Friday brings us SmackDown in a Nutshell as always, and this time around, simply put, it’s 1 big Nashville night.
Because, if that wasn’t all that clear, it’s a big night, it’s a big show, and this 1 night is in Nashville.
I mean, it’s night all over as I write this, but it’s 1 big Nashville night, for plenty of reasons.
Now that Backlash is over, the drafted rosters take effect. That means we’ve got a whole lot of new faces for the blue brand.
So, it’s going to be an interesting evening just for that reason.
But, it’s 1 big Nashville night for plenty of other reasons.
For 1 thing, the World Heavyweight Championship tournament, SmackDown bracket, takes place tonight.
Speaking of that tournament, with the finals happening at Night of Champions…there’s plenty of other matches to be made for that event.
Because that event happens in two weeks.
Roman Reigns also returns to the show for the first time in a while, and now SmackDown is his sole home.
So, it is time for us to dive into…
1 Big Nashville Night : SmackDown In A Nutshell
Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see what happens.
Best Match of the night:
I think I am splitting this between the two triple threat matches.
The main event was solid, but the ending felt a bit abrupt. And it wasn’t as good as the 1st round matches.
Worst match of the night:
I loved it, but if you blinked you missed it.
That would be Baron Corbin getting crushed by Cameron Grimes.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
No specific chant, but man did the Nashville crowd want Jimmy and Jey to tell Roman to shove it.
Star of the Night
I have to give this to AJ Styles, whom I did not expect would be the finalist from SmackDown.
The nicest touch here was when Mia Yim and the OC came out to congratulate him. Initially, I was like, who’s about to take out AJ.
Not often we get a happy run-in.
Spot of the Night:
Not going to call out a specific spot, but in spite of a botch or two I think the opening match with Rey, Edge and AJ had a few good ones.
Check out the eyes on IYO…there’s definitely a split coming here soon…
Jobber of the Night:
Baron Corbin.
I’ve said it before, I will say it again…I think Corbin might need to go down to NXT to find himself a bit.
He is a superb worker and has a lot of respect in the back, from what has been reported…but something is off.
Upset of the Night:
I did not see AJ Styles winning.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
We are likely running it back, perhaps at Night of Champions, as Asuka interrupted Bianca Belair’s ceremony in her home town.
Asuka used the mist and it seems likely we will see the two fight for Belair’s women’s title (which, for now, is still of the red variety).
The bigger holy sh!@ though? That’s Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns taking on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at Night of Champions.
I have loads of thoughts on that, and right now my gut says that ends in a DQ where no one wins, no one loses.
Putting a tag title on Reigns at this point makes zero sense.
Botch of the night:
Rey botched a move in the opening triple threat match. I am willing to give it a little slack, if only because 3 Superstars in the ring moving at once can be crazy.
But, a botch is a botch. Even when it’s by a Hall of Famer.
LOL Moment of the night:
Pretty Deadly made plenty of friends with their provoking humor, especially with Ridge and Butch.
It was so funny it got them their first SmackDown match next week.
Noteworthy Moment:
The World Heavyweight Championship final is set, with AJ Styles taking on Seth Rollins.
Bianca Belair is likely going to take on Asuka, whether in Jeddah or elsewhere.
Roman Reigns wants to add a third belt, and tension in the Bloodline is rising once again.
We got some of the new additions from NXT sizing up the competition, and next week gives us an interesting Waller Effect.
First guest? Old NXT feud…AJ Styles.
Overall lowlights:
At this point, WWE is probably trolling us, having Heyman first and now Reigns look lovingly at the new title.
If ever that happened though, it would just be so bad. Hence why it’s here.
Overall highlights:
What’s not to love about more Bloodline drama?
Waller and AJ Styles in the same ring again? Should be interesting.
With 2 weeks to go until Night Of Champions, we got a few more items accomplished this week thanks to 1 big Nashville night.
But…next week will have even more to do.
After the final bell:
There had been rumblings that Roman Reigns would be working in Saudi Arabia.
I certainly did not expect that he’d be working in a tag match, let alone a tag title match.
Seems just as likely that Reigns wins the titles as it does that this match further fractures his faction…but we have to wait to find out.
Not bad for 1 big Nashville night.
