In-Ring w/ The Miz
After a brief video highlighting Becky Lynch’s win over Charlotte Flair at Hell in a Cell, we open the show with some Miz TV! The Miz announces that he is moving onto bigger and better things than his rivalry with Daniel Bryan, as the two will face each other at Super Show-Down in Australia and the winner gets a WWE World’s Championship title match.
After beating D-Bry at SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell, he is confident that The Yes Man is not on his level. He announces a very special guest star that he had to pull a lot of strings to get on SmackDown… his wife, Maryse! The two announce her retirement from SmackDown and insult Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella’s marriage until Miz calls him out.
Daniel responds by running to the ring and commences to scufflin’ but Miz is knocked into Maryse who is injured. Medics come down to the ring and Daniel is beside himself for indirectly causing her to be hurt… until she smiles at him and Miz goes for the Skull-Crushing Finale. Daniel slips out and, when Miz goes to punch him, he ducks, and Miz ends up knocking down Maryse! Backstage with Kayla Braxton, Daniel Bryan said that he expects that sort of trickery from Miz and Maryse, calls Miz a coward, and says he’ll beat him in Australia.
Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods & Big E) vs Cesaro (w/Sheamus)
The New Day comes out with Big E and Xavier Woods dressed like they’re ready for an Australian walkabout. They start their comedy but, with delicious and intended irony, Kofi admonishes Big E for using an artificial and offensive Australian accent. Woods and E look like they’re about to bring up Kofi’s faux-Jamaican past but simply defend it by saying, “The IIconics said it was okay.” Once in the ring, The Bar tell New Day that they’re not funny and put them on notice as they intend to take the titles from them at Super Show-Down. Then the bell rings and we go straight to commercial because that’s totally okay for some reason.
Cesaro starts strong, overpowering Kofi with slams and stretching holds. Kofi shows flashes of offense but is repeatedly stuffed. A victory roll and a schoolboy are answered by a jaw-jacking European uppercut. A see-saw kick from the apron gives Kofi a chance to go up top but he’s dropkicked down by Cesaro who goes for a gutwrench but Kofi turns it into a tornado DDT. Cesaro slides out but Kofi belly bounces on the top rope for a modified Tope con Helo. Once inside, Cesaro regains control and ragdolls Kofi from belly down on the mat right into position for the Neutralizer and the win.
Winner by pinfall: Cesaro
Backstage, Rusev tells Aiden English that he is not to be at ringside and that everyone has to pull their own weight. As Rusev walks away, Aiden goes ballistic, claiming responsibility for Rusev Day’s popularity and saying that Lana is to blame for being more of a wife than a manager (and he has credibility on both points.) When he’s done, he turns around to find out that Lana No.1 never walked away and heard everything he said. She goes off to tell Rusev and Aiden follows pleading forgiveness.
In the production truck, we see Randy Orton leaning over a producer, directing him to find and replay his Hell in a Cell with Jeff Hardy and focusing in on his use of a screwdriver in Hardy’s ear gauges. The producer tells Randy that he’s gripping his shoulders too hard and hurting him. Randy says that the scary part is that his next “victim” will get worse treatment than Jeff did.
Backstage w/ Kayla Braxton
After a video package showing the controversial finish to their Hell in a Cell match where AJ Styles retained over Samoa Joe, AJ tells us that the worst thing that could have happened to him and his family in that match was that he not retain. He says that he pinned Joe but that he did tap out. Maybe Joe got screwed. Maybe it was luck. Maybe it was karma. At Super Show-Down, there will be no count outs, no disqualifications, and no excuses. He takes his leave to “get his head right” because he faces Andrade “Cien” Almas later and needs to focus for such a dangerous opponent.
Announcement plays for the next big event in Saudi Arabia to be called “Crown Jewel.”
United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs Rusev (w/ Lana & Aiden English)
Rusev in control early with power moves including a gutwrench for a two count. He kicks Nakamura under the bottom rope but, once back in, Nak hits a flying jump kick and starts working him over. Aiden gets the crowd into “Ru-sev Day” chants and The Lion of Bulgaria starts to rally. Rusev is on a roll with hard striking and body attacks. The Machka Kick gets ducked but Rusev manages to duck double kicks from Shinsuke and nails a heavy roundhouse for another two count.
The Rock Star gets to brawling and stops an out-of-the-ring suplex attempt, nailing Rusev with a knee strike from the top rope. Nkamura goes for the Kinshasa… but Rusev explodes out of the corner with a Machka Kick! Still dazed from the earlier knee strike, he rises and Aiden English hops onto the apron and instructs “Rusev crush!” In the distraction, Nakamura rolls up Rusev for the 1-2-3. Aiden has cost Rusev the US Title! As Rusev gets to his feet, though, Aiden adds injury to insult and attacks him from behind, beating him in the back of the head with the microphone! One last “Happy Rusev Day” and the Shakespeare of Song is outta here. It was a popular run while it lasted but a happy accident and those don’t fit the mold anymore.
Winner by pinfall: Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE World Champion AJ Styles vs Andrade “Cien” Almas (w/Zelina Vega)
As the champ steps into the ring, he turns towards the corner and is immediately blindsided by Almas. El Idolo continues to wear down AJ by working over the left arm both in and out of the ring. AJ manages to reverse a Tilt-A-Whirl attempt into a Tornado DDT but Andrade immediately follows up with a feint kick into the spinning back elbow. Zelina Vega slaps the champ as he’s draped over the bottom rope and it lights a fire under him. He hits the Cradle Neckbreaker on Almas, kips up, and rips his shirt off. Early attempt for a Styles Clash gets turned into a backdrop. El Idolo goes up top for his Double Jump Moonsault but AJ gets his knees up in time. He goes for a Phenomenal Forearm but gets kicked down and Almas goes up top to land a stomp on a hanging AJ. AJ is in the corner and dodges a sprinting kneeby Andrade who lands to the outside.AJ hits a running knee from the apron now and gets a two count after a Phenomenal Forearm to the back of Almas’ neck. Almas hits a drop kick off the top and follows up with the double knees in the corner but, whne he goes for a Hammerlock DDT, AJ hits a double leg, jackknifes, and finally rolls all the way through to get Almas in position for a Styles Clash and the win! Novel sequence from AJ to spring the Styles clash on us out of nowhere.
Winner by pinfall: AJ Styles
Samoa Joe immediately slides into the ring and attacks AJ, yelling at him, “You know the truth!” His attempt to run the champ into the steel steps backfires and he retreats back up the ramp.
Asuka (w/Peyton Royce) vs Billie Kay (w/Naomi)
The IIconics are in the ring, trashing Tulsa and the new BBFs, Naomi and Asuka, Before announcing their tag match at Super Show-Down. Billie Kaye starts out strong hitting some strikes, a nice judo toss, and a hellacious running boot. But an exploder attempt lets The Empress of Tomorrow get her hands on Billie and that’s all she needs. A quick reversal and it’s a tap out to The Asuka Lock.
Winner by submission: Asuka
In-Ring Presentation of Smackdown Women’s Title Belt to Becky Lynch
Smackdown general manager, Paige, is in-ring and, once Becky is announced and enters, she presents her with the belt. The signature side panels are hard to make out but appear to Claddagh symbols to mark Becky’s Irish background. Chants of “You de-serve it!” can be heard. Becky says that it’s been two long years since she was on top and that now she won’t miss out on the magazine covers, PPV posters, or morning talk shows. Becky says that she doesn’t need the whole roster at ringside… just Charlotte. And Charlotte obliges, of course. Paige steps between them and instructs them to keep their hands to themselves. Charlotte tells Becky that she came down to show respect and that Becky was the better woman at Hell in a Cell.
She goes on to say that she is disappointed in Becky and that, at Super Show-Down, she can take away what The Lass Kicker took two years to get back. Becky says that she’ll let Charlotte raise her hand like she wanted to do after their match. When Charlotte balks, Becky changes her request to have Charlotte put the belt around her waist. She then tells Charlotte to call her “Queen” and throws in a “bitch” for good measure. Charlotte blasts her with a forearm and the two brawl to the outside. To crowd chants of “Bec-ky! Bec-ky! Bec-ky!,” the new champ sends her rival over the announce desk and then into a barricade. Becky drags Charlotte back into the ring and holds her in the Dis-Arm-Her for a minute before hitting a Bexploder and walking off with the belt and a big smile on her face.
This was an action-light episode with only four matches and no main event but didn’t seem like it as much. This could have been because of seeing high level workers given the reigns or because of the entertaining and organic flow of the story-telling pieces. Either way, it seems that Super Show-Down is going to be a focal point for the next couple of weeks and that in-between PPVs like Hell in a Cell can successfully be used to push a narrative rather than drag it out.
Rating: 7.5/10
-Matthew Widdis
