SmackDownLIVE - Official Thread - 8.23.16 - TWO new titles to debut tonight!

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Per GM <a href="https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan">@WWEDanielBryan</a>, two NEW championships will be introduced to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDLive?src=hash">#SDLive</a> TONIGHT! <a href="https://t.co/oJ896WXeXb">https://t.co/oJ896WXeXb</a> <a href="https://t.co/oIaNShdC3a">pic.twitter.com/oIaNShdC3a</a></p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/768192918305792000">August 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
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SmackDown Live Preview : Quick Hits

What will two new championships for the New Era mean for SmackDown Live?
Who is coming after Dean Ambrose’s WWE World Title?
AJ Styles addresses WWE Universe as fans wonder whether Cena has given up
Will Nikki Bella take over?
The Usos just put American Alpha and the Tag Team division on notice

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Tag and woman's. They can't be stupid names though. Daniel Bryan insulted the Universal name.

[Simple Fan]

Should just be World Womens Championship and World Tag Team Championshipseries. Hoping New Day gets awarded new Universal Tag Team Championships soon for their historic run.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It wouldn't make sense for the belts to be Universal. Or look like shit.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm curious to see who becomes the first Women's World Champion. Or Women's Wrestling Champion. Or whatever they call it. My heart cries for it to be Becky Lynch, but I think her nugget is being the first woman drafted to SmackDown. My bet is that Natalya, Nikki or Alexa gets it.

[slik]

can't handle twitter comments that think it's the cruiserweight belt...smh

[RP]

Can someone tell me who is in next weeks fatal 4way for the title on Raw. I dont feel like downloading and i missed it. Thanks

[Mr. Nerfect]

I would love it if it is a Cruiserweight Title.

[slik]

Can someone tell me who is in next weeks fatal 4way for the title on Raw. I dont feel like downloading and i missed it. Thanks

Big Cass vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens

[slik]

I would love it if it is a Cruiserweight Title.

That title and division is EXCLUSIVE to RAW

[RP]

Big Cass vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens

Oh wow Big Cass! Nice.. that would be cool as shit if he somehow won.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That title and division is EXCLUSIVE to RAW

Yeah, I think that's shitty.

[Simple Fan]

I would love it if it is a Cruiserweight Title.

Would be a cool twist like SD beat Raw to the punch and has already signed some guys and have a title but not likely to happen.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Would be a cool twist like SD beat Raw to the punch and has already signed some guys and have a title but not likely to happen.

That's exactly it. :y:

[Mr. Nerfect]

You can't just throw 15 guys out there on RAW and expect them to get over either. Plus, you've got other cruiserweights on RAW currently that would demand some time with the belt. Spreading the cruisers out is going to give more of them a chance to get over. And it creates a fun little way to open SmackDown, which has had some trouble getting that flow going.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The Women's Title is going to be the same as the RAW one but blue.

[Mr. Nerfect]

SmackDown is one woman short of a tournament.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That's if you don't count Eva Marie.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Billie Kay's SmackDown appearance was brought up at Takeover. Is it possible she gets a first round call-up?

[Evil Vito]

I'm curious to see who becomes the first Women's World Champion. Or Women's Wrestling Champion. Or whatever they call it. My heart cries for it to be Becky Lynch, but I think her nugget is being the first woman drafted to SmackDown. My bet is that Natalya, Nikki or Alexa gets it.

Nikki Bella feels likely. Not even in a "LOL CENA'S GIRLFRIEND WINS" way either...I just think they'll ride the momentum of her recent return.

[Evil Vito]

Meanwhile with the Tag Team Titles, I feel like American Alpha WON'T win them right away. They've been propped ahead of all of the other teams in the division that it would almost feel too obvious.

But who would win them then? Certainly The Vaudevillians (as much as I love them), The Ascension, and The Hype Bros aren't ready.

The Usos are a steady fallback and I expect them to have some killer matches with Alpha, but it might make The Usos heel and it'd really throw off the balance of the divison.

Darkhorse candidate: Breezango. Good workers who should also be able to have a great showing against Alpha before dropping the belts to them and moving on to The Usos. It'd also be nice to give Johnny Curtis some sort of title reign for his years of service. The guy's been with WWE for a fucking decade.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Nikki Bella feels likely. Not even in a "LOL CENA'S GIRLFRIEND WINS" way either...I just think they'll ride the momentum of her recent return.

Got a feeling you're right. They've got six active women -- my guess is that they do qualifying matches for a Triple Threat to crown the new Women's Champion at Backlash -- just like the first RAW Women's Champion was crowned in the Triple Threat. Becky's trivia will be that she was the first woman drafted to SmackDown and was in both matches, but Nikki will get the belt.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Meanwhile with the Tag Team Titles, I feel like American Alpha WON'T win them right away. They've been propped ahead of all of the other teams in the division that it would almost feel too obvious.

But who would win them then? Certainly The Vaudevillians (as much as I love them), The Ascension, and The Hype Bros aren't ready.

The Usos are a steady fallback and I expect them to have some killer matches with Alpha, but it might make The Usos heel and it'd really throw off the balance of the divison.

Darkhorse candidate: Breezango. Good workers who should also be able to have a great showing against Alpha before dropping the belts to them and moving on to The Usos. It'd also be nice to give Johnny Curtis some sort of title reign for his years of service. The guy's been with WWE for a fucking decade.

I like Breezango and they've been trying with them, but they don't quite feel "serious enough" to be given that shot. I imagine the finals of a tag tournament are going to come down to The Usos and American Alpha. It might seem wad-blowing to put the belts on Alpha, but I have a feeling that they will do that and then have The Wyatts or The Revival attack them to set up an immediate feud for them.

I guess they could go with The Usos or even Harper & Rowan right off the bat to give the belts some "veteran" exposure, but part of Alpha's charm is that they can't be stopped. To stop them would be to piss on them a little bit. Have their sympathetic moments happen outside the ring.

[slik]

Message from me to all of you...


<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/DrJonoSuave">@DrJonoSuave</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Ciaran_HEEL">@Ciaran_HEEL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MtlBroski">@MtlBroski</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Laurie_HEEL">@Laurie_HEEL</a> <a href="https://t.co/f3IzKneEde">pic.twitter.com/f3IzKneEde</a></p>&mdash; Kenton Lane (@TheKentonLane) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheKentonLane/status/768230890661044224">August 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[slik]

(someone wanted to know what my voice sounded like on twitter...not recording that b/c I am a total loser...)

[Mr. Nerfect]

Very slick voice, slik.

[#1-norm-fan]

I would kinda be funny/cool if Daniel Bryan started the cruiserweight division on Smackdown as a big "fuck you" to Raw.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The more I think about it, the more I like it.

[Evil Vito]

I like Breezango and they've been trying with them, but they don't quite feel "serious enough" to be given that shot. I imagine the finals of a tag tournament are going to come down to The Usos and American Alpha. It might seem wad-blowing to put the belts on Alpha, but I have a feeling that they will do that and then have The Wyatts or The Revival attack them to set up an immediate feud for them.

I guess they could go with The Usos or even Harper & Rowan right off the bat to give the belts some "veteran" exposure, but part of Alpha's charm is that they can't be stopped. To stop them would be to piss on them a little bit. Have their sympathetic moments happen outside the ring.

Can't say I'd mind that at all.

Alpha/Usos
Alpha/Wyatts
Alpha/Revival

Some really great options here. I do kinda worry that they'll wind up sticking The Revival on Raw for some reason and whilst they're good enough to thrive wherever they wind up I just don't see as many intriguing feud options on the red brand.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Make SmackDown's pool of talent smaller and more concentrated. You've already got Kalisto. Bryan sneaks in Zack Sabre, Jr. because of his technical ability. Bryan is the guy to get that over. Rich Swann comes in because of his heart and back story. Brian Kendrick comes in because he's friends with Bryan, and is the savvy veteran trying to get one last shot at glory. Drew Gulak could come in and be all "I'm the better technician, Zack" and there you have a feud. Mustafa Ali can come in due to his impressive showing the CWC, while Ariya Daivari incites race hate on the other brand. Kota Ibushi wins the CWC and becomes the hottest free agent 205lbs or under, but neither Bryan nor Foley can sign him (explaining his absence).

It basically writes itself. One of WrestleMania's Kickoff matches is a RAW vs. SmackDown cruiserweight cascade. Then you've also got the two title matches as "wake up" bouts due to the show being so long.

[ClockShot]

Here live. Chime in when I can.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Can't say I'd mind that at all.

Alpha/Usos
Alpha/Wyatts
Alpha/Revival

Some really great options here. I do kinda worry that they'll wind up sticking The Revival on Raw for some reason and whilst they're good enough to thrive wherever they wind up I just don't see as many intriguing feud options on the red brand.

I definitely want The Revival on SmackDown. That chemistry between them and Alpha should be exploited. They're too similar a team to Gallows & Anderson too. I could see the same arguments being said about them and The Wyatts, but I think the Wyatts have more of a "monster" thing going on.

When you run Alpha vs. The Wyatts, you can also have The Usos in there as bumpers. The Wyatts vs. The Usos is definitely worthy of headlining a SmackDown main event.

[ClockShot]

Roster in the ring.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is the brand with a champion who isn't injured <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReasonsToWatchSmackDown?src=hash">#ReasonsToWatchSmackDown</a></p>&mdash; WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECreative_ish/status/768094843738394624">August 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">See what's left of <a href="https://twitter.com/RandyOrton">@RandyOrton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReasonsToWatchSmackDown?src=hash">#ReasonsToWatchSmackDown</a></p>&mdash; WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWECreative_ish/status/768117130126618624">August 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Blonde Moment]

Ziggler call him an asshole?

[Emperor Smeat]

Going to laugh if another impromptu battle royale happens tonight with the roster in the ring to start the show.

[Savio]

ERIC ROWAN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN THAT SCENE

[slik]

I lol'd at Rowan hanging out backstage

[slik]

Is this the same set as RAW? Looks better for some reason...

[slik]

Those belts look much better

[KIRA]

Everytime I see DB I feel horrible because you know he wants to be wrestling its like they are rubbing it in.

That belt actually looks good

[KIRA]

YYEEEESSSSS

[Emperor Smeat]

Tag belts design still looks dumb but using silver makes them look way better than RAW's tag belts.

[Evil Vito]

Heath Slater for WWE Champion

[slik]

1st BACKLASH match announced

[slik]

SLATER FOR GALATIC CHAMPION

[owenbrown]

Heath Slater & Owen White... Smackdown Tag Team Champions :y:

[KIRA]

Slater baby!

Also tag belts look really good

and by that I mean they don't look like giant copper pennies

[Emperor Smeat]

:( AJ not a fan of helping Slater out. Ziggler being just as bad by blatantly ignoring Slater to pummel Styles.

[Savio]

Slater is like my 2nd fav thing in the WWE now

[Mr. Nerfect]

I wish they'd get some new designs for the belts. They don't look terrible, just uninspired.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Slater and Hawkins baby

[slik]

This is already better than RAW tbh

[ClockShot]

Ladies up.

[Evil Vito]

Well, if this does become an 8 team tournament then the door is open for a Revival call up. Or Wyatt/Rowan (Harper/Rowan if Harper is nearly ready to return).

[Mr. Nerfect]

Slater is tremendous and is making the most of this opportunity. He legitimately almost cracked up Daniel Bryan then.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I can't see Heath Slater and his partner winning the belts. I imagine his partner will walk out on him, which makes people want to see Slater get some ANGRY VENGEANCE.

[Evil Vito]

Oh god, Becky and Alexa in the ring together.

Brb, lubing up.

[Triple A]

What is a 6 pack challenge

[owenbrown]

What is a 6 pack challenge

1 v 1 v 1 v 1 v 1 v 1 match. First pin or submission wins.

[slik]

On SD I can watch w/o fear of spotting the dreaded JeriCrack

[owenbrown]

Triple H won his 2nd WWF/E championship at Unforgiven '99 in a 6 pack challenge match after Vince won the title and then vacated it.

[Evil Vito]

What is a 6 pack challenge

One fall to a finish. Two wrestlers in the ring, the others each take a corner and you can tag in and out of the match.

The logic problem with the match is that you can only win if you're a legal participant. So it makes no sense to ever tag out, unless you're confident you can force a tag late.

[Evil Vito]

Would have preferred a Championship Scramble over a 6-pack challenge, to be honest. But it should be good.

[Evil Vito]

As happy as Becky/Alexa makes my penis, Becky/Taeler Hendrix would send me into overdrive.

[ClockShot]

Bliss is short in person.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Becky Lynch's new ring gear. :eek:

[Mr. Nerfect]

That was actually pretty nifty. Nothing outstanding, but not everything has to be. The right girl went over.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I've got the odd feeling that Slater's tag team partner is going to be Kane.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Let's see if my pre-SummerSlam prediction happens: AJ Styles beats Dolph Ziggler and then Bray attacks Dolph.

[Dark One]

Fun start to the show so far.

[Savio]

The logic problem with the match is that you can only win if you're a legal participant. So it makes no sense to ever tag out, unless you're confident you can force a tag late.
I mean if you are getting your ass beat and can push them off you for a second.

[Dark One]

Here's the fun thing about the tag team tournament.

Some team other than American Alpha has to pick up a win for the first time in 30 years.

[owenbrown]

UCE! NO!

[Emperor Smeat]

Here's the fun thing about the tag team tournament.

Some team other than American Alpha has to pick up a win for the first time in 30 years.

Maybe if the Usos weren't in it already.

[owenbrown]

should be these belts...

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/wrestlepedia/images/f/ff/WWE_Tag_Team_Championship_2002.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150224114048

[KIRA]

Ascension putting in work

[Dark One]

Otunga responding to JBL's suggestion that his wife speak with Miz for acting tips is the first time he's shown personality at the desk.

[KIRA]

JBL stop mentioning the champion-less competition

[Triple A]

camera work seems horrible tonight

making me want to freaking "hurl"

[Triple A]

is the main camera out or something, why are they using that weird ass angle

really sick right now... everything spinning... can't handle unorthodox camera work...

[Savio]

Otunga responding to JBL's suggestion that his wife speak with Miz for acting tips is the first time he's shown personality at the desk.

Aww and I missed it :(

[KIRA]

What they mean is that they'll be speaking to Ortons widow

[Triple A]

Chrisley Knows Best commercial making the room spin more

[Simple Fan]

Just started SD and I can't believe that they just copied those ugly tag team championshipseries. Dumb and not to creative at all.

[Dark One]

Chrisley Knows Best commercial making the room spin more

You know what would bring stability to your life and this forum?

Banning Heyman.

[Emperor Smeat]

Hope AJ makes fun of Cena for not being a man of his word. Cena promised if he lost, he'd be in the ring the next show to claim Styles is the better man or whatever the promise was about.

[owenbrown]

JAMIE NOBLE!

[KIRA]

Already looking forward to the main event

[Emperor Smeat]

Should have been if Ziggy wins, AJ is out as #1 contender.

Right now Styles is guaranteed to be in the match regardless what happens tonight just with or without an extra guy involved.

[KIRA]

Hawkins and Slater for tag champs

[Dark One]

Looking forward to these Curt Hawkins vignettes leading to him jobbing on Superstars.

[Evil Vito]

I love Curt Hawkins but these "Fact" vignettes are so corny.

If there's any humor in it, it's knowing that Chuck Norris Facts were popular like 10 years ago, so that's very likely why Vince is only just now hearing about them.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Prediction for women's matches at WrestleMania:

* Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley for the RAW Title
* Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Title

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm actually wondering if Ziggler gets into the main event of Backlash now. I kind of think that would be shit, because it means that the Backlash main event is going to be Ambrose vs. two guys that have lost recently.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I love Curt Hawkins but these "Fact" vignettes are so corny.

If there's any humor in it, it's knowing that Chuck Norris Facts were popular like 10 years ago, so that's very likely why Vince is only just now hearing about them.

Palette swaps were cool in Mortal Kombat like twenty years ago, but Vince is still using that for his belt designs.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Former Patriots Cheerleader. Carmella.

[Dark One]

Glad to have Nikki's butt back on TV.

[Dark One]

Interesting character turn.

[Evil Vito]

Oooh, Carmella heel turn outta nowhere. Didn't actually see that one coming.

[KIRA]

Carmella needs to watch it her fake tan might run

Also Renae's pants are cool

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: Nikki randomly turning face again.

This literally makes no sense. Then again Nikki is pretty horrible at playing a heel.

[Dark One]

Oooh, Carmella heel turn outta nowhere. Didn't actually see that one coming.

I guess it makes sense. Nikki will be getting the "return" face pop, especially given the Total Divas branding and all of that, and SD is down a women's heel with Eva suspended. Of the three "faces," Naomi's new entrance is built for a face, Becky is the archetype for underdog face, and Carmella's entrance has gone over like a turd in catering, so...

[Mr. Nerfect]

Nikki's hip swivel in her entrance gets me every time.

[slik]

I think SD has been really good so far IMO

[Mr. Nerfect]

Carmella turning heel makes sense. She's always had that bitch quality about her. The face stuff in NXT worked because people saw her get better and she had that Enzo & Cass association. She doesn't strike the same chords on the main roster.

Nikki sucks as a babyface, but I guess they're going to run off her return. She'll be heel by the time WrestleMania rolls around. Hell, she'll probably be heel again by the time of the next PPV.

[Emperor Smeat]

I guess it makes sense. Nikki will be getting the "return" face pop, especially given the Total Divas branding and all of that, and SD is down a women's heel with Eva suspended. Of the three "faces," Naomi's new entrance is built for a face, Becky is the archetype for underdog face, and Carmella's entrance has gone over like a turd in catering, so...

Makes the decision to put Nikki on the heel team for the women's tag match dumb though if it just got tossed away a couple of days later.

At least Carmella should benefit with a change in direction since she was going nowhere as a face.

[Mr. Nerfect]

New prediction: Dolph gets added to the Backlash main event and Orton moves onto a program with Bray Wyatt.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It does feel like the SmackDown Women's Division is telling these stories in such a short amount of time. Carmella could have sold frustrating for weeks leading to this turn.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

He's wearing tapout and he got TKOed. Which is the body tapping out.

[KIRA]

Apex still?

[Dark One]

I know some people are going to be disappointed at them seemingly fazing out titantron videos, but this new entrance setup is amazing.

[owenbrown]

I love Curt Hawkins but these "Fact" vignettes are so corny.

If there's any humor in it, it's knowing that Chuck Norris Facts were popular like 10 years ago, so that's very likely why Vince is only just now hearing about them.

Vince: HEY GUYS! CHECK OUT THIS DANCING BABY!

[Emperor Smeat]

Surprised no welt on Randy's head from how bad he was busted up against Lesnar.

[KIRA]

I know some people are going to be disappointed at them seemingly fazing out titantron videos, but this new entrance setup is amazing.

It really is

[Dark One]

FACT:

Curt Hawkins won 3 of his last 50 WWE matches.

[KIRA]

Here we go

[slik]

the demon bray

[Dark One]

Odds Randy is grooving to Bray's music in the dark right now?

[Savio]

Why is this jobber confronting Orton?

[KIRA]

Hows your win-loss record Bray

Its weird to keep proclaiming yourself as a force and then get jobbed out again and again

[slik]

cool camera angle

[Ruien]

What the hell??!?! I turn this on to see Wyatt doing a promo on Orton. Oh my lord. Wyatt needs to win some fn matches before they sink him to the bottom of the ship.

[Emperor Smeat]

It does feel like the SmackDown Women's Division is telling these stories in such a short amount of time. Carmella could have sold frustrating for weeks leading to this turn.

They do have the former head writer of NXT in charge and one of the good things about him was being willing to change stuff quickly when previous plans weren't working.

Now that everything is legit split, he has a lot more leeway to get things done and not worry about Vince or having Smackdown be 2nd fiddle to RAW.

[ClockShot]

20 guys just snuck Bray out.

[slik]

Backlash is shaping up to be a great ppv so far, IMO

[Mr. Nerfect]

I dunno, it still feels like a really flat product. Ryan Ward worked in NXT where he was allowed to book professional wrestling and had one hour to fill each week. He's now got three hours (including Main Event exhibition matches) and he's got to appeal, at least somewhat, to Vince McMahon's vision.

[KIRA]

20 guys just snuck Bray out.

You don't explain the trick!

[Mr. Nerfect]

How does everyone feel about the Six-Pack? I'm kind of worried that they're just throwing every girl out there. I mean, the winner of that match has already beaten everyone in the division. If you had qualifiers for a Triple Threat, you'd at least be able to have personal issues stem from those matches. Eg, Nikki Bella pins Carmella and then Carmella turns and the eliminated Naomi pulls her up on her attitude.

* Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella for the Women's Title
* Naomi vs. Heel Carmella

[slik]

I have no desire to see Shane vs Brock...

[slik]

How does everyone feel about the Six-Pack? I'm kind of worried that they're just throwing every girl out there. I mean, the winner of that match has already beaten everyone in the division. If you had qualifiers for a Triple Threat, you'd at least be able to have personal issues stem from those matches. Eg, Nikki Bella pins Carmella and then Carmella turns and the eliminated Naomi pulls her up on her attitude.

* Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella for the Women's Title
* Naomi vs. Heel Carmella

They could use the match to set up future feuds - only one diva is getting pinned. The other four are viable opponents for the winner.

[KIRA]

I'd kill to see American Alpha take on WGTT

[Triple A]

Why are they using this new "uncentered" camera angle I hate it!!!!!

[Mr. Nerfect]

They could use the match to set up future feuds - only one diva is getting pinned. The other four are viable opponents for the winner.

Yeah, but it still has that "Whoops, you failed" vibe. I mean, the girls have to lose to get there, I just think it cheapens a belt to have open season like that.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'd kill to see American Alpha take on WGTT

This, this, this and this.

[Mr. Nerfect]

American Alpha's backstage promo thing made me dislike them. I don't know who was behind that, but it basically made them seem almost exactly like Breezango.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Slater & Rhyno for Tag Champs? Could see the WWE putting a belt on Rhyno in order to send a message to the veterans that don't think returning to the WWE will benefit them at this point.

[slik]

Why are they using this new "uncentered" camera angle I hate it!!!!!

feels more 'up close and personal' I like it

[Emperor Smeat]

Good tag match between Alphas and Breezango

[KIRA]

THAT WAS FUN SD live has been good

[slik]

Dean's hat is a win

[ClockShot]

5th time changing the ring mat.

[ClockShot]

How's everyone doing?

[slik]

good

good show so far

[Mr. Nerfect]

I liked that tag team match.

[owenbrown]

Slater & Rhyno for Tag Champs? Could see the WWE putting a belt on Rhyno in order to send a message to the veterans that don't think returning to the WWE will benefit them at this point.

Isn't Rhyno running for public office though?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Rhyno & Heath Slater beat some jobbers next week and go to the next round, before they fall to The Usos, then Rhyno turns on Heath Slater setting up a match between the two at Backlash? American Alpha beat The Vaudevillains in the semi-finals, I guess. I thought that would be the Alpha/Breezango match.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Isn't Rhyno running for public office though?

He's still around in WWE too.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Vince has got to have a huge hard-on for Rhyno at the moment.

[Evil Vito]

I could see Slater and Rhyno advancing next week along with whoever the mystery team is against The Vaudevillians and The Hype Bros.

Still wondering about the mystery team. Fingers crossed for The Revival. Not sure if Harper's cleared yet but he and Rowan would be cool too.

If it's not either of those teams then I guess they're just arbitrarily throwing two singles guys together. Apollo Crews and Kalisto or something equally uninspiring.

[Evil Vito]

This show has been so much better than Raw.

[Simple Fan]

Just caught up live. AA vs Breezeango was pretty good. Don't like the titles just being Smackdown Tag and Womens Championships though.

[KIRA]

I love Dolph but I am team girly hair.

[ClockShot]

I'm watching Styles fight live.

So happy.

[slik]

hell yeah @clockshot

[Emperor Smeat]

I could see Slater and Rhyno advancing next week along with whoever the mystery team is against The Vaudevillians and The Hype Bros.

Still wondering about the mystery team. Fingers crossed for The Revival. Not sure if Harper's cleared yet but he and Rowan would be cool too.

If it's not either of those teams then I guess they're just arbitrarily throwing two singles guys together. Apollo Crews and Kalisto or something equally uninspiring.

Los Dudleys featuring El Bubba and Señor D-vono :shifty:

[Simple Fan]

Hate that they just copied the the ugly WWE Tag Team championships but they do look better in silver.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I could see Slater and Rhyno advancing next week along with whoever the mystery team is against The Vaudevillians and The Hype Bros.

Still wondering about the mystery team. Fingers crossed for The Revival. Not sure if Harper's cleared yet but he and Rowan would be cool too.

If it's not either of those teams then I guess they're just arbitrarily throwing two singles guys together. Apollo Crews and Kalisto or something equally uninspiring.

The Revival making it through to the finals against American Alpha would be cool.

[Mr. Nerfect]

My big problem with the palette swap belts is that it kind of defeats the purpose of these belts having new histories and new legacies.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan should have gone digging into mythology, history and their tape collection to come up with a name and design that would suit a woman who fights her way through every other woman in her path.

[Dark One]

Drunk Dean Ambrose vs. Cocky Prick AJ Styles is gonna be fun.

[Dark One]

AJ Styles beat John Cena clean.

He should have beat Dolph Ziggler before Dolph Ziggler made it to the bottom of the ramp.

[Evil Vito]

Man, Styles is the master of the late kickout.

[KIRA]

Dolph having the kinda match he shouldve had at SS

[Dark One]

Kickout at 2.98

[KIRA]

shit wanted that triple threat

[Evil Vito]

I'd love to see Ziggler added to that main event, but Styles going over clean made sense.

Maybe Ziggler will wrangle his way in some other way. Not many other guys left for him to feud with.

[Dark One]

AJ Styles so good.

So obvious.

But he's so good. Give him all the blue titles. He's got soccer mom hair, fuck it, give him the blue women's belt. He's as good as most of the tag teams combined, give him the blue tag belts.

[Emperor Smeat]

Really good main event this week.

Wonder what Ziggler does now since he's out of the WWE title match. Everyone else is already busy (Orton-Bray, Corbin-Kalisto, Miz-Crews) or feels like a downgrade (ex. IC title) after how he was built up recently.

[Triple A]

Good show...

[Mr. Nerfect]

Styles winning was ultimately the right call. Ziggler beating Styles dilutes the story of SummerSlam. I imagine that next week, Dolph will be in the ring, looking all sad and thanking the fans for their support, when all of a sudden...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NONOZGGejb8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Bye Bye Ziggles.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Either that, or Baron Corbin. It's hard to tell with WWE sometimes.

[Simple Fan]

Solid show with a lot of good matches. Booking on Smackdown is way better than Raws. Like what they are doing with Dolph and I hope it leads to a heel turn. Feel like Kesnar vs Shane will have some type of stipulation to where if he loses he isn't SD commissioner anymore. Only gripe was the copied tag titles and the names just being Smackdown championships. Makes Universal sound great in my opinion.

[DAMN iNATOR]

I don't know about anyone else, but I actually really enjoyed the show tonight. No exceptions, and the main event was amazing...THAT is how you put on a main event.

That being said, it should be very interesting to see if they can top themselves next week.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Brock Lesnar agrees to fight Shane, but if Shane loses, Paul Heyman is SmackDown Commissioner.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Next week we'll get Heath Slater & Rhyno in a tag team match. It's going to fucking rule.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Dolph Ziggler will also get a chance to kill it on the mic before getting killed by Samoa Joe and getting everyone REALLY excited for Backlash.

[Simple Fan]

Don't see Samoa Joe coming just yet. Should have a NXT title rematch but after he gets cleared, just had his jaw relocated. SD is the place for him though.

[Frank Drebin]

Please don't have Shane headline a ppv. Please.

[Simple Fan]

Could see Ziggler finding a partner and being Heath and Ryhnos opponents only to lose and continue the downward spiral. Maybe even attack his partner after the match even if Dolph was the one that lost them the match.

[Dark One]

I don't know about anyone else, but I actually really enjoyed the show tonight. No exceptions, and the main event was amazing...THAT is how you put on a main event.

That being said, it should be very interesting to see if they can top themselves next week.

Yeah. First WWE show in a while that I've enjoyed the whole way through, other than the first Raw after the draft.

[Emperor Smeat]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/66e86d05f94c51774e5f8c43a5ceede3/tumblr_oce5oq8caN1saykaxo1_500.gif

[slik]

Holy ****

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan">@WWEDanielBryan</a> says <a href="https://twitter.com/mikethemiz">@MikeTheMiz</a> &quot;wrestles like a coward.&quot; And the IC Champ explodes on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TalkingSmack?src=hash">#TalkingSmack</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDLive?src=hash">#SDLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/hgarcKmuj4">https://t.co/hgarcKmuj4</a></p>&mdash; WWE Network (@WWENetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/768272978463199232">August 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[slik]

That's honestly probably the best promo of Miz's career

[Simple Fan]

I like it. Kind of teasing a Bryan return though which isn't smart if he's not able.

[ClockShot]

You don't explain the trick!

I was wondering why so many?

[ClockShot]

Back home. Good show. Will give details tomorrow.

G'night.

[Dark One]

Holy ****

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan">@WWEDanielBryan</a> says <a href="https://twitter.com/mikethemiz">@MikeTheMiz</a> &quot;wrestles like a coward.&quot; And the IC Champ explodes on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TalkingSmack?src=hash">#TalkingSmack</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDLive?src=hash">#SDLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/hgarcKmuj4">https://t.co/hgarcKmuj4</a></p>&mdash; WWE Network (@WWENetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/768272978463199232">August 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There has literally never been a more perfect time for this GIF.

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Shocked-Fan-After-Undertaker-Loss-to-Brock-Lesnar.gif

[Dark One]

Just gonna leave the whole thing here because I don't even know what to do with my life any more.

<iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/v7j2" width="640" height="361" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen scrolling="no"></iframe>

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

I was wondering why so many?

Probably got hurt again.

[Dark One]

Going to make a separate thread for this Miz/Bryan shit because it's insane and needs visibility.

[RP]

HOLY SHIT!

[GD]

Holy ****

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan">@WWEDanielBryan</a> says <a href="https://twitter.com/mikethemiz">@MikeTheMiz</a> &quot;wrestles like a coward.&quot; And the IC Champ explodes on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TalkingSmack?src=hash">#TalkingSmack</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDLive?src=hash">#SDLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/hgarcKmuj4">https://t.co/hgarcKmuj4</a></p>&mdash; WWE Network (@WWENetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/768272978463199232">August 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Holy fucking shit! That was pretty intense.

[Fignuts]

Silver and blue tag belts look way better than the penny titles. Still don't like that all the titles are just palette swaps of eachother. Makes the whole product feel even more "processed" than it already is.

Ziggler making up for SS with an awesome matchwith Styles. If these losses aren't leading to anything, than Ziggler is pretty much done in tne title scene.

That said, it could lead to a great heel turn for him. I could see him blaming the fans for all his recent losses, and getting his edge back by fighting only for himself. That happens, I could definitely see him winning the title somewhere down the line, because his his heel work is very good.

[broverboard]

AJ Styles is great. I'd never watched TNA, was he that entertaining all round there as well?

[#BROKEN Hasney]

AJ Styles is great. I'd never watched TNA, was he that entertaining all round there as well?

Not always, feel like his run with Christian was great and then just before he left, but his character was mostly shit. Great in the ring, though.

[Ruien]

The few times I was giving TNA a shot AJ was always great. But he (and Angle) were not enough to keep me watching.

[broverboard]

I really enjoy Smackdown. I feel if Roode, Nakamura and Joe end up on Smackdown I'd have no need to watch Raw and would probably just watch the Raw highlights on wwe.com.

[Big Vic]

What teams are left in the tag tourney?

[#BROKEN Hasney]

What teams are left in the tag tourney?

American Alpha
Usos
Vaudevillians
Rhyno & Slater
Hype Bros

Unnamed team (who will face Rhyno & slater)

[Simple Fan]

What if Hype Bros lose and Zach Ryder jumps back in to the tournament with Curt Hawkins to face Slater and Rhyno? I don't know Im interested to see what who the mystery team will be.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

What if Hype Bros lose and Zach Ryder jumps back in to the tournament with Curt Hawkins to face Slater and Rhyno? I don't know Im interested to see what who the mystery team will be.

The Revival tweeted "7 teams huh?"

Damn teases....

[Volare]

Anyone betting on Slater/Rhyno getting to the finals?

[DAMN iNATOR]

What if Hype Bros lose and Zach Ryder jumps back in to the tournament with Curt Hawkins to face Slater and Rhyno? I don't know Im interested to see what who the mystery team will be.

No, we don't need an Edgeheads reunion. Especially with Edge himself having been gone 5 years. And anyway, they were only average at best as a team.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Anyone betting on Slater/Rhyno getting to the finals?

If they win the first match, totally. I can see the mystery team being a debut from NXT or a return that they will want to give a win though.

[Simple Fan]

No, we don't need an Edgeheads reunion. Especially with Edge himself having been gone 5 years. And anyway, they were only average at best as a team.

I liked Hawkins & Ryder even after they split from Edge. Would rather him team with Hawkins than Mojo.

[ClockShot]

American Alpha
Usos
Vaudevillians
Rhyno & Slater
Hype Bros

Unnamed team (who will face Rhyno & slater)

Hype Bros beat the Vaudevillians on Main Event. I did my merchandise run during that match and just caught the very end. Don't know if that counts for the tournament or not.

[Cool King]

I liked Hawkins & Ryder even after they split from Edge. Would rather him team with Hawkins than Mojo.

Yeah, I liked Hawkins & Ryder. I'm not sure how I feel about Ryder & Mojo though.

Anyway, I feel that SmackDown was the better show this week, and the new titles look so good. The name of them makes perfect sense too, which makes me think that maybe they saw the backlash from the Universal Championship's name and decided to just add "SmackDown" to the existing championship names to be safe. Also, big silver (or maybe they're white gold) Tag Team Championships look so much better than bronze (or maybe they're copper) championships.

As for the tag team tournament, I'm coming straight out and saying that American Alpha will win the whole thing. However, if Slater & Rhyno win their first match, then I'm going to be considering them as potential winners too.

[Cool King]

Hype Bros beat the Vaudevillians on Main Event. I did my merchandise run during that match and just caught the very end. Don't know if that counts for the tournament or not.

It most likely will count.

The Vaudevillians really need to disband or lose the gimmick. It's going absolutely nowhere.

It doesn't make sense to create a gimmick like that and put a good amount into it, only to be called up to the main roster be jobbers of the Tag Team Division.

They are SmackDown's answer to The Shining Stars.

[Cool King]

Which is sad as Epico & Primo are really good.

[Big Vic]

Vaudevillians and Breezdango should feud over who is SD! answer to the shining stars.

[slik]

Triple H won his 2nd WWF/E championship at Unforgiven '99 in a 6 pack challenge match after Vince won the title and then vacated it.

I liked that match/ppv

[slik]

British Bulldog's short main-event push in the attitude era ^

[Big Vic]

I actually liked Bulldog at that point too.

[Simple Fan]

Almost certain the only reason they copied the WWE Tag Team and Womens titles was so the 2k people didn't have to do a whole lot of work putting them into this year's game.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Anyone betting on Slater/Rhyno getting to the finals?

It's certainly possible, although if they do, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lose there, since Rhyno is running for a seat here in Michigan's House of Representatives in the 15th District this November. I mean, if the guy wins in the general election, it seems obvious that an immediate release would be granted to him so he can focus on his new and more important responsibilities.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

The Revival tweeted "7 teams huh?"

Damn teases....

SAY YEAHHHHHHHHH

[Emperor Smeat]

Almost certain the only reason they copied the WWE Tag Team and Womens titles was so the 2k people didn't have to do a whole lot of work putting them into this year's game.

Probably more like Yukes considering their history of being lazy with the series. Think parts of the game's engine still has stuff from the PS1 era in it. All 2K or Visual Concepts need to do is just scan the title belt if they want it in the game. After that its all Yukes on getting it done.

Real reason is probably the WWE only cares about their logo/brand and don't care about anything else about the belts which is why the WWE and Universal title have the company's logo as the main attraction. Same for the Women's belts. They probably didn't care enough about the tag belts and just went with the cheap route instead.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Interested to see what they do with Slater and Rhyno. I can't really imagine them winning the whole thing, meaning they have to beat Alpha, but after that, Slater's done on SmackDown. I guess he'll just continue to bounce around? What he's doing at the moment seems to be working and getting over.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Which is sad as Epico & Primo are really good.

Thank you!

[Evil Vito]

I'm not surprised that The Vaudevillians have flopped on the main roster, but it makes me sad as I really like that.

But watching them in NXT, there was always a high probability of the gimmick failing on the main roster, either by the average fan not understanding it or - worse yet, Vince not getting it. And based on how they've been booked, I'm thinking it's the latter.

Doesn't help that they don't do any of their wacky antics they did on NXT. They're bog-standard heels that just happen to look funny. If they actually were allowed to go full bore with it, I think they'd not only get over but eventually turn face because they'd be good enough at the role to win over fans naturally, just as most comedy heels who are great do (see: Marella, Santino and Slater, Heath).

[Evil Vito]

Also doesn't help that Gotch clearly has heat on him. They haven't won a match since he nearly killed Enzo, and they always take the fall in multi-team matches. And his fight with Sin Cara couldn't have helped either.

[Emperor Smeat]

Seems like one of the consequences of the double turn between Carmella and Nikki is Nikki now replaces Becky as the top Women's star for Smackdown according to the Observer. Really hope that wasn't one of the "ideas" Nikki teased about having to improve the division.

Probably was going to happen anyways had the rumors of Bayley going to Smackdown ended up being true or not possibly changed because of injury reasons.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Ugh. Nikki as a babyface is not going to work if it undercuts Becky. I'm clearly biased because I love her, but Becky being on SmackDown should be given the chance to run things and see how she does. Most smart fans knew that Becky wasn't going to get a run on top with Charlotte and Sasha around. Add Bayley coming up to that as well. But when you have two belts, there isn't really an excuse for her not to get her moment.

Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch is fine as a WrestleMania match for the SmackDown belt; but it shouldn't be with Nikki as a babyface.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That being said, they might just succeed in Daniel Bryaning Becky if they jam Nikki back down everybody's throats.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'd go with Natalya winning the belt at Backlash, just to give her that wrestling heel moment she deserves. She drops it off to Becky in a hard-fought match. She maybe cries
"screwjob" at Survivor Series when she clearly taps out. Nattie is made, Becky is made, then you have Nikki turn heel on Becky in a title match, she wins the belt, then you have the rematch at WrestleMania.

That is me being as unbiased as I can about the division. Nikki gets a few months with the belt in order to put over Becky, who maybe moves onto Asuka once her stuff with Nikki is done, although I'd also like to see her get a match against Lita.

If I spoke to the girls and Nattie was okay not getting a run at this point, because she feels it is Becky's time or whatever, I am cool with going straight to Becky with the belt. But I realistically see this as the last opportunity to really give Nattie a big nod. Becky can have a girl in the Dis-Arm-Her, and Nattie can clock her over the head with the belt in order to pin her and set up the next few months. "You were drafted first, but who's the champion, bitch?"