Nerdly » WWE Smackdown Live – Aug 20th 2019: Results & Review

21st Aug2019

WWE Smackdown Live – Aug 20th 2019: Results & Review

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s SmackDown Live review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have Roman Reigns attacker to reveal, so let’s get the Columbo-vibes going on and figure out who Vince came up with at the last minute.

Match #1: Andrade def. Apollo Crews – King of the Ring Tournament Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

The blue brand’s portion of the King of the Ring tournament kicked off right, as Apollo Crews clashed with Andrade in one of the most anticipated matchups of the first round. It was clear the match meant a little extra to both competitors due to their longstanding beef, which flared up as recently as the announcement of the tournament last week. Apollo fed off the energy of the WWE Universe early and often, catching Andrade with an unbelievable dropkick and narrowly avoiding Andrade’s dreaded Running Double Knees. However, in the clutch, Zelina Vega grabbed Andrade’s foot to prevent Crews from dropping him, unbeknownst to the official. With Apollo distracted for just a few seconds, Andrade capitalized with a vicious back elbow and the Hammerlock DDT to move one step closer to becoming King.

My Opinion: 3 out of 5 – This was a fine match that had plenty of action and was getting closer to becoming a truly fantastic match, but it got cut off as it was starting to really get somewhere. Both of these guys worked hard and made for a strong pairing. They need to keep putting them together.

Match #2: Buddy Murphy def. Daniel Bryan

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Following the troubling scene that saw “The New” Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowan rough up Buddy Murphy backstage last week until Murphy “admitted” that Rowan had nothing to do with the attacks on Roman Reigns, WWE’s Best Kept Secret challenged Bryan to a match over the weekend. The result? One of the bigger upsets in recent SmackDown LIVE history. Bryan, who was promising to reveal who was attacking Reigns by the end of the evening (while also insisting that Buddy was involved), went back and forth with Murphy in a dazzling contest that had the WWE Universe on its feet from the jump. Highlights included an awe-inspiring dive from Murphy and a back superplex off the top rope from Bryan – each nearly resulted in a three-count. In the pivotal moments, Murphy went for a superkick, but Bryan ducked, and the strike connected with Rowan’s jaw and sent him plummeting from the ring apron. Seconds later, The Best Kept Secret dropped Bryan with Murphy’s Law for what was undoubtedly the biggest win of Buddy’s career.

My Opinion: 4 out of 5 – This was great. As much as enjoyed the Roman Reigns/Buddy Murphy match from last week, this match was that much better. This bout was tightly contested and really felt like a match worth watching. Having Buddy beat Bryan was a great decision that will do more for Buddy than any push that Vince McMahon could come up with. This is the way some of the best wrestlers got their shot at glory and Buddy just got his first shot at his. Congratulations to both wrestlers and I hope this match is remembered by Vince as the kind that should always be on his TV shows.

Match #3: The Revival def. Heavy Machinery

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

The Revival’s new position as quasi-running buddies of Randy Orton have put them in direct conflict with The New Day over recent weeks… but tonight they were right in the path of the full-throttled locomotives known as Heavy Machinery. Dash & Dawson took a tremendous beating from the behemoths in the early goings, but they fought back and narrowly avoided the Compactor. Dash followed up by catching Otis off guard with a surprise rollup for a hard-fought victory.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a good little match that had the right winners.

Match #4: (Main Event) Elias def. Kevin Owens – King of the Ring Tournament Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Kevin Owens looked to get one over on 24/7 Champion Elias and Shane McMahon by defeating the crooning Superstar in the opening round of the King of the Ring tournament, but claiming a victory also meant overcoming the looming presence of Shane-O-Mac. Shane strutted to ringside midway through the match just moments after he pondered removing the $100,000 fine that he slapped KO with last week. Despite Shane’s presence, Owens appeared in rare form, besting Elias at every turn and appearing to have the firm upper hand. However, in the critical moments, Shane attempted to stop KO from continuing the attack on the crooning Superstar while the fight was on the outside and then took off the shirt he was wearing to show that he was sporting a referee’s shirt. Shane-O-Mac took over for the original official, and with the decree that Owens would face grave consequences if he struck another referee, KO had to be extremely hesitant, which led to Elias catching Owens with a rollup and Shane counting an absurdly fast three-count for a highly controversial outcome.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This wasn’t bad at all, but this was too much of a storyline match, with the wrestling playing second fiddle to the booking itself. KO made Elias look pretty good, but since neither man got to do much besides go through the motions, you get what you get.

News Of The Night:

Sami Zayn is representing Shinsuke Nakamura.
The Miz is being teased as Shinsuke Nakamura’s next challenger to the Intercontinental Title, thanks to a brawl that Shinsuke won.
Kofi Kingston beat the piss out Randy Orton and even tried to break his leg with a chair.
Elias had the 24/7 Title rule frozen for the evening so he could beat Kevin Owens in the main event…which thwarted Drake Maverick from winning the title and “consummating his marriage”.
Charlotte Flair will challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title, thanks to Bayley knocking Flair out of her chair on “A Moment Of Bliss”.
Roman Reigns and Buddy Murphy are still at odds over whether Buddy lied about Roman’s attacker.
Daniel Bryan unmasked Roman Reigns’s attacker to reveal a man who looked just like Rowan, who was accused of trying to kill Roman Reigns.