The theme for this SmackDown In A Nutshell is simple : It’s a big London bank weekend, as we are hours away from Money In The Bank.
See, I told you it would be bloody simple, didn’t I?
The Superstars have traveled across the pond for tonight’s show, and of course, Saturday’s special premium live event.
Special because, well…it isn’t all that often that WWE shows like Money In The Bank happen outside of North America.
But, here we are. Hot London crowd at the O2 Arena, and we’ve got a Bloodline Civil War, a couple title matches and the two briefcases.
For now, this final SmackDown is about final hype, plus a title match or two of it’s own.
So…it is time for…
Big London Bank Weekend : SmackDown In A Nutshell
Let’s crack open this Nutshell and get into it!
Best Match of the night:
I am going to run with the opening match of the evening.
Two seasoned veteran Superstars against two rising names.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defended against Pretty Deadly.
While I wouldn’t have hated a title change here…it was not in the cards.
But rest assured…Pretty Deadly will be wearing gold eventually.
Worst match of the night:
Ridge Holland and Austin Theory wasn’t all that good.
I kind of didn’t like Asuka and Charlotte.
Once you saw Bianca at ringside, you knew this wasn’t ending clean.
Seems like we might get a triple threat match for the title at SummerSlam, maybe?
Crowd Chants of the Night:
In general, and no shock here, the London crowd was hot and strong. Much love for LA Knight.
Star of the Night
LA Knight was super over.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn too.
And then, our main event Samoans…need I say more?
Spot of the Night:
I know this will be an odd one…but something tells me there will be more to this eventually. Hopefully.
Jobber of the Night:
Best guess here…Ridge Holland.
OK, I lied. We can also go with all the security guards trying to keep Jimmy, Jey, Solo and Roman separated.
Upset of the Night:
Butch going over LA Knight and Santos Escobar fits the mold.
I feel like this was WWE giving Butch a moment in front of family and friends. Nice, if that is what it was.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
The Bloodline Civil War is going to be insane, if Friday was any indication.
Botch of the night:
Nothing worth complaining about
LOL Moment of the night:
The chants, while not appropriate to repeat here, targeted at Logan Paul were…well they made me laugh.
London does NOT like the social media star.
Noteworthy Moment:
Always setting something else up…or some things….
Next week from Madison Square Garden:
AJ Styles versus Karrion Kross.
Grayson Waller Effect featuring…Edge!
And a rumored return, hopefully.
In non-show news, it was indeed a sad moment when WWE had the memorial for Darren Drozdov.
Overall lowlights:
I mean, the crowd remained hot, but there were a few shorter than expected matches. Not a fan of those, in most cases.
Overall highlights:
That London crowd. If Friday is a good indication, Saturday should be crazy.
Opening match with KO and Sami against Pretty Deadly was strong.
Bloodline capped the night, and lots of nuance there. Are we seeing teases of a Solo turn on the Tribal Chief?
I mean…Roman singled Roman out…perhaps that doesn’t sit well with Solo…
One way or another, Money In The Bank is shaping up to be a big show in London.
After the final bell:
It was a wild and crazy two hour go-home show for the blue brand. Some good, some bad.
Mostly good, but surely some big stuff held back, considering what happens on Saturday.
This time tomorrow, we get to talk about what happened in the O2 Arena…briefcase winners, civil war fallout, maybe a cash-in?
Stay tuned!
