Five Things We Learned From SmackDown Last Night

If you read our review of last week’s SmackDown, a major theme was that the show seven days ago seemed to exist solely to build up this week’s broadcast.

So did this week’s show live up to the hype? We had a big number one contender’s match between the dynamic duo of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, Bobby Roode vs. Rusev, the first “Top 10” rankings list, and the SmackDown women’s champion.

The stars were aligned for one of the more memorable episodes of SmackDown in several weeks (months?). Read on for five things we learned this week.

1. Bryan and Shane Have Heat Again, Kind Of

So we’re back to management disagreements on the blue brand.

Shane McMahon open the broadcast by talking about his disappointment that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were wrestling for a title shot. He called Daniel Bryan out and said that he is tired of seeing Zayn and Owens take advantage of him and in return being given preferential treatment that they don’t deserve.

McMahon noted that the “Yep! Movement” was a cheap imitation of Bryan’s greatest creation. He said that everyone knows that Bryan wants to return to the ring more than anything and that he is living vicariously through Zayn and Owens. The fans boo’ed him for that one pretty loudly.

The segment was eventually interrupted by AJ Styles who essentially said he is tired of playing second fiddle to all of the Zayn and Owens drama and having his management obsess over them.

Soon there after, Nakamura teased Styles backstage again.

2. We’re All In For That Bludgeon Brothers Title Shot

The Bludgeon Brothers, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, have basically spent the last couple of months winning squash match after squash match while having one of the most bad ass entrances and presentations in the company.

This week, we finally got the first hint of them moving up the card and facing a team of substance. The tag team champions, to be exact.

Following yet another squash match victory over some no-name local talents, The Usos theme song came on as the Bludgeons were walking up the ramp. They had a tense face-off before the Usos slowly walked past them and into the ring for a promo segment.

It was brief but also great. They’ve done a great job building up Harper and Rowan as a legitimate team to be reckoned with, and the Usos are on a whole different level right now (as their great promo this week further enforced). This feud is going to be great when it actually happens.

By the way, the Usos’ promo this week was them essentially saying that they are ready for any and all challengers, so it could be coming very soon.

3. The First ‘Top 10’ List

Daniel Bryan revealed the first-ever, highly anticipated (no sarcasm, I promise…or was that sarcasm?) top ten list. We’re still not sure what the point of this is, but here goes.

• 10. Tye Dillinger
• 9. Randy Orton
• 8. Becky Lynch
• 7. The Usos
• 6. The New Day
• 5. Bobby Roode
• 4. Naomi
• 3. Shinsuke Nakamura
• 2. Charlotte Flair
• 1. AJ Styles

So, yes, no Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens anywhere on the list. I suppose this is going to be another reason for Owens and Zayn to get upset with their peers, as the rankings were attributed to votes from the wrestlers themselves.

4. Bobby Roode Retains The U.S. Title

Let’s just start out by pointing out that Aiden English sang before the match, and they had Rusev’s head bouncing above the lyrics on the screen as the viewer followed along. Amazing.

The match itself was pretty good and sold some near falls for Rusev, who looked to legitimately have the match won a couple of times and got the crowd on their feet. However, Roode retained in the end.

The real story here was Randy Orton running out through the crowd afterward and hitting an RKO out of nowhere on Roode, then Rusev and English as well.

5. A New Number One Contender…Kind Of

The main event was the second match of the night on Tuesday that was very, very good (Rusev vs. Roode was tremendous as well). They teased some heat as the match went on and on. Owens hit a great looking Swanton Bomb. Zayn his Blue Thunder Bomb. But in the end, AJ Styles (who was doing guest commentary) got involved when the pair were on the outside, leading to a DQ finish.

This brought out Bryan, who did nothing to change the perception that he is favoring Owens and Zayn. Instead, Bryan explained that since Styles basically inserted himself in the match and ruined our chances of getting a new number one contender, he will now have to face both Owens and Zayn in a triple threat match at WWE Fastlane.

So once again we will have Owens, Zayn, and Styles in a title match at a PPV, though this time everyone will be competing to be the singular champion, versus last month at the Royal Rumble when Owens and Zayn were trying to win in a handicap match to become “co-champion.”

Closing Thoughts

• Charlotte went one on one with Liv Morgan and was victorious. No surprise there. A Riott Squad promo before the match might have made it more intriguing.
• The New Day were on the show solely in a backstage segment. Xavier Woods was wearing a “Burr 1800” shirt which was awesome. Speaking of which, the term treason is in the news this week. Did you know Aaron Burr actually tried to commit treason? It involved starting his own empire west of the U.S. Google it.
• The Top 10 list rankings were pretty ludicrous.
• Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin won a (surprisingly competitive) match with The Ascension. Remember those guys? Gable and Benjamin were portrayed as re establishing themselves, so I guess they’re out of the title picture for now.
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin was announced for next week. So much for that Ziggler comeback storyline, as this was announced with very little fanfare.