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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
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WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER
OCTOBER 2, 2018
PORTLAND, OR. AT THE MODA CENTER IN ROSE QUARTER
AIRS ON USA NETWORK 8:00PM EDT
BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Arena / Recap of Last Week
WWE Smackdown will emanate from the Moda Center in the Rose Quarter in Portland, OR. for the first time since February of 2016. As we did last night on Raw, we’ll continue to get ready for the Super Showdown this Saturday as tonight we put on wrap on the Smackdown build.
Last week, Samoa Joe arrived at A.J. Styles’ family home and rang the doorbell at the close of the show, leaving us wondering what happened next. Aiden English discussed his turning on Rusev and revealed that something happened with Lana “one night in Milwaukee,” but did not elaborate. Sheamus of the Bar defeated Big E of the Smackdown Tag Team Champions New Day in singles action. Naomi and Asuka defeated the IIconics in women’s tag team action. U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Tye Dillinger in a non-title match. Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defeated Lana in a non-title match.
Two matches have been announced ahead of tonight’s show, as well as items pertinent to Super Showdown.
G.M. Paige Addresses Samoa Joe
At the Super Showdown, Samoa Joe will challenge A.J. Styles for the WWE Championship for the third PPV/WWE Network in a row. As we know, the focal point of the feud has been Joe picking on A.J.’s being on the road often and not being home for his family. Last week, Joe and A.J. were to have a contract signing when Joe revealed he was actually at A.J.’s home via a selfie video. He went so far, much to the horror of A.J., to ring the doorbell saying “daddy’s home” to have the show go off the air. Tonight, Paige will address the situation. Here’s what she said on Twitter:
What do I have planned for the final #SDLive before #WWESSD? Hmmm… tune in Tuesday I’ll be opening the show to talk about @SamoaJoe actions last Tuesday! @WWE pic.twitter.com/I9uWzlGLWl
— PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) October 2, 2018
Frank’s Analysis: I had a feeling they may do something different than a traditional contract signing, and quite frankly I’m not surprised they went in this direction. The problem for me is it took me out of the moment. A) It’s not believable that Joe would go after A.J.’s family considering their long-term friendship and B) if he was going to do it, he wouldn’t be filming it for all the world to see. I’m personally not a fan of angles being performed outside of the ring and this is no exception. With that said, the match at Super Showdown is no DQ/no countout. It could end the feud for a while; however, with Crown Jewel looming Nov. 2 it’s not out of the realm of possibility the feud continues. The results of the #1 contender’s match between Miz and Daniel Bryan, and whether or not that feud is over, could also play into how the A.J.-Joe match plays out.
Becky Lynch’s Planned “Surprise”
Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch will defend her championship against Charlotte Flair, her former best friend and the woman from whom she took the title at Hell in a Cell. Last week Becky attacked Charlotte at a photo shoot prior to the show, before going on to defeat Lana in a non-title match. According to WWE.com, Becky has a “surprise” for Super Showdown she will reveal tonight.
Becky has been quite vocal on Twitter. Here’s a tweet with the Super Showdown poster that doesn’t show her picture:
And people wonder why I think I’ve been overlooked. pic.twitter.com/DtHEfOmcB9
— Rebecca Quin (@BeckyLynchWWE) September 30, 2018
Frank’s Analysis: In storyline, I could see Becky being frustrated about not being on the Super Showdown poster as she is a champion. For all intents and purposes the “surprise” could be a poster with just her holding the title looking down at Charlotte. It could also be revealing someone being in her corner at Showdown, perhaps someone from the past making a return in time for Evolution. In any case it’s a way to add some spice to this feud and get us to tune in, although for me the intensity between these two is enough to get me to want to see the match.
The Fabulous Truth (R-Truth & Carmella) vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega
The Fabulous Truth are part of the Mixed Match Challenge while Almas & Vega are not. Last week, Truth & Carmella took over MizTV and instead put out “TruthTV” at the onset of the show. Their guest was Daniel Bryan but were interrupted by the Miz who wanted his show back. Paige ordered Miz to face Truth in order to do so and came out victorious.
Zelina Vega had some choice words about TruthTV on Twitter, and Carmella was not at a loss for words in her response:
Babe, #TruthTv was one of the best parts of #SDLive this week.. yano, the same show y’all weren’t even on. 🤣
Since you’re not even part of the #WWEMMC, how about the #FabulousTruth embarrass you & @AndradeCienWWE on #SDLive? 🤷🏻♀️ https://t.co/XASgwK0uoQ
— Mella Is Money 🤑 (@CarmellaWWE) September 29, 2018
Tonight, Truth & Carmella take on Almas & Vega in mixed tag team action.
Frank’s Analysis: TruthTV was tough to watch, but just a way to bide some time in the feud between Miz and Daniel Bryan. Truth has also worked with Miz in the past, and as I’ve talked about in past primers you need talent that can work TV matches and take losses without hurting their characters. As far as Carmella, I’m still wondering when she turned babyface. This was the woman that defeated both Charlotte and Asuka and utilized James Ellsworth to do so at least with Asuka. All of that seems like a lifetime ago. With that said, I get the sense WWE doesn’t see much in her as a wrestler, so this is fine although I can’t help but comment. Truth and Carmella will likely lose to Almas and Vega, padding their resumes with the assumption WWE is high on Almas.
Daniel Bryan vs. Shelton Benjamin
We haven’t seen Shelton Benjamin on WWE programming in quite some time. He made no bones about saying so on Twitter:
I Am a warrior I am a competitor & I am DAMN GOOD! Yet I have not had a match on #SmackDownLIVE in months. I’m here to compete I thrive on competition @RealPaigeWWE Its time you Got me off the bench & LET ME FIGHT!
— Shelton J. Benjamin (@Sheltyb803) September 29, 2018
G.M. Paige has put him in a match with Daniel Bryan, who will face the Miz at Super Showdown for the right to challenge the WWE Champion at an unspecified future event.
Frank’s Analysis: Benjamin dealt with some injuries earlier in the year, so it’s likely the reason he has been sidelined recently. He worked with Bryan earlier in the year and is a good foil, especially to bridge time until Bryan works with Miz at the Showdown. TV matches like these are always valuable, especially when they are announced in advance as it makes people like Benjamin feel important.
New Day Cooks! New Day Cooks!
For this section, I am copying and pasting what WWE.com is advertising for this segment:
Less than a week before defending their SmackDown Tag Team Titles against The Bar at WWE Super Show-Down, The New Day will reveal Big E family’s secret, decades-old recipe for their famous pancakes!
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Smackdown Live mixes in the Power of Positivity with the first-ever New Day cooking demonstration, tonight night at 8/7 C on USA Network!
Frank’s Analysis: I understand needing to fill TV time, but do we seriously need this? Hopefully the Bar takes a page from Sanity and stops this the way Sanity stopped the pancake eating contest back in July. The Bar challenges New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship at Super Showdown.
Start Time & Matches Advertised
The arena website shows a start time of 4:30 p.m. They advertise these matches, as last week’s arena did:
AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz & Samoa Joe
Women’s Champion Becky Lynch & The IIconics vs. Charlotte Flair & Asuka & Naomi.
Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani and ask any questions you may have. Thank you for reading!
NOW CATCH UP ON LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 9/25 ELDER’S SMACKDOWN REPORT: Alt-perspective report on Truth TV, Rusev questions English, Styles-Joe contract signing, more