WWE Smackdown Live – August 7th 2018: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Smackdown Live review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have the finals of the Smackdown tag team title tournament in our main event: The Bengals versus The Monkees. Hopefully, the ladies keep their hands off Davy Jones long enough to let both bands play their entire sets.
Match #1: Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch def. The IIconics
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
Though they’ll be opponents at SummerSlam in the SmackDown Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match against Carmella, best friends Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch teamed up on SmackDown LIVE to take on The IIconics. Prior to the contest, Peyton Royce & Billie Kay attempted to drive a wedge between Flair and Lynch, claiming that Lynch was forever stuck in Flair’s shadow ahead of their title bout at The Biggest Event of Summer.
Carmella was on commentary for the contest, continually harping on the fact that she was being treated unfairly by being placed in the Triple Threat Match at SummerSlam. In the ring, The Queen and The Irish Lass Kicker didn’t seem too deterred by The IIconics’ attempted mind games, rattling off a flurry of offense that put Lynch in position to win. However, when Becky was pushed back into Flair, The Queen instinctively made a blind tag that allowed her to finish Royce with the Figure-Eight Leglock for the tapout win. Before the best friends had too much time to react to the victory or the blind tag, Carmella made a definitive statement by standing on the announce table and holding her SmackDown Women’s Championship proudly in the air.
My Take: This was a decent match. There wasn’t anything to write home about here, but at least it didn’t stink out the joint. I sound like a lame meat-head mobster from a bad 1930s Warner Brothers gangster flick.
Match #2: Zelina Vega def. Lana
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
Following the hijinks that allowed Zelina Vega to defeat Lana in singles competition last week, the Rusev Day clan attempted to get back on track tonight in the rematch, as The Bulgarian Brute manned his wife’s corner to attempt to counteract Andrade “Cien” Almas. Prior to the contest, Aiden English attempted to apologize again for all his mistakes (including inadvertently costing Lana the match last week), which Rusev and Lana accepted. However, despite The Mozart of Mayhem now being back in Rusev’s good graces, The Super Athlete still asked that English stay behind for the rematch.
With tensions still riding high, Lana and Zelina went at it just as fiercely as they did last week. Inevitably, Rusev and Andrade began to mix it up, and English rushed to the ring to help. Aiden’s good intentions once again led to bad luck, however, when he smashed Almas into the side of the ring, causing Lana — who was perched on the top rope — to topple forward, allowing Vega to defeat The Ravishing Russian with the running double knees into the corner.
My Take: There wasn’t much here as far as action was concerned, but at least it seemed like every-body was trying to make this work.
Match #3: Shinsuke Nakamura def. R-Truth
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
Wanting to make a statement ahead of his United States Title defense against Jeff Hardy at SummerSlam, Shinsuke Nakamura squared off against R-Truth on SmackDown LIVE after a strange altercation backstage. Truth brought the fight to The King of Strong Style, but the ultra-aggressive Nakamura forced Truth to say “What’s up?” to a Kinshasa right to his dome piece at point-blank range, which earned WWE’s Rockstar the victory.
My Take: My sentiment about a match like this is that this would have been a much better match in a more progressive wrestling league than the WWE. Vince rarely values an older athlete like R-Truth the way that he should, but that has always been his business strategy. This match was too short to show what both men were really capable of with each other.
Match #4: The Bludgeon Brothers def. 3SK
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
With their SummerSlam opponents about to be determined in the main event, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers took on local team 3SK, and unsurprisingly, it was an absolute bludgeoning despite 3SK having a one-man advantage. Harper & Rowan decimated the opposition, making a big statement to either The New Day or The Bar as The Biggest Event of Summer approaches.
My Take: I really do hate squash matches. This had about as much interest to it as a sloth taking a nap.
Match #5: The New Day def. The Bar to face The Bludgeon Brothers for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles at SummerSlam
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
The finals of the SummerSlam Tag Team Tournament took place in the main event of SmackDown LIVE, as The New Day challenged The Bar with the opportunity to challenge The Bludgeon Brothers for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles on the line. Continuing to show no signs of ring rust, Sheamus & Cesaro attempted to wear down Kofi Kingston & Big E with several stiff strikes in the early goings. However, with the two teams so familiar with one another after all their epic clashes over the years, the momentum shifted several times over, keeping the WWE Universe thoroughly enthralled throughout the bout.
With the WWE Universe roaring their approval, Big E somehow overpowered Cesaro, standing straight up while still trapped in a crossface and getting The Swiss Superman in position for The Midnight Hour, allowing Kofi to drop his opponent for The New Day to get the W and the chance to face The Bludgeon Brothers at The Biggest Event of Summer. As The New Day celebrated, The Bludgeon Brothers watched on menacingly from the audience. Will The New Day still be celebrating come SummerSlam?
My Take: This was the only good match of the card. I enjoyed seeing this as the main event. This may be the most attention to the tag team division on its own merits in more than a decade. There were no tricks or cons with the booking here. The only thing that happened in this match was that we had a winner and a loser, with the winner challenging for the tag team titles at Summerslam. I would’ve gone with The Bar, as they could probably provide the better match from an action perspective, as well as a promotional aspect, but since Vince love merchandise, The New Day go to the big fight. The New Day are a deserving duo, but are starting to wear out their welcome, if only a little bit.
News Of The Night:
- Daniel Bryan and The Miz will battle at Summerslam.
- Randy Orton both specified and increased the reach of his new angle, with him now claiming that he is going to destroy the wrestlers that the fans covet. Orton also claimed that the fans don’t appreciate him, while they chanted his name.
- AJ Styles cut a promo on Samoa Joe claiming that Joe threw away their friendship when he insulted AJ’s family.
- A Charlotte Flair/Becky Lynch is being teased and it’s using the Sasha Banks/Bayley angle as a back-drop for theirs.
Final Verdict: This was another weak Smackdown that was saved by the tag division being in the main event.
