I’ve been a wrestling fan since the days when Bret Hart was on top of the heap, putting on classic matches with anybody who came near him. During that time I have seen the industry evolve in so many directions. The rise and eventual collapse of ECW. WCW’s fall from grace. The constantly entertaining saga of TNA. I’ve been entranced by all of them.

The stories behind professional wrestling have always held my interest for one reason or another, but that’s a column (or five) for another day.

Today, I will be taking a look at WWE’s Smackdown Live brand’s second PPV offering. Instead of offering recaps of all of the moves in the matches, which is definitely going to prove boring to people who aren’t wrestling fans, my review will take a slightly different approach as I delve into the story behind each match before offering my own opinions on the action.

So let’s get right to it.

First Match – AJ Styles (champion) vs Dean Ambrose vs John Cena (WWE Championship)

The Story – This has been one of the better stories in recent memory in WWE. AJ Styles came into WWE at the beginning of 2015 to a rapturous reception, having enjoyed previous success in TNA and NJPW. Despite the fears of some fans, he has quickly ascended the ranks and is now the top dog on the Smackdown brand. In the process, he has developed a gloriously heelish persona where he demonstrates his amazing skills every match, while not being afraid to secure the victory via underhanded means. He beat John Cena to take over his mantle as the “face that runs the place” and went on to topple former champion Dean Ambrose after a well-placed kick to the family jewels.

Ambrose is not only smarting from the recent loss of his belt, but has also engaged in a feud with John Cena based around how he feels Cena doesn’t give his all to the company. Cena’s other commitments (TV shows mostly) mean that he isn’t working as many matches as the rest of the boys. So you have that sticking in Ambrose’s craw, in addition to his efforts to reclaim the title.

Cena, for his part, is one world title win away from matching the ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair’s sixteen championship reigns. Putting all personal animosity aside, this is the major driving force behind Cena in the match. Still, he definitely wants to get revenge on Styles for beating him clean, plus there’s the little issue of putting Dean Ambrose in his place.

The story is an example of good wrestling booking done right, as the focus is on the main title, while each man has personal reasons for going after the other two in the match.

The Match – The match itself was a high-quality affair. They avoided the usual pitfall of one man lying down while the other two go at it that hampers so many other triple threat matches by working in some creative three-man spots. Better yet, the good booking continues, as both Cena and Ambrose simultaneously got AJ Styles to tap out to their submissions, giving them equal claim to another match. Triple threats need to have a decisive winner though, so the match continued. AJ ended things soon after with a chair shot to Cena after Ambrose had been hit with the Avalance Attitude Adjustment from the second rope, continuing his development as an amazing wrestler who will take advantage of any situation.

Second Match – Nikki Bella vs Carmella

The Story – Nikki Bella had made her return following an absence due to a neck injury. Carmella, as a new call up to Smackdown, took the opportunity to zero in on Bella and attack her at every turn with the aim of using one of the most established women on the roster as a launching point for her own career.

The Match – Much more basic storyline here and the match wasn’t really any better. While the action was fairly solid, Carmella still looks greener than grass in the ring and isn’t being helped by the fact that the crowd just doesn’t respond to her. Nikki picked up the win with the Rack Attack 2.0 (classy name) but this feud will probably continue.

Third Match – Heath Slater and Rhyno (champions) vs The Usos (Smackdown Tag Team Championships)

The Story – Heath Slater has been one of the most consistently-entertaining parts of WWE programming for a while now and his odd couple team with Rhyno resulted in a crowning moment for both when they won the tag titles at Backlash 2016. The Usos, on the other hand, continue their fall into darkness and want at Slater and Rhyno both because they want the titles and because the duo beat them in the tournament to crown Smackdown’s first tag team champs.

The Match – The Usos have adjusted to being heels tremendously and it shows in their work. They isolated whichever opponent was in the ring and executed their moves with a renewed viciousness. Slater and Rhyno both got worked over, but managed to overcome the vicious assault to retain following a Rhyno Gore. A perfectly serviceable, if unspectacular, tag title match.

Fourth Match – Baron Corbin vs Jack Swagger

The Story – There isn’t much of a story behind this one. Swagger is looking to rejuvenate his career and get away from the constant losing that has plagued it in recent years. This isn’t being helped by the fact that WWE has done practically nothing to repackage him. Corbin kinda needed something to do, so he’s now the roadblock between Swagger and the next step up the ladder.

The Match – Pretty basic stuff from both guys here. Swagger is a better wrestler than we saw in this match and Corbin is still developing. Having said that, Corbin understands how to be a heel. He’s not doing anything spectacular to wow the crowd, but that’s the point. They’re meant to hate him and slowing down the momentum of his opponent is a great way to do this. Corbin ended up winning with the End Of Days and Swagger desperately needs some direction.

Fifth Match – The Miz (champion) vs Dolph Ziggler (Intercontinental Championship Match)

The Story – Finally a match with a bit more meat behind it. The Miz is on a tear right now. He cut an incendiary promo on Talking Smack (a talk show that recaps what happened each Smackdown) that re-established him as a top promo. Better yet, he has been on an Intercontinental title reign that has lasted more than 180 days at this point. He and Ziggler have already had a few matches for the belt, with Miz coming out on top, usually thanks to underhanded tactics and his valet Maryse.

For Ziggler, the last year has been pretty bad. He seems to have been established as a loser in recent months, coming up short in every major match. This included a match for the WWE Championship when Dean Ambrose was still champ. He set his sights on The Miz in recent months but still hadn’t been able to pull out the win. Out of desperation, he places his career on the line to get one more crack at the belt.

The Match – These two have been having progressively better matches each time they go out there and this should hopefully be a triumphant end to their feud. Ziggler finally picked up the win, overcoming the various attempts to sabotage him during the match, while The Miz was suitably put in his place. Hopefully this is the start of the rebuilding process for Ziggler, who has been on the cusp of the main event time and again without WWE every really pulling the trigger. The Miz should also see his stock rise, as he has given the Intercontinental Title some much needed credibility and established himself as a high-end player. I would not be opposed to seeing him move up the card sometime soon.

Sixth Match – Naomi vs Alexa Bliss

The Story – This was meant to be Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss for Lynch’s Smackdown Women’s Title, but Lynch was hospitalised by a mystery illness just prior to the match. That illness was legit by the way, which led to this thrown together effort.

The Match – Unsurprisingly the match was a bit haphazard. The main problem is that Naomi took the win against a woman who was meant to be challenging for the title. Surely it would have been smarter to keep Alexa looking strong as she awaits the return of Becky Lynch? Or perhaps their building to a deeper feud that includes Naomi by virtue of this win? Regardless, this was the most disappointing match on the show.

Seventh Match – Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton

The Story – Bray Wyatt is one of the most intriguing characters on the roster. As a sort of cult leader who appears to be channelling the spirit of some demonic force, he is capable of cutting some of the best promos on the roster. He should be established as the face of fear in the WWE, in much the same way as guys like Kane and the Undertaker were, but WWE seems determined to have him lose every match he is in. The story here is that Bray wants to beat Orton for…reasons and is going to cut a lot of cool promos that don’t really go anywhere.

Orton, for his part, is a master of mind-games himself and the two have been engaged in some interesting segments that hint at more supernatural powers on Bray’s part. Still, it’s not exactly clear as to why Bray wants to beat Orton, outside of his ramblings about being a god. Orton, on the other hand, wants to prove that Bray is nothing but a man and one that he can take out.

The Match – Randy Orton is so good at the basics of wrestling that sometimes he focuses on them too much. That’s what happened here, as it felt like the match never really got out of second career. As popular as Wyatt’s character is, nobody really believes that he is a threat anymore, which dampens crowd reactions. Still, he managed to pick up the win here thanks to the return of Luke Harper, who is one of his cult members. The hope is that Bray will move on from this and hopefully start building on his cult and finding an actual purpose to go behind the promos he cuts. However, it’s likely we’ll just see a rematch at Survivor Series where Orton gets revenge and Bray just ends up stuck again.

The Final Word

A decent show from Smackdown Live here, though a couple of matches didn’t really hit the mark. I’m looking forward to where the WWE Championship picture ends up and I’m really hoping that Bray and Ziggler start picking up some momentum following their wins.

For wrestling fans, the opening triple threat match and the Intercontinental Title match are both worth your time.

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