Jinder’s Reign Is Here
After Jinder Mahal’s shocking WWE championship win on Sunday at Backlash, Jinder gets a celebration tonight. The hype for Money In The Bank starts but the question is: who will be the competitors? Will Jinder be a transitional champion or have staying power? Smackdown has a very good roster after the Superstar Shakeup, and the addition of Shinsuke Nakamura from NXT is fantastic. But what is next for Nakamura after defeating Ziggler at Backlash? What is next for U.S. champion Kevin Owens and AJ Styles? Lets find out.
Jinder Mahal is coming out of a limo outside with the Singh brothers. The Punjabi celebration is tonight. Smackdown starts with ESPN and news coverage of Jinder’s WWE title win. WWE is making it a big deal, as they should be. This was an unexpected change for Smackdown and it might just be for the better.
Shane Mcmahon comes out and announces Money In The Bank is in 4 weeks so let’s introduce the participant’s. First Shane makes Randy Orton vs Jinder Mahal for Money In The Bank in a rematch for the WWE title in Orton’s hometown of St. Louise.
Charlotte and Becky Lynch vs Carmella and Natalya
Crowd was very hot for this the whole match. Carmella is steadily improving but really should not be in title contention. The Welcoming Committee dominated most of the match until Charlotte cleaned house. Charlotte is very good as a face and this move to Smackdown has certainly freshened her character. Naomi dives on Ellsworth and Tamina on the floor, allowing Becky to tap out Carmella to Disarm-her in 8 minutes.
Overall: Not a bad match but doesn’t look like The Welcoming Committee is getting much heat by losing here. The Welcoming Committee just isn’t working but maybe because Natalya is the only real threat. Naomi has a challenger in the midst of this feud somewhere.
**/*****
Sami Zayn was supposed to have a match with Baron Corbin but Corbin attacks Zayn instead. Zayn takes a steel chair off the back and gets beaten down in the crowd. Corbin is doing fantastic as a badass bully and Zayn beating him only fired him up more. These 2 feuding only makes sense with them in Money In The Bank but they both have a serious shot at winning that match.
Styles and Nakamura are backatage talking about their tag match against Ziggler and Owens tonight. Nakamura in talking segments is a good thing for WWE to do more and so is the hype for a future match with Styles.
Jinder Mahal gets a massive celebration with dancers, a red carpet and drummers. The fans are not pleased with this at all. Jinder has a good promo about being judged and how he did it for his people. This went on for 10 minutes with the Singh brothers and an over-the-top set.8 WWE is looking to cash in on Jinder’s remarkable win for now.
The Fashion Police is backstage for The Fashion Files, complete with a Law & Order opening. Shane interrupts and gives Breeze and Fandango another shot at the tag champions, The Uso’s tonight.
Tyler Breeze vs Jey Uso
Breeze catches Jey with an inside cradle right off the bat and wins the match. Uso’s are irate and want another match.
Fandango vs Jimmy Uso
Breeze continues his costume changing gimmick on the floor just like Backlash and distracts Jimmy. Fandango takes advantage and wins with a rollup.
Breeze and Fandango get a tag title shot after humiliating The Uso’s.
WWE Smackdown Tag Team title match: The Usos vs The Fashion Police
Breeze and Fandango are a highlight of Smackdown and were just as focused on getting laughs as winning the tag titles. The Fashion Police came so close though, Fandango hit The Last Dance legdrop but took a top rope Splash while he was in the pin. Short but sweet tag title match.
Overall: Gets Breeze and Fandango more attention that they need, as they were becoming irrelevent. The Uso’s continue to be on fire in the ring and on the mic, like they were a couple years ago and are back in rare form as heels.
**/*****
Shane Mcmahon makes a #1 contender’s match for Money In The Bank for the Smackdown women’s title. Carmella vs Natalya vs vs Tamina vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte in a Fatal 5-way match. Naomi has some compeition coming and this will be a very good match.
A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler.
These guys were given plenty of time to shine, Nakamura seemed to enjoy the main event the most. There is more to come from Nakamura and this just feels like a taste. Styles and Nakamura is a dream team, meanwhile Owens is annoyed to tag with Ziggler. Nakamura wins with Kinshasa to send everyone home happy in a 20 minute tag match.
Overall: Very good tag match even though it seemed they were all holding back a little bit until Money In The Bank. The right call in giving Styles and Nakamura the win.
***/*****
Final Word:
Good show made all the more entertaining by the Fashion Police and the crowd was all-in for this edition of Smackdown. The Money In The Bank announcements brought fire to show and so did the women’s division. Jinder Mahal’s title win is still the big question. Will Jinder lose to the Money In The Bank winner or get another match next week before his rematch with Orton? Even though Jinder is champion, he still needs to prove himself.
Very enjoyable show.
***/*****
