Shane McMahon took his usual position on the panel alongside co-host, Renee Young, for this week’s episode of Talking Smack. The show started off with the two discussing the Money in the Bank PPV which is barely four weeks away.
Shane said that the Money in the Bank ladder match was one of his favourites and Renee reminded him that among this year’s participants, Dolph Ziggler is the only man to have won Money in the Bank. Renee put Shane on the spot asking him who would claim the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Shane said that the match was stacked with superstars and that he could not call it.
#1 The New Day
Shane and Renee’s Money in the Bank conversation was interrupted by The New Day singing “Take It Back.” Kofi put up his foot on the table showing off his kicks and encouraging his teammates to do the same. Shane and Renee too joined the fun as they showed their footwear to the audience.
Big E mentioned that a lot of people liked to see feet on the internet. All of them settled down and Xavier asked the panel who the top five tag teams in the world are. Kofi answered his question saying New Day, New Day, New Day, New Day, and New Day. The New Day took issue with JBL who called The Usos the best tag team on Smackdown LIVE.
Renee asked the trio what they had been up to all this while. Big E informed them that he had married a couple. He wished that he could have been there for Renee’s wedding and officiated. Xavier stated that he had taken the time off to work on his YouTube Channel UpUpDownDown. He also said that he had his first child and was spending quality time with his family.
Shane asked The New Day about who they were keeping their eyes on in the blue brand. The New Day spoke about Breezango having all the momentum in the world at the moment. The hosts and The New Day then shared a light moment as they discussed Booty O’s and Shane did the hip dance. Big E mentioned that they wanted women to groove to The New Day music and encouraged Renee to show some moves; Renee finally gave in to their wishes.
Xavier extended an invitation to Shane for his show owing to the fact that he needed new faces. Renee asked if they were gunning for any blue brand tag teams in particular to which The New Day replied that all the teams had their attention, from the Usos to the American Alpha. Renee then gave them the cue to leave and the trio joked about being kicked off from the panel.
Shane and Renee then turned their attention to the Punjabi celebration in honour of the new WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal. Renee commented on the colours on display and said that she would love to see more of these celebrations. She asked Shane’s opinion on the new champion and Shane pointed out that Jinder had worked hard to get where he has.
He also informed that Randy Orton had invoked his rematch clause and the rematch had been made for Money in the Bank in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.
Renee asked if Jinder Mahal got lucky in his encounter with Randy to which Shane was slow to answer and said that getting a victory over Randy is a rare scenario, if not necessarily lucky.
#2 Naomi
Naomi joined the set and rested her championship on the table. Renee directed her attention to next week’s fatal five-way elimination match to determine the number one contender for the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
Shane asked her if she was looking forward to facing anyone in particular, to which she responded that she had unfinished business with every one of them.
Shane and Renee asked about Naomi’s workout schedule to stay healthy to which Naomi said that she ate in moderation, and worked hard in the gym. Referring to Carmella’s pinfall victories over her, Naomi said that she could not afford to take anyone lightly.
Renee mentioned that Becky had become an afterthought in the women’s division. Naomi said that she knew the feeling of not having the title and that she would love to give Becky a shot at the championship.
Naomi said that she was touched by the fans chanting “You deserve it.” She wanted to prove her fans right with her efforts in the ring. She recalled her early years as a dancer when she had not followed wrestling a lot, but once she was introduced to the business, she knew that it was her calling and the love of the business kept her going.
Naomi gave a shout out to her fans and her husband for being her support system. He said that her step-children felt that she is the coolest parent. Renee closed out the show by saying that whoever becomes the number one contender would have their task cut out because Naomi was going into Money in the Bank with a lot of momentum.
