Randy Orton

The Taz Show Recap – Smackdown Analysis, Carmella Wins Again, Where’s Tye Dillinger? More!

Taz opens today’s show speaking about last night’s episode of Smackdown Live.

He says that it was nice to see Carmella scale the ladder and claim the Money in the Bank briefcase on her own this time, but James Ellsworth found a way to get back into the building and got involved in the match again, even after being banned from the building by GM Daniel Bryan.

Taz thinks that Daniel Bryan and/or Shane McMahon need to do something to maintain their credibility moving forward, such as suspending Ellsworth for some amount of time. Bryan specifically ordered Ellsworth to stay out of the building and Ellsworth ignored him. Taz says that Bryan needs to show Ellsworth who’s boss.

He thought that Randy Orton cut a good, convincing promo last night and Mahal’s interruption was well done as well. He’s exciting to see the return of the Punjabi Prison match, but if he was WWE he wouldn’t have had Mahal talk nicely about The Great Khali. Taz says that Mahal should be a dirty, nasty heel who shouldn’t talk nicely about anyone.

Daniel Bryan Claims that Luke Harper’s Capabilities are Being Wasted on SmackDown Live

Daniel Bryan spoke to Fox Sports very recently. There he gave his two cents on the state of Luke Harper on SmackDown Live right now. Bryan admitted that the former Wyatt Family member is indeed being “wasted” on the blue brand.

Here are Bryan’s thoughts on Harper:

“I think that he is somebody that we can utilize better. When he left the Wyatt Family, I thought the fans were really starting to get behind him. And his match with Randy Orton, gosh, I loved his match with Randy Orton.”

The former 3-time World Champion didn’t stop singing Harper’s praise here, as he continued:

“Every time you see him, he’s dynamic. The crowd gets behind him, and then you just kind of lose him on TV, where we don’t really see him much. I think we’re really losing out on that.”

Punjabi Prison Match Returning Next Month?

It looks like the Punjabi Prison match may be making a return to WWE very soon.

There has been speculation that the upcoming match that is rumored to take place at July 29th WWE Battleground event between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal will be a Punjabi Prison match. It’s being said that staff workers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia did measurements in the arena to fit a large bamboo structure. Word also going around is that employees of WWE have been instructed to take the Punjabi Prison structure out of storage.

Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin mentioned on Twitter that Orton is expected to take time off but he will still be around for the Punjabi match at Battleground:

Betting Odds for Tonight’s Money in the Bank Event

Here are the betting odds for tonight’s Money in the Bank event:
(the lower the number, the higher their chances of winning are)

WWE Money in the Bank Match
Baron Corbin -350
Sami Zayn +1200
Kevin Owens +2200
AJ Styles +1300
Shinsuke Nakamura +500
Dolph Ziggler +5000

WWE Women’s Money in the Bank Match
Carmella -265
Becky Lynch +1050
Natalya +750
Charlotte Flair +400
Tamina +6000

WWE Championship Match
Jinder Mahal(c) -900 vs Randy Orton +500

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
Naomi(c) -270 vs Lana +190

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Usos(c) -185 vs The New Day +145

The Taz Show Recap – Smackdown Analysis, Defending Roman Reigns, Lana Readying for A Title Run, More!

Blocks 1 & 2:

Taz says that he didn’t think last night’s episode of Smackdown Live was very good for a ‘go-home’ show. It was an average show at best, but it should have been more given that it was the last show before Money in the Bank this coming Sunday.

Taz says that he liked the ladder match tease which ended the show, where Nakamura reached up and grabbed the briefcase. He thought this did a good job of promoting the ladder match and driving people to the PPV this Sunday, but this was the only part of the show to do so.

He didn’t like that during Jinder Mahal’s promo, The Singh Brothers were also standing on the area rug along with Mahal. He believes that mat should be solely for Mahal, and if he was the only person who was allowed to stand on it, it would seem far more important. He liked Randy Orton’s RKO out of nowhere, and he thought that spot was very well executed by the talent and captured perfectly by the cameraman.

Taz thought the 8-man tag team match between The Usos/Colons & Breezango/New Day was pretty entertaining. He adds that WWE is giving their viewers a lot of Breezango lately with in-ring matches as well as the Fashion File segments, and he urges them to be careful as to not over-expose the emerging team.

Planned Title Match Nixed from SmackDown Live Next Week

WWE had originally planned to have Jinder Mahal defend his WWE Title against Randy Orton on the June 13th SmackDown Live event, but those plans have been nixed.

While the match is still being advertised locally, it will now be only be a dark match at next week’s show and will not take place during the broadcast. They have been doing this match up as a dark match at recent SmackDown tapings. The match would normally end by DQ with interference from The Singh Brothers.

What Happened After SmackDown Live with Randy Orton?

After Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live and 205 Live went off the air, Randy Orton faced WWE champion Jinder Mahal in the dark match main event. Orton defeated Mahal via disqualification after The Singh Brothers interfered. After the DQ, Orton RKOd both Singh Brothers and then celebrated.

Where Does Rusev Go From Here?

For those of you who may not know, Rusev was set for a big match at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view. After being traded to Smackdown Live in the Superstar Shakeup, Rusev declined to show up on the brand unless he received a WWE Championship match. It looked like this was the direction WWE was going in. It would have been perfect too. Randy Orton vs. Rusev.

Orton could win in his hometown and Rusev becomes a member of Smackdown Live. However, plans changed and Jinder Mahal is the current WWE Champion. Orton gets his rematch for the belt at Money In The Bank, which leaves Rusev as the odd man out.

So where does he go from here?

There’s the obvious choice of coming out during the championship match and costing Orton the match. This would in turn set up a feud between Rusev and Orton. Rusev would look strong if he came out of this feud on top, but WWE would probably not have Orton lose two feuds in a row.

The next option would be interfering in the Money In The Bank ladder match, costing a superstar their chance at winning. It could work, but I have a better idea. Rusev should attack AJ Styles before the match, take his place in the ladder match, and capture the briefcase.

You may be questioning yourself, wondering how on earth is this a good idea? Well, let me explain. Styles is the one guy in this ladder match (besides Nakamura possibly) who really doesn’t need to be in this match. They can get a shot at the gold any day. They are both pretty expendable at this point. Styles will more than likely get a shot within the upcoming year, so having him miss out on this opportunity won’t hurt him.

If Smackdown Live wants to capitalize on the return of Rusev, then he needs to return in a big way. Keep him off of television until the night of Money in the Bank. Rusev shows up and destroys Styles, making him unable to compete in the ladder match. Shane McMahon declares Rusev as the replacement since he is the one that caused all this mess. Rusev goes on to shock the world and win the Money in the Bank contract. It’s an outcome few, if any, would expect to happen going into the event. Seeing as how Smackdown Live has been booking on the shock value as of late, this would be right up their alley.

Not only would we see Rusev return in grand force, but we would also see him thrown into a rivalry with the hottest guy in the WWE. It’s a win-win for Rusev, who hasn’t been utilized the way he should’ve been throughout his short career. Rusev has all the tools to be a mega heel, and him going against Styles would only add to it.

Indie Wrestlers Mock Randy Orton

Independent wrestlers Shane Strickland, Sammy Guevara, and Mr. 450 decided to do a spoof of Randy Orton at Saturday’s Wrestle Circus event. When they went to the top rope to do dives, they called it off. They then all proceeded to hit RKO’s simultaneously on their opponents followed by doing Orton’s signature pose.

WWE Title Match & Participants Announced for Money in the Bank

Shane McMahon opened up tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live announcing that Randy Orton will get his rematch for the WWE Title against Jinder Mahal at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event.

Shane also announced AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Nakamura and Kevin OWens as participants for the Money in the Bank Ladder match.

Money in the Bank will take place on June 18, 2017 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. As always, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of the event.