WWE heads to the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX for tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. Here are the focus points for tonight’s show:
What will be the fallout of AJ Styles capturing the United States Title?
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin
Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of SmackDown Live.
The following card is being rumored for the upcoming SmackDown-brand WWE Battleground event:
Punjabi Prison Match for the WWE Championship
Jinder Mahal (C) vs. Randy Orton
Tag Team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships
The New Day (C) vs. The Usos
WWE the United States Championship
Kevin Owens (C) vs. AJ Styles
SmackDown Women’s Championship
Lana vs. Naomi
Rusev vs. John Cena
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin
Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis
WWE Battleground takes place on July 23rd from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. As always, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of the event.
It’s being speculated that the Brand Split won’t be an issue for Superstars appearing at house shows of the opposite brand.
Incidents like Seth Rollins’s appearing at SmackDown Live house show and Brock Lesnar’s upcoming matches with Baron Corbin are just a start and that such instances. It’s expected that it will happen more and more in the future.
However, this will only be limited to the House Shows and won’t affect the weekly television in any way.
WWE heads to the Valley View Casion Center in San Diego, CA for tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. The following is confirmed for the show:
Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn
The Usos vs. The Hype Bros (If The Hype Bros Win They Get a Tag Title Shot)
Smackdown Women’s Title Match: Champion Naomi vs. Lana
Smackdown Women’s MITB Match: Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Tamina vs. Natalya
Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the event.
The Money in the Bank ladder match set a new record this past Sunday.
This year’s Money in the Bank Ladder match featuring AJ Styles, Nakamura, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin was the longest one in WWE history. The match clicked in at 29:50.
The women’s Money in the Bank match was the second shortest in WWE history, with a running time of only 13:18.
Baron Corbin responded to a individual on Twitter that was making fun of his “sad face stomach” with the following remarks:
Trust me your girl is fine with it. She keeps sending me DM’s. Let her know I am out of her league. She just has to settle with you.
— Baron Corbin (@BaronCorbinWWE) June 20, 2017
Daniel Bryan announced that The Hype Bros will face The Usos on next week’s episode of SmackDown Live. If they defeat the Usos, they will get a shot at the SmackDown Live championship titles.
The following matches are confirmed for next week’s show:
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Lana vs. Naomi
Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin
The Hype Bros vs. The Usos
Lawler is joined on today’s show by his co-host Glenn Moore.
Lawler informs that he appeared at the Comicon in Washington, DC this past weekend. He says that he had a great time there and he was able to see a lot of old friends. WWE Superstars Charlotte Flair and Nakamura even made an appearance on Saturday.
A listener writes into the show and asks Lawler which current WWE Superstar would fit well in Memphis Wrestling back in the day. Lawler says that he worked as the top babyface in Memphis for a long time, so their goal was always to find big, strong heels to work against him. Guys like Kamala and Bam Bam Bigelow fit that mould.
In that sense, there are a number of guys in WWE today that would work out well in Memphis. Lawler says that they would have made a lot of money with someone like Brock Lesnar in Memphis back in the day. They could also do wonders with talents such as Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt and of course Braun Strowman.
Welcome to the SmackDown-branded, Money in the Bank 2017 results!
Tonight’s PPV is an historic one because it will host the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match! The monumental match-up features Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Tamina Snuka, Carmella, and Natalya, all vying to climb the ladder and grab the contract hanging above the ring, becoming the first-ever winner in the process. Whoever wins the briefcase will get an instant title shot against the Champion.
Currently the Women’s Champion is Naomi but tonight she faces a mysterious challenger in the form of Lana. A lot of controversy has surrounded Lana’s instant push to the stars and seemingly unearned title shot – considering she has only wrestled one televised match and that was at WrestleMania 32. Lana appeased some concerns on SmackDown Live this week when she hit an impressive sit-out powerbomb, and it’s worth mentioning that the ravishing Russian has been wrestling on live events for over a year. So, do you think Naomi can retain against the unproven but unpredictable challenger? And who will win the Money in the Bank to challenge the Champion? Let us know in the comments!
Of course, there’s a second ladder match on tonight’s show, featuring six men who are willing to go through hell for a contract. AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn, will battle it out tonight in one of the hardest-hitting matches in all of wrestling. Any one of these men could realistically walk out with the briefcase but Nakamura was the one left holding in on SmackDown Live this past week. Baron Corbin seems the most obvious winner but it would be great to see AJ Styles or Sami Zayn grab the briefcase and go on to cash it in for a blockbuster match, rather than when a Champion is down and hurt. John Cena did this against CM Punk in 2012, on the Raw 1000 main event, and he failed but it made for a more monumental cash-in than the typical opportunistic approach. Just some food for thought, let us know who you’d like to see walk out with the briefcase!
Hometown boy Randy Orton has a huge match tonight as he challenges the WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal! Orton and the modern-day Maharaja have been going back and forth for months now, with Jinder usually getting the upper-hand due to the numbers game. The Singh Brothers could also play a huge role in tonight’s title match but Orton will look to nullify their presence, perhaps by taking them out before or during the match, allowing him to take-on the lesser-talented Jinder one-on-one!
Elsewhere on tonight’s show, The Uso’s defend their Tag Team Championship’s against The New Day, and The Hype Bro’s face The Colon’s on the pre-show. It’s a fairly small card tonight, although that means the ladder matches will probably get plenty of time to breathe. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an episode of The Fashion Files also. Let us know all your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to check out the Ringside News app and enjoy the show!
Sgt. Slaughter, Ric Flair, Greg Gagne, Larry Hennig and Baron Von Raschke have all been spotted in St. Louis this afternoon.
As previously noted via Wrestling Observer, these legends are expected to take part in a segment at Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view event. While it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s very possible that they could be doing some sort of “father’s day” segment, considering that is tomorrow’s holiday. We will keep you updated if we hear anything as we head into tomorrow’s event.
These last few weeks on Smackdown, there’s been a noticeable lack of superstars on the show. I’m not even referring to American Alpha.
“We used to be your tag team champions!”
You’d think that with the Money in the Bank ladder match coming up, the blue brand would want to use that match to help build up some of their lower players. There’s no reason that Tye Dillinger, Luke Harper, or even Aiden English shouldn’t be in the match. Even if management didn’t want them there, at least have qualifying matches and have those guys lose. As much as I hate to say it, Smackdown’s been recycling matches ever since Backlash. Some variation of the 6 men in the ladder match will fight, they’ll tag against each other, etc. Quite a few people have been missing action, and it’s a shame, because the roster is so talented right now.
Did you know that Luke Harper and Tye Dillinger won their matches at Backlash? Crazy, right? What are they up to now? Nothing, that’s what. They could have very easily been put into a program for the United States Championship. You know, the title that’s meant for the midcard guys? Instead, Kevin Owens is in the ladder match, and the title will not be defended at all this Sunday.
After Money in the Bank, I’m sure Shinsuke Nakamura will go on to take the title from Mr. Kevin Owens. I don’t mind that. I’m cool with that. However, it is highly unlikely that Nakamura will spend his time defending the title against Erick Rowan or Aiden English. It’s not happening.
They don’t have to win the title. I get that. Not everyone can be a champion. But give the guys some exposure. Rusev defended the title against Kalisto, Zack Ryder, and Titus O’Neil. John Cena fought the likes of Stardust and Neville for the US title. The point is, these guys who aren’t being used need a purpose.
Tye Dillinger had something interesting going on with Aiden English. Dillinger would beat him, and English would cry. English would also sing a lot and Dillinger would interrupt and kick him in the face. That was something.
Erick Rowan was angry at Luke Harper for leaving the family. He had a whole bunch of masks, and it was sort of cool. That was something.
After Backlash, what happened to Luke Harper and Erick Rowan? Absolutely nothing. What happened to Tye Dillinger and Aiden English? Absolutely nothing. Apparently they’re trying to start a program between Luke Harper and Aiden English. But how is someone supposed to know that if it isn’t even televised?
One of the best parts of Smackdown last year was the fact that almost everyone had something to do. Heath Slater got a job. The Usos became thugs. Kalisto wanted to fight Baron Corbin. When Raw was struggling to use more than 5 people per show, Smackdown had something for everyone. Sure, the roster was thinner, but even with the current roster you should still be able to create engaging stories for everyone. Heck, that’s what Raw is doing right now. Who attacked Enzo? Who will join the Titus Brand? Even Goldust and R-Truth are battling each other via film quotes and vignettes.
Please, Smackdown. Make better use of your roster. It’s too talented to waste.