena is very excited to be back, and was channeling Hulk Hogan with his constant looks and points to the crowd. It was a very by the numbers match with Cena and Styles getting the win via a Pele Kick into the AA.

After celebrating, Cena and Styles had a music-less stare down, but broke the tension with a friendly hand raise and more celebrations.

Overall

Weak, repetitive booking, that constantly denied the crowd of fun. The main event was the longest match, and it felt routine as hell. WWE please stop the constant multi-man main events involving people in feuds. It actually detracts from the upcoming PPV match. Start booking with logic, and start respecting wins and losses.