This marked the last showing of Smackdown Live on the USA network, and they went out in style.
Let’s get to the highs.
In no particular order
- Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan’s match. The entire match was awesome from start to finish as it dominated the first twenty-five minutes of the show. Rowan’s really grown over the last few weeks in the ring and on the microphone, and Bryan’s ability as the best wrestler in the world was on full display as this was easily the best match of the night.
- Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan joining forces. Bryan’s face turn is complete as he left it up to the WWE Uinverse as to whether he and Reigns should team up to beat Rowan and Harper, to which the fans answered with an emphatic “YES!” This puts the two top superstars in the company on the same team against Harker and Rowan at Hell in a Cell, in what should be an awesome match.
- Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Reunions and new unions were the theme of the night as Lynch once again came out to help Flair following R-Truth running off with Carmella to save her 24/7 championship. The question here is will their feud with Bayley and Sasha Banks end by the draft or be set aside and forgotten when they’re split up?
- The Kabuki Warriors returned. It’s been a while since the Kabuki Warriors were on Raw or Smackdown, and it was good to see them in action. Paige was missing, but it may have been due to her recent neck surgery, or WWE creative may be going in a different direction. Either way, they gave Fire and Desire all they could handle and more in an entertaining match.
- Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon in a ladder match. While this should end the run of a entertaining feud, it can’t come soon enough as many of us are tired of seeing Shane on TV every week running the same storylines. It’s been a process as his stable slowly left, so this match should be the final nail in the coffin. The match’s stipulation is simple: If Owens wins, Shane leaves the WWE. If Shane wins, Owens remains fired and drops his lawsuit. There’s really only one way for this to end.
- Banks attacked Lynch backstage to close the show. During a promo where Lynch responded to Banks’ comments about her previous experience in Hell in a Cell giving her an edge, Banks attacked her from behind and left her laying on the floor when officials broke it up. This solidified the tag team match between Lynch and Flair and Banks and Bayley on Fox’s premiere of Smackdown Live. This give Fox a full card of promising matches to draw in viewers that’ll allow the show to hit the ground running.
Final thoughts
Smackdown Live ended its run on USA with a solid show that should end a few storylines that’ll allow it to start fresh on Fox. Of course, part of that fresh start is the Owens/McMahon ladder match and he Four Horsewomen’s tag match on Fox’s premiere episode. What says starting fresh better than closing out some storylines?
