Bowen’s Botches and Bodyslams: WWE Smackdown Live Results and Review September 25 2018
Smackdown Live comes from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado and features the contract signing for the WWE Championship Match at WWE Super Show-Down between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. Also, Becky Lynch will defend her Smackdown Women’s Championship against Lana.
The Miz vs. R-Truth with Carmella, Daniel Bryan joining commentary
The Miz wins by Pinfall after a Running Knee Strike.
Sheamus with Cesaro vs. Big E with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston
Sheamus wins by Pinfall after landing the Braugh Kick.
Naomi and Asuka vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville
Asuka wins by Pinfall on Sonya Deville after a Double Roundhouse kick along with Namoi.
United States Championship Match
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Tye Dillinger
Tye Dillinger wins by Disqualification after Randy Orton interferes and attacks Dillinger.
Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lana
Becky Lynch wins by Submission with the Disarm Her.
Botches
The segment with Aiden English and Rusev had a significant amount of recap. It seemed like there was afar more than necessary, and I was losing interest by the end. I almost missed the mic drop moment at the end because of that.
There was something off in the Naomi and Asuka vs. Deville and Rose match, and the double tag in by Deville magnified that. The rhythm of the match was disrupted to the point that the ending was abrupt and dissatisfying even though it was executed well.
AJ Styles is still well behind Samoa Joe in the acting department with this angle. Joe is pulling off the sadistic tormentor angle well, while Styles is still struggling to pull off the scared hero whose loved ones are in danger. Styles is absolutely phenomenal in the ring, but his weakness is in his acting and pulling out depths of emotion.
Bodyslams
R-Truth took over Miz TV and made it Truth TV, and he was incredibly entertaining. The ensuing match with Truth TV vs. Miz TV on the line was great. R-Truth is better than he has ever been, and you can see a “Go Big” mentality in everything he does since his return. He has become my favorite part of Smackdown.
Tye Dillinger took advantage of his time on television before getting buried by Randy Orton. Dillinger is able to pull off a malicious visage in the middle of a match and I’m not sure if its intentional. He’s on what would traditionally be considered the babyface side of the roster, so it doesn’t really fit. He still does it well.
Smackdown once again delivers a better show than RAW. R-Truth is performing at a level that could cement a legacy we never saw coming. He is making everything he does big and successfully riding the edge of going off the rails. Being paired with Carmella is giving them both balance. They could potentially take over this show. The inevitable collapse of Rusev Day is dissatisfying thus far, but this is just getting started. The potential matches between English and Rusev are the payoff here. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe are two of the hottest in ring performers of this generation, and I wish the build would reflect that. I still think this comes down to these two being so close in real life that AJ can’t pull off a genuine hatred for Joe. I still look forward to these two in the ring.
