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The final episode of WWE SmackDown before Survivor Series had a few big matches and segments scheduled for the night. We expected to watch a few of the Champions of WWE come face to face before battling for supremacy on Sunday.
Murphy and Seth Rollins were set for a big match during the show after The Juggernaut turned on The Messiah during last week’s episode.
Carmella made another statement as she wiped out SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks during a segment that involved the RAW Women’s Champion, Asuka.
Daniel Bryan was set to make a return to SmackDown after suffering a brutal beatdown at the hands of Jey Uso a few weeks ago. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn looked to earn some respect but failed once again, something that has bothered The Great Liberator for too long.
This was an episode that was too good to miss, and we will look at the five things WWE SmackDown got right during this week’s show.
#5 Team SmackDown gets their final members for WWE Survivor Series
While RAW had their teams all set for WWE Survivor Series before the night, SmackDown was looking to find its final members. This allowed Adam Pearce to announce that Otis would be a part of the men’s team while Bayley would get a spot on the women’s team to represent SmackDown.
Natalya wasn’t too happy with the announcement and once again wanted a chance to make it to Team SmackDown for Survivor Series. Pearce booked a match between her and Tamina to grab the final spot on Team Blue.
Bianca Belair and Bayley joined the commentary team, and The Role Model bragged about finding her way to the team without any effort, unlike Natalya.
Tamina used her power to keep Nattie grounded and threw her into the steel steps. However, The Queen of Harts fought back and locked in the Sharpshooter to pick up the victory over the bigger woman. After the match, Natalya was ecstatic and celebrated with the referee and then her teammates for Survivor Series.
While adding Otis and Bayley without the need for a qualification match makes sense, it seems like SmackDown has some other plans for Natalya.
Her path to the pay-per-view has been extremely rocky, and we could see her play a vital role in her team’s success or failure.
#4 The New Day and The Street Profits join forces on WWE SmackDown
The Street Profits were in the new and improved Champion’s Lounge when WWE SmackDown kicked off. The duo took some shots at The Undertaker before Big E showed up doing an impression of The Phenom. He told the duo that The New Day would kick them down at Survivor Series.
Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston then made their way to the ring before Sami Zayn, King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode interrupted them in quick succession.
After The New Day offered the heels a shot at their titles, a brawl broke out and Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford made their way out to make the save.
This led to an eight-man tag team match where the New Day teamed up with The Street Profits after Adam Pearce made the match official. The Champions did extremely well to work together, but Kingston accidentally hit Ford with a crossbody which was meant for Roode. While tensions ran high, Ford was able to score another big win for his team with a magnificent Frog Splash.
The match was fun and gave us some content before Sunday when the RAW Tag Team Champions will take on the SmackDown Tag Team Champions. It’ll be even more interesting if Big E plays a major role in Sunday’s clash which could give him some new opportunities on SmackDown.
#3 Murphy has the last laugh on WWE SmackDown
Murphy helped Rey Mysterio defeat Seth Rollins on WWE SmackDown last week, and Rollins looked to get back at The Juggernaut by attacking him before the bell. The Mysterio family were at ringside and they helped Murphy get back up to enter the ring for his match.
The two men threw some punches before the fight spilled over to the floor and Rollins threw Murphy around into the barricade and ring post. The Messiah wanted to use a Kendo Stick but Rey Mysterio stopped him which did not settle well with Rollins.
Rollins turned his attention to Dominik Mysterio and threw him around before The Juggernaut got back in the game. While Murphy took control for some time, The Savior of SmackDown hit a signature Superplex followed by a Falcon Arrow for a near fall.
The Juggernaut braved through a buckle bomb and hit rollings with a couple of jumping knees before connecting with the Murphy’s Law. This allowed him to cover Rollins and pick up his biggest victory on SmackDown.
This was a good match that could allow Rollins to take some time off and push Murphy ahead on the Blue brand. This rivalry is likely over, and we could get some good new rivalries in the months to come.
#2 Not a single punch was thrown at the WWE Survivor Series contract signing on SmackDown
One of the biggest segments announced for this week’s SmackDown was the contract signing between the WWE Champion and Universal Champion for their match at Survivor Series. Adam Pearce was in the ring to officiate the contract signing between Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns.
Reigns entered the ring for the segment and made Pearce move from the head chair of the table to take his place. Drew McIntyre came in next and the two men exchanged an intense stare before they got down to business on SmackDown.
The Tribal Chief claimed that he was sure that McIntyre would win the WWE Championship before Survivor Series. However, he told McIntyre that he was in the right place at the wrong time. He called him a secondary champion and talked him down to feel more intimidating.
The Scottish Psychopath tried to shoot a few insults at the Universal Champion too and both men tried to get under each other’s skin before the big match without throwing a single punch.
This was a good segment on SmackDown that helped build towards the big match without having the two men get physical. We are just a couple of days away from one of the biggest matches of the year now and it will be great to watch a heel Reigns take on a face McIntyre in a battle of supremacy.
#1 Daniel Bryan gets his revenge on WWE SmackDown
The main event of this week’s WWE SmackDown saw Jey Uso and Daniel Bryan compete once again. Bryan had suffered a loss followed by a brutal beatdown at the hands of Uso a few weeks ago and he was looking to get some payback.
Bryan was more aggressive this week and pounced at Uso as soon as the referee called for the bell.
Bryan ensured that he put Uso through a lot of pain as he locked him in a submission hold to wear him down. Uso managed to escape from the ring for some time and cleared the SmackDown announce table to use it before Bryan hit him with a dropkick.
Uso managed to put Bryan through the announce table and then took control of the match going forward. While it looked like Uso would score another victory over The Planer’s Champion, Bryan managed to counter a Uso Splash and rolled up his opponent to pick up the victory.
This was a good match and the ending suggests that these two Superstars aren’t done with each other yet. Bryan could move into the Universal Championship program following Survivor Series and give Roman Reigns a great rivalry.
