WWE Champion comes out to a hometown pop and AJ Styles chants. He thanks the crowd and calls Daniel Bryan to the ring. He tells Daniel that he apologizes. D-Bry stops him and says that he has respect for him but does not see him as friend or colleague. He sees AJ as the champion and the only thing in his way of his dreams. AJ finishes his apology by saying that last week’s Pele kick was on purpose! DB says knows it was. The two get all up in each other’s faces and AJ offers to fight for the title right then and now.
Here comes the money! Shane-O-Mac says we always see wrestlers in these “right here right now” situations but they never seem to happen. Well, not tonight. Get a ref because it’s going down. Right. Flippin’. Now!
AJ Styles (c) vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Championship
There are those of us who complain/lament/kvetch about the best wrestlers in the world working their way to WWE only to be forced into wrestling “the WWE style.” They get a true treat in this PPV quality match. This was reminiscent of the classic NWA broadways from the 80s: a good 30 minutes of match time with both men telling us a story with their bodies. From the first touch, they’re working body parts to set up the anticipated finishes and keep going back to that in a match that has brawling, mat wrestling, high-flying, and even a few power spots. It’s a great example of two of the best to ever lace up the boots, doing it like few others can.
Winner by submission: AJ Styles
After the match, they shake hands and hug in mutual respect… until Samoan Joe attacks AJ. DB tries to help but both The Phenomenal One and The Yes Man are too drained from their match to fend him off and The Destroyer stands tall over the current and former champs.
Jeff Hardy talks about suffering for his art. Miz talks about being the best at everything and proving it at Crown Jewel.
Backstage: GM Paige calls in Charlotte. She praises her performance at Evolution and asks her to be captain of the SmackDown women’s team for Survivor Series. Charlotte begs off but Paige asks her to think it over. Confidence issues in The Queen?
The New Day comes out as The Brood! One of them will take on a representative of The Bar. The annual tradition is met by tongue-in-cheek enthusiasm throughout by the announce team. Byron Saxton’s in-character commentary is especially good.
Big E vs Cesaro in a Trick-or-Street Fight
The match starts with Big E whooping up on Cesaro with a kendo stick but Sheamus gets into the mix and it breaks down. It’s a street fight, though, so it’s all legal. We get slams through tables. We get brawling on the outside. We get Jack-O-Lanterns getting smashed. We get the return of the red mist! And Big E gets the win with The Big Ending.
Winner by pinfall: Big E
Backstage: Shane has the four SmackDown entrants into WWE World Cup with him. They take turns cutting promos on each other. Shane likes the intensity but lets them know that whoever wins their bracket has to beat the winner from the RAW side or no longer be a part of the SmackDown roster.
Backstage: GM Paige is approached by AJ. She tells him that he should be at the trainer’s office getting looked at and that she will address the problem with Samoa Joe. AJ demands a match at Crown Jewel, citing that he has always chosen to be the punishment for Joe’s transgressions.
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs R-Truth w/ Carmella for the WWE US Title
In storyline, this match was supposed to be Tye Dillinger but Randy Orton ruined it with his “this little piggy” brutalizing of The Perfect Ten. Obligatory dance break aside, this is a competitive match in which the announcers remind us that R-Truth is a former US Champ and Truth’s athleticism makes us all forget that he’s over 45-years-old. In the end, it’s the Kinshasa that leaves R-Truth unable to remember his phone number.
Winner by pinfall: Shinsuke Nakamura
Becky Lynch comes out to the ring with two words: “I won.” As the crowd chants her name, she tells us that she went through chairs, kendo sticks, and tables in her Last Woman Standing match against Charlotte but still got back up. Becky goes on to say that she was the rightful main event at Evolution. The champ declares herself “The Man,” because she’s the best. That goes for the RAW locker room, too, and she’s fully aware that RAW includes Ronda Rousey. Becky warns Ronda that she’s not there to cosplay or star in reality shows. She’s there to rip her arm off.
Samoa Joe in locker room: Oh Aaaaay Jaaaay! Samoa Joe asks AJ Styles if he thought it was over. He asks him if his children are still checking their closets at night. Samoa Joe says that he’s going to win at Crown Jewel and this will be “the end.”
The Miz & Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio
Jeff Hardy plays Ricky Morton-in-peril to heel tag tactics until the hot tag to Rey Rey gets them rolling. They stay in control after that until a 619 sets up a Swanton Bomb and the win. Post-match, we get an RKO party on the winners and Miz so everybody goes home happy.
Winners by pinfall: Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio
This SmackDown was a great example of the “three ring circus” approach to booking a pro wrestling show and the A-B-C plot-stacking common in comic books and soap operas. It was also a great example of why those approaches pay off. I won’t distract a wrestling TV review with political commentary but the oft-lamented creative staff did a more-than-serviceable job this week in highlighting Evolution over the upcoming Crown Jewel, explaining the changing card lineup, and (by giving us AJ/D-Bry in Atlanta and AJ/Joe at Crown Jewel) not letting a crisis go to waste. And besides, one of the reasons that I dislike the current slew of PPVs that WWE puts on now is that it’s harder for them to produce enough of a real build for the matches. Taking time away from an upcoming PPV gives plenty of opportunity to emphasize the next one.
Smackdown Live in Atlanta Rating: 7.75/10.0
-Matthew Widdis
