WWE Smackdown Live – Nov 6th 2018: Results & Review
Welcome to this weeks review of Smackdown Live, right here, on Nerdly… This episode comes from Manchester, England – so lets hope everything hasn’t been spoiled by the tape delay!
Match #1: The Usos def. The New Day
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
With the opportunity to become captains of the SmackDown LIVE Tag Team Survivor Series squad on the line, The Usos and The New Day rekindled their classic rivalry on the blue brand. Bodies were flying and slamming inside the squared circle and around ringside, highlighted by Kofi Kingston launching himself from the top turnbuckle onto Jimmy & Jey with a breathtaking leap to the floor. However, even as The New Day continued to pick up steam, The Usos rallied back when Jimmy caught Kofi with an unbelievable top-rope powerbomb and followed up with a huge splash that finally put New Day down for the clutch win. However, The Usos immediately made their first decision as team captains, announcing that The New Day would join them in their battle against Raw at Survivor Series.
My Take: When do these two teams ever disappoint? They don’t. And they didn’t here either, putting on one hell of a show for the UK crowd – pulling out some high flying, ropes-based moves that had the audience cheering with delight. It didn’t matter who won, this was two teams bringing out the best in each other. Whoever won, the audience were the real winners.
Match #2: Becky Lynch def. Nikki Cross
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
Nikki Cross brought the intensity early and often against Becky Lynch, going at The Irish Lass Kicker full force. “The Man” slowed NXT’s Twisted Sister with a Bexploder, but Cross kept throwing haymakers at the champ. However, the crazed Cross came up just short, despite unleashing an unorthodox attack from bell to bell, as Lynch caught her in the Dis-arm-her for the tapout victory.
My Take: Oh dear god… PLEASE let this appearance of Nikki Cross actually be her call-up to the main roster. She needs to be in the main event scene ASAP. She should have come up with her SAnitY – but given how badly they were handled this appearance, on her home turf of the UK, was probably the best choice. Cross offers something that NO other main roster female wrestler does right now – a truly unpredictable streak that could really reignite the Smackdown womens division.
Match #3: Rey Mysterio def. Andrade “Cien” Almas
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
Rey Mysterio and Andrade “Cien” Almas squared off for the first time ever on SmackDown LIVE in front of the WWE Universe in Manchester. Prior to the bout, SmackDown’s co-captains – The Miz and Daniel Bryan — decided that if Mysterio impressed, he would join the blue brand squad at Survivor Series. Almas came out of the gates hot, grounding The Biggest Little Man with a bruising attack. However, Mysterio’s unyielding will and frenetic pace proved to be too much for Almas, and Rey finally secured the victory with a 619 and Dropping the Dime for the major win.
My Take: A fast-paced match between two guys who complimented each other very well. Both guys got in some great offence, with Almas pulling off some fantastic moves. Rey Mysterio may have taken the win this time, but I’m hoping these two will continue to feud – this was easily Andrade’s best match since moving to the main roster and shows non-NXT viewers just what they’ve been missing.
Match #4: Samoa Joe def. Jeff Hardy
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
With the final spot on the SmackDown LIVE Men’s Survivor Series team on the line, Jeff Hardy (Daniel Bryan’s choice) took on Samoa Joe (The Miz’s choice). The two engaged in a hard-hitting contest that saw each take ample chances while Bryan and Miz watched from the announce desk and talked up their selection. However, Hardy took one chance too many when he went for a Swanton Bomb, as The Samoan Submission Machine got his knees up before Hardy landed. Joe followed up by locking his foe in the Coquina Clutch, forcing The Charismatic Enigma to tap out and securing his place on the team.
After the match, Joe began to gloat right in front of Bryan, and The “Yes!” Man responded by clocking him in the face. The fight spilled into the ring, where Bryan applied the “Yes!” Lock before Miz broke it up. After being provoked by Miz, Bryan decked The A-Lister and unloaded on him until fellow SmackDown LIVE Men’s Survivor Series team member Shane McMahon arrived. However, the best in the world also felt Bryan’s wrath when Daniel dropped him with a judo throw before departing. It’s possible that Bryan thought Shane was Samoa Joe, but regardless, one fact rang clear: The SmackDown LIVE Men’s Survivor Series team isn’t even close to being on the same page. At least not yet.
My Take: Suprisingly this was a bit of a let down given the rest of the matches on this episode. It wasn’t bad, far from it, but it just felt a little stale: there was no real excitement – hell, Samoa Joe didn’t even feel that deadly during this match. The match did pick up towards the end but it was all a little late. This match was more about selling the Miz/Bryan co-captaincy storyline rather than being a decent match in its own right.
News of the Night:
- Daniel Bryan and The Miz are Survivor Series co-captains.
- The Usos became captains of the Smackdown Tag Team line-up for Survivor Series.
- Randy Orton attacked Rey Mysterio after his match with Andrade.
- The Smackdown women brawled each other instead of agreeing on a Survivor Series team.
Final Verdict: 4/5
A superb episode of Smackdown that had three really great matches and one good one. Nothing to complain about at all – and it built for Survivor Series in a much more successful fashion than last nights Raw. I just hope the Bryan/Miz co-captain feud isn’t all a set up for Smackdown to lose at Survivor Series, they certainly don’t deserve to with this roster.
