Time for another SmackDown In A Nutshell, and this time around it’s all about kicking off a new season.
Halfway through October (well, almost), and it’s time for the season premiere.
And while it’s not quite getting as loaded up as say, NXT from the other night…it still should be a pretty big show in it’s own right.
The unified tag titles will be defended, which is big.
There’s rumblings of a new authority figure, perhaps someone who has been around a bit recently…
John Cena remains in the building, but for how long?
Triple H will be in the house as well.
And, oh yeah…Roman Reigns is back.
So, a decently stacked show with plenty to get into, so let’s do this!
Kicking Off A New Season : SmackDown In A Nutshell
It’s time to kick this off and get into our Nutshell!
Best Match of the night:
Can I just go with the last two?
We finished with the tag title defense, Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes going against A-Town Down Under, and it was a good match.
Followed by LA Knight and Solo Sikoa, which saw Jimmy and Roman and Cena all get involved.
Worst match of the night:
I mean, maybe I’d go with Bayley and Zelina, but I didn’t truly hate it.
What bugged me? Charlotte ran in to make the save…while wearing heels.
Could we not have had her in sneakers or something more believable? Seeing her “run” down in heels….hard pass.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
It was a hot crowd in Tulsa, that is all.
Star of the Night
LA Knight…Roman…the Bloodline…
Oh yea…Kevin Owens, your newest SmackDown Superstar.
Or, why not Nick Aldis, who is your new SmackDown GM.
Spot of the Night:
Has to be that show-closing spear by Reigns on LA Knight.
Jobber of the Night:
Felt like the Brawling Brutes, because you knew they weren’t beating Pretty Deadly.
Or Carlito, because he got taken out by Lashley and the Profits.
Upset of the Night:
Nothing to report.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
I remember (it wasn’t that long ago) that the rumblings had us getting Roman Reigns and John Cena at Crown Jewel.
Now, I suppose that COULD still happen, but everything we saw tonight? That tells me it’s likely Reigns versus LA Knight.
Perhaps Reigns/Cena was planned, and maybe WWE is hedging their bets for if/when the actor’s strike ends? After all, Cena has said, when that ends, he’s back to Hollywood.
Also, how could you not enjoy the stare down between Cody and Roman. Long term story telling…
LOL Moment of the night:
Pretty Deadly with the wheelchair still. You can’t help but laugh, though I do want a bit of seriousness somewhere because…these guys SHOULD be future tag champs.
Noteworthy Moment:
Eventful season premiere appearance for Triple H.
Had some fun with Dom (love the “I really thought they piped that in” line.
Promoted Pearce to RAW GM…and turned Nick Aldis into the SmackDown GM.
And, oh yea…this…
Overall lowlights:
Really very little to complain about.
Overall highlights:
From bell to bell, this was a really good show.
Lots still to be done to set up Crown Jewel, but things are in motion.
The only thing I have any concern about is, if we do get Knight/Reigns in Saudi Arabia…is it too soon for Knight?
Like, I would love to see him with gold, but I don’t think he’s the guy to end the streak, and I doubt WWE ends it anywhere outside of a major PLE.
No offense to the fans in Riyadh for Crown Jewel, but it is not a major PLE.
After the final bell:
A lot going on in just two hours, and that’s a good thing.
Hunter lines up the next two events, hyping Crown Jewel and Survivor Series while giving us new RAW and SmackDown GMs.
Could we be seeing the return of Team RAW versus Team SmackDown Survivor Series matches? Champion versus Champion for bragging rights?
Stay tuned…
