WWE SmackDown Live continues to be one of the brighter spots of the wrestling week and this episode brought us a couple of above-average matches. The Tag Team Championships were on the line, while the main event continues to prove that Baron Corbin can hang with the top WWE talent. But that’s enough of the positives, let’s move on to why we’re really here.
The truest botch of the night happened during Carmella’s match and it involved one of the more eye-catching enhancement talents since James Ellsworth. Dolph Ziggler is undergoing a character transition that’s been fun to watch even though it’s not resonating with the audience the way WWE likely hoped that it would.
Also, since when is Baron Corbin a super-heavyweight of the same calibre as Yokozuna? The blue brand definitely had it’s off moments. As usual, 5 of the botchiest and most outrageous moments follow, so let’s get to it...
#5 Not a heel
After quite a long time of his career lacking the momentum that everyone knows it deserves, Dolph Ziggler has snapped. The next step of his descent into the dark side included a steel chair beatdown of both Kalisto and Apollo Crews after he took a loss to the Lucha Dragon and the crowd cheered.
This looks like one of those situations in which WWE creative is going to botch the character casting. Fans have been in the same mindset for Dolph’s character for way longer than Dolph has, so this edge that he’s showing is a welcome development.
It also doesn’t help that the two guys he wailed on tonight have very little fan support, so nobody’s offended that the Showoff would attack them.
It wasn’t unanimous support though as WWE made sure to get a couple of solid camera closeups of upset children during this segment but there were tonnes of people in attendance busting out the “Yes!” chants for angry Dolph.
Many of those happy fans can be seen in the above highlight. There were even chants of “One more time” for the final chair shots against Kalisto and Crews. If WWE is determined to get Ziggler over as a heel at this point, it’s not quite working out that way.
#4 Cena collapses carrying Corbin
A few minutes into the main event, John Cena transitioned from a test of strength into a fireman’s carry. He hoisted Big Baron onto his shoulders but couldn’t follow through with whatever move he was attempting. Cena couldn’t handle the weight of the monster and buckled at such an enormous burden on his shoulders.
Wait a second, since when does Baron Corbin get the Big Show treatment?
Baron is quite a bit taller than John, yes, but he’s really not that much heavier. Wikipedia lists Cena at 251 lbs. compared to Corbin’s 275 lbs. Not only is that not a huge weight differential, John’s achievements in the gym are pretty well known.
There’s even a Youtube video with over 14 million views showing off the 15-time World Champion’s ability to squat a whopping 495 lbs. Baron’s nowhere near that weight. John Cena should not be struggling to lift Baron Corbin, plain and simple.
#3 Deep Six or sidewalk slam?
Even the best are allowed a slip up from time to time. Mauro Ranallo mistakenly called a Baron Corbin Sidewalk Slam a Deep Six, which was later corrected by none other than the WWE Champion AJ Styles.
Later in the match, Mauro asked Styles if he called another move correctly and AJ explained that he really wasn’t picking on him. Hopefully, Mauro knows that even if he’s wrong from time to time, he’s still far better than all of his peers.
#2 The lovely CJ Lunde
It’s the return of the jobbers for this edition of SmackDown Live, but instead of being fed to the monster athletes like Braun Strowman or Nia Jax, Carmella got a shot at this enhancement talent.
Dressed in ring gear that perfectly matched your grandmother’s drapes and a hairstyle that would’ve been fashionable during the Truman administration, CJ Lunde faced off against the Staten Island Princess.
JBL went straight into jokes about how antique her appearance was, dropping names like Eleanor Roosevelt and Mildred Burke. David Otunga even got a decent line in when he said that Carmella looked like she was beating up somebody’s aunt.
Lunde had a very outrageous look but to be fair, she stood out. It’s largely because James Ellsworth had such a unique look that kept bringing him back on screen so you never know, Lunde’s fashion sense might earn her more TV time if Vince gets enough of a kick out of her.
#1 CJ took the Flatliner funny
CJ Lunde may have provided for some funny jabs from the commentary team but unfortunately, she was involved in the most noticeable mistake of the night. After being thrown off by James Ellsworth, Carmella went in for the Flatliner to set up for her Code of Silence. Only instead of CJ dropping forward onto her belly, her body went backwards.
In CJ’s defence, she likely thought that Carmella would put more of a wind-up into the move, slowly arching back before slamming to the ground. Regardless, this was a manoeuvre that simply botched.
Carmella still locked on her submission finisher afterwards and got the tap out win. She also got her bae James to agree to go on a shopping trip with her next week. Life’s good for Carmella right now.
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