So the first Smackdown of the year would feature the contract signing of A.J.Styles vs John Cena for the Royal Rumble, and an intercontinental title match between The Miz and Dean Ambrose.
It's also only 2 hours so this shouldn't be as long as my last post.Even though, technically, a lot LESS happened than what happened on Raw, it somehow felt like more happened.
The Miz starts off Smackdown, even though he is in the main event intercontinental title match, so he's been given the start and the finish of Smackdown this week, which is good. He's been fantastic lately, both on the mic and in the ring. He talks about how he deserves an apology from Renee Young, makes it personal, and Ambrose comes to the ring to scare Miz away. A good way to get the crowd hyped for their match later on, and a good way to state very clearly that this fued is happening.
Next we have a solid match between Ziggler and Baron Corbin, because they were in a triple threat match last week, and A.J is occupied with Cena now, so may as well make the two odd ones out wrestle each other. A surprisingly good match considering how many times we've had to see these two wrestle. Corbin seems a lot more competent in the ring, although I can't see him becoming a good guy any time soon.
Corbin picks up the fair win, and is about to attack Ziggler with a chair after the match, and it's obvious someone is going to come and make the save. I was hoping for a debut of someone new, but unfortunately it was Kalisto. To be fair to him he puts on an impressive display of disarming Corbin and scaring him away. He then helps Ziggler to his feet, and luckily, instead of renewing his ridiculous rivalry with Corbin, we see the start of a new rivalry. Ziggler, in anger, superkicks Kalisto, then shouts at him saying he didn't need his help, and doesn't need anyone's help. Heel Ziggler? Hopefully! Although Smackdown are seriously running out of good guys.
Carmella and Elsworth chat a little. Elsworth will accompany Carmella to her match. Great. Isn't Carmella dating Big Cass?
We see Ziggler backstage, angry, throwing shit about. Apollo confronts him. Apparently Apollo and Kalisto are friends. Ziggler hits him with a badass headbutt, but gets stopped by the rest of the locker room before they continue fighting. Ziggler vs Apollo? Could be a good fued.
Then we have Becky Lynch vs the Luchadore that interfered in her match last week. Except there end up being two luchadores! One of which was Alexa Bliss, and they beat Becky down. The other luchadore? We still don't know!
Finally we have the contract signing. Daniel Bryan introduces Cena and A.J.Styles. Styles questions why Cena was given a match, making reference to the fact that Bryan and Styles go waaay back. Bryan agrees and says the reason why Cena is getting the match is because people want to see it, and it'll be the way they keep ahead of Raw in the ratings. He then leaves them to it.
A.J. talks some shit to Cena about how he's become a part timer and shouldn't be given the match, but it doesn't matter because A.J. will just beat him again. Although A.J. seems to get confused at some point saying that the tables have now turned, that last year Cena was the champion telling A.J. that he needs a win to prove he belongs here, and that now it's A.J. with the title and Cena needs a win to prove he belongs here. It was like that, but Cena wasn't champion last year. A.J. does call Cena up on how Cena spoke out about taking back what he said about The Rock, how he takes back what he said about The Rock being a part-timer and having abandoned the WWE. A.J. calls him up on that, saying that he shouldn't take it back, as it was true, and now it's true of Cena. He also says that Cena will never be as good as The Rock in hollywood, and never be as good as A.J. Styles when it comes to wrestling. Pretty good promo.
Then Cena responds, with a fair amount of crap, unfortunately for the good guy in the fued. Saying that part of being a man is knowing when you're wrong and when to apologise (like he did to The Rock). Doesn't that mean that when he said those things towards The Rock in the first place he wasn't really a man? It doesn't sit well with me. It feels like Cena justifies everything he does with this sort of crap, and if he's in the wrong he simply admits it, says that he's learned from it, and that makes him better than his opponent. He simply uses the right words to make it seem like what he's saying at the time is correct even though it's not. For one thing using that kind of criteria for 'being a man' is incredibely sexist. It also makes it seem like if you won't admit you're wrong and apologise then you're not a real man... Well what if you're not actually wrong? Isn't he simply realising that he's become exactly what he called out The Rock for, and so to make it seem like it's alright to be like that, he's taken back his words and apologised so that people won't call him out on being a part-timer and abandoning the WWE? He also calls A.J. on finally having the courage to stand up to Cena, even though Styles always has. He also says how A.J. only goes as far as 'they' tell him to go, whereas Cena goes so far they tell him to stop. Well, that's not true now is it? He also says A.J. walks down that ramp because he has to, whereas Cena walks down that ramp because he WANTS to. Well.... that's also not true, now is it?
Then Corbin comes down, and unfortunately he's not that great on the microphone yet, but he does distract Cena enough for A.J. to kick him in the back of the head, thank god, and sets up a Baron Corbin vs Cena match for next week.
Then Eslworth helps Carmella win her match against Aliyah. That is all.
Then American Alpha defeat Breezango very fast, and the Wyatts shoot a promo to scare them and set a rematch for the titles for next week. There still seems to be tension between Orton and Harper, however. Will the Wyatt family break up, and set up Orton vs Wyatt for Wrestlemania? I hope not, Orton and Wyatt go well together. Maybe we'll get a shock and Harper will be kicked out, and Wyatt and Orton will stick together for awhile longer. Who knows.
Nikki and Natalya trade verbal blows in the ring, until eventually Nikki knocks out Natalya with her elbow-finisher.
Then, finally, we get the main event between Ambrose and Miz. A real solid match, with plenty of ups and downs, with Miz cheating a fair amount of times, but Ambrose kicking out every time. Miz almost gets disqualified when Maryse interferes, however Ambrose convinces the referee not to disqualify Miz, and to instead send Maryse away from ringside. It happens, but the Miz hits Ambrose with the belt while the referee isn't looking. However, Ambrose manages to kick out again! Ambrose finally hits the dirty deeds and picks up the win, and the Intercontinental Championship, to finish the first Smackdown of the year! All in all, a pretty solid episode of Smackdown.
I am really hoping Samoa Joe comes to Smackdown when he finally debuts. He'd be able to have some amazing fueds, with Ambrose, Ziggler, the Wyatts, even the Miz, and of course A.J. Styles. And even Cena. Joe and Cena have known each other for a long time, it seems, even though their careers went in different directions. A fued between them would be great.
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