My WWE SmackDown Live Overview (December 5, 2017)

Episode #955

San Diego, CA

Valley View Casino Center

Commentary: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton & Corey Graves

Dark Match

Normal Match

Mike Kanellis vs Tye Dillinger

Winner: Tye Dillinger

My Take: I suppose they're waiting on Maria to come back before pulling any kind of trigger on Mike. However, they weren't doing much of anything before she took time off. I hope they get behind him/them because he/she is/are tremendously talented.

Opening Segment

Featuring Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn talking about how once the McMahon have you in their cross-hairs they usually never stop until they get their pound of flesh. Sami outlines the area inside the ring, the area outside of the ring (what the insiders call "ringside") and the area on the ramp. Thus proving that he was within the rules last week when he interfered in that match between KO and Randy Orton. Speaking of Orton, it's about right here when he appears out of thin air and drops Owens with an RKO. SmackDown Live Commissioner, Shane McMahon comes out and makes a match for Clash of Champions in Boston involving Sami and Owens against (cranes neck) Orton and a partner of his choosing. As far as tonight goes, Sami will take on (cranes neck again) Orton and Kevin Owens will be handcuffed at ringside.

My Take: I like this program because it's fueled with uncertainty and I can't say that a lot for WWE storylines. Normally in this situation you would think that if Owens and Zayn lose then they'll simply be picked up by RAW but it seems like this program is much more than that with Shane's relentless pursuit of revenge seemingly at the forefront of it all and Daniel Bryan in the background constantly trying to reel him in. It seems to be an arc where Shane starts off as the cool new, easygoing boss that everybody likes with new ideas and then gets involved in feuds like this that slowly start turning him into his father. Very Star Wars-like which is apropos seeing as how Episode VIII: The Last Jedi comes out next week.

Match #1

Tag Team Match

Rusev & Aiden English vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E)(w/Xavier Woods)

Rusev and English are definitely going to be turned by the crowd. Everybody loves these guys and with good reason! This was a fine match between these two.

Winners: Rusev & Aiden English

Interview

with Mojo Rawley

I definitely like this heel turn for Mojo. If this were the 1980s or early 90s, he never even would have been turned because the I feel like the audience would have just gotten behind what Mojo was all about. The white meat babyface turned up to 1,000. However, in 2017 the audience is much more educated (what is THAT supposed to mean?!) and they seem to enjoy their characters with layers. So when Mojo burst onto the scene all that they saw was a one-note act and one-dimensional character. This turn gives him a new layer for people to sink their teeth into without forsaken anything that made Mojo who he is. He is still hyped but now it's born of a fired-up anger rather than coming from a playful happiness.

As far as Zack Ryder goes, he's another Cesaro or maybe even Ziggler (god forbid Finn Balor being in this category soon) where a time comes where there is a groundswell of support behind this guy. Everyone is chanting for him and snatching his merch off the table but the WWE make up their own reasons inside of their (or HIS) head of why they're not going to get behind this guy. If you look back at WWE history, I don't really recall someone who went through all of this but finally got their real run in the end. I could be wrong. It just sucks when people clearly want to get behind a guy and the company doesn't give you what you want to pay money for. It's ultimately Vince's vision for his universe so what can you really do?

Backstage Segment

with SmackDown Live General Manager, Daniel Bryan delegating a confrontation between Natalya, Carmella, Tamina and Lana and the Riott Squad. He makes the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship Match at Clash of Champions a Lumberjill match between all of these girls.

My Take: Remember that thing about the WWE not wanting to get behind a guy?...

Backstage Segment

with WWE United States Champion, Baron Corbin, Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler

My Take: These guys are facing off in a Triple Threat at Clash of Champions. Corbin and Roode talk faulty match as Ziggler comes in and talks figurative math. When it comes to percentages and anniversaries, this company really should do some fact-checking. With their logic, Vegas odds would have the upcoming squash match as a pick 'em.

Match #2

Tag Team Match

The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowan) vs Adam James & Josh Carr

Harper and Rowan looking like they're coming out of the living forest from Mortal Kombat II. They'd probably make great fighting game characters especially with those hammers. Harper and Rowan continue their path of destruction. Are the WWE Tag Team Championships the end game?

Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers

Backstage Segment

Kevin Owens tells Sami that he has met with Daniel Bryan about reconsidering the whole handcuff deal and apparently Daniel told Owens that he'll think about it (which where I come from, "I'll think about it" means "I want to tell you no right now but I don't want to hurt your feelings so I'm going to tell you no later").

Match #3

Non-Title

Dolph Ziggler is on Commentary

Normal Match

Baron Corbin vs Bobby Roode

It hit me at Survivor Series that Bobby Roode is destined to be a mid-card level player here. He's been a world champion level guy everywhere else he's gone but seeing him in that Survivor Series main event really gave me a peek into his possible future. Corbin of course is clearly being groomed to be in the world title scene. Not much of a match here until Ziggler comes in and delivers a Zig Zag on both guys.

Result: Double DQ (?)

Backstage Segment

Natalya (who faces Charlotte for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship at Clash of Champions) is trying to get into the ears of Carmella, Tamina and Lana and uses The Welcoming Committee card (Awful, awful stable name). She starts talking trash about the Riott Squad until they show up. Nattie immediately talks up the Riott Squad while having just trashed them. They ain't buying it and she runs off.

Match #4

Non-Title

Normal Match

Charlotte Flair vs Tamina (w/Lana, Natalya & Carmella)

Winner by submission: Charlotte Flair (Figure Eight Leg Lock)

After the match, Nattie pretty much tells Charlotte that her days as champion are numbered as The Riott Squad come out and deliver a heavily scripted promo (Seriously, have you ever eaten any candy before taken a sip of soda? That's not a very delicious mix. That's almost as unappealing as drinking orange juice after having just brushed your teeth). A brawl breaks out between the Riott Squad and Tamina, Carmella and Lana with Charlotte raising her title on the stage.

Backstage Segment

with Daniel Bryan and Owens and Zayn

What did I say? What did I tell you? "I'll think about it" is usually never an honest yes. It's always a no masked with reluctance. Owens will still be handcuffed during the Orton/Zayn match. Also, Eric Watts (the Tough Enough 2011 cast member) makes a cameo as one of the security guys. I knew he looked familiar! What's up with Ryan Howe from that season? He was pretty cool. A quick internet search tells me that he's been doing his thing in OVW, a company that once brought you Superstars like John Cena, Batista and the man in tonight's main event, Randy Orton.

What a segue!

Match #5

Normal Match

Randy Orton vs Sami Zayn

They have a fine 12 minute match that served as another chapter in this program filled with uncertainty. Sami eventually grabs a pair of bolt-cutters (why stress out about it all night then?) that eventually free KO but it's all for naught...

Winner by pinfall: Randy Orton (Roll-up)

Owens and Zayn beat down Orton who is saved by "Guy in a blue shirt during the under siege attack #12" Shinsuke Nakamura who looks to be Orton's partner at Clash of Champions.

My Take: It's clear to me that they see Nakamura at the level on or near Randy Orton's. That's why ever since Nakamura's SmackDown Live debut, Nakamura has always been in matches with or against Randy. Not a bad thing.

Backstage Segment

Shane is in good spirits following tonight's thwarting of Owens and Zayn. Daniel asks if Shane is done punishing them which is a great, little storyline nugget. Of course, Shane makes it known that he's just getting started with them. I really like how Shane basically proved Kevin and Sami's point from in the opening of the show. Shane makes himself the special referee for Owens/Zayn vs Orton/Nakamura at Clash of Champions and says that if Owens and Zayn lose then they will fired from the WWE entirely and not just from SmackDown Live. Shane exits as Daniel looks on....in uncertainty. Just like this program.

Closing Thoughts: I said on the RAW review that for this show to be better this week they would need two great matches and a segment matching the excitement level of WOKEN Matt Hardy's. I would say that we got one fine match in the main event and another fine opening match. All things considered, I thought that RAW was a better show. Not too much happened tonight outside of the main event feud. It was an okay show though.