Smackdown Live 2-8-16

Lithium93_

With the pressure clearly on Smackdown Live, will they rise to the challenge laid down by RAW, or crumble under the pressure and remain in the shadows, who knows?

Anyways here's the preview for tomorrow morning's Smackdown Live on Sky Sports 5 @ 01:00

Will SummerSlam's WWE World Title Match turn SmackDown Live upside down?
Last week on the blue brand, Dolph Ziggler prevailed in a furious Six-Pack Challenge main event to become the No. 1 contender to Dean Ambrose’s WWE World Championship at SummerSlam. I don’t know about you folks, but I am pretty excited to see this one. The completely explosive and defiant Showoff will certainly leave everything on the canvas when he goes head-to-head with the completely unrelenting, unhinged and unpredictable Lunatic Fringe!

This is just another shining example how SmackDown Live is taking the WWE Universe by storm. But can two wild competitors like Ambrose and Ziggler possibly be expected to hold off until their match at The Biggest Party of the Summer? Find out when the WWE World Champion kicks off the blue brand tonight at 01:00 on Sky Sports 5

Is SmackDown Live prepared for a Lesnar invasion?
After Randy Orton fired the first shot via a drive by RKO attack, Brock Lesnar rolls into Smackdown looking for vengeance. There is no telling how SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and his own GM Daniel Bryan will choose to deal with the situation. Will The Viper face stiff penalties? Could the SummerSlam match between Orton and Lesnar be conceivably called off all together in an attempt to discourage other Superstars from crossing the line with personal grudges?

Up until now, Shane and Bryan’s focus has on the positive, providing new opportunities for Superstars in order to build a whole new level of competition. But, it is very possible that the actions of The Apex Predator, things could quickly spin out of control and there is no telling what the ramifications might be to SmackDown Live and the New Era as a whole. Perhaps the greatest concern of all is: If The Beast does threaten vengeance on Wednesday morning, how will Shane and Bryan ever be able to stop his aggression?

How will AJ Styles regain his edge?
Last week, not only did AJ Styles fall short in the Six-Pack Challenge for an opportunity at the WWE World Title, but he was the Superstar who got his shoulders pinned to the canvas. We think it’s safe to say that this was not the phenomenal way AJ hoped to kick off his time on SmackDown Live.

Questions are already moving through the locker room as to whether Styles can survive now that Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson are resident Superstars on Raw. In any event, with SmackDown Live still defining itself, what is The Phenomenal One’s best course of action moving forward?

Will he set his sights on WWE World Champion Dean Ambrose anyway? What about Intercontinental Champion The Miz, fresh off his non-title loss to Randy Orton one week ago? Dare he rekindle his rivalry against longstanding adversary John Cena? Or, if he determines that he can’t go it alone, will he try to find himself some new backup?

Who will stand out in SmackDown Live’s Women’s division?
In a tense moment last week, the explosive talent of SmackDown Live’s Women’s division looked to make their presence known. But which Superstar will ultimately establish herself as the premiere female competitor, when all is said and done?

Natalya might be a safe bet. Not only is she a third-generation Superstar and a graduate of the Hart Family Dungeon, but The Queen of Harts has been in a particularly vicious mood in recent months. However, Becky Lynch has consistently stood in her way and she is no pushover, to say the least, nor is the tough-as-nails Naomi.

For anyone who has been watching WWE NXT, you already know that both Carmella and Alexa Bliss have the potential to dominate anyone that they step in the ring with. But what about Eva Marie? Though clearly more stunning than ever, the fiery competitor said absolutely nothing last Wednesday morning and time will tell if this pretty face will be able to assert himself in the no-nonsense environment of the the New Era

American Alpha looks to seize the big blue spotlight
Tonight is finally the night! The unique tandem of American Alpha will unleash themselves on the SmackDown stage, but can they take the heat of a whole new frying pan

While there is no doubt that they proved to be a true tour-de-force in NXT, will the combination of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable be able to excel on a main roster? And in light of the rising state of tag team competition on Team Blue, will SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon and GM Daniel Bryan decide to create a brand tag team championship?

Whatculture W.T.F Moments will be posted at some point tomorrow afternoon/evening.

Agent Coulson

Any chance the WWE would bring in Daniels and Kazarian to work with AJ as the Smackdown Club or are they tied down long term to RoH.

rafi bomb

Only one watching :cool:

paconnors

me watching aswell :P

Mr. Guappa

Thought that opening segment was very good.

johnnysmack

Bray got a good pop when he appeared!

Lithium93_

Actually have it recording on Sky+, so gonna unfollow the thread and come back when I watch it later this morning.

rafi bomb

So do they undermine dolph again or bury bray again? :eek:

Scorpion Sting

Anyone notice Daniel Bryan calling Apollo Crews "Apollo Creed"?

Agent Coulson

Great heel booking of Eva Marie here.

johnnysmack

Well that's embarrassing

ricero

Eva marie is a fine thing all the same

johnnysmack

Actually they could spin it for even more heat....silver lining!

rafi bomb

johnnysmack wrote: »

Actually they could spin it for even more heat....silver lining!

Spin?!:eek:

That was the work. They done it for heat

wonderboysam

Was that scripted or a genuine injury??

Agent Coulson

johnnysmack wrote: »

Actually they could spin it for even more heat....silver lining!

That's what they are doing the girl can't wrestle so they/she will come up with excuses every week not to wrestle until she gets her comeuppance.

Great booking.

mrkiscool2

This is an incredible promo, Styles calling out Cena about why he is still there and Cena not being cheesy when talking about the kids., Loved it.

Agent Coulson

AJ has come along way with his promo skills hopefully Finn can do the same.

ricero

So safe to say cena wins at summerslam

paconnors

I Wonder will lesner turn up?

paconnors

nice revenge

Agent Coulson

Heath Slater is awesome.

IncognitoMan

I kinda want Dolph to win at summerslam after that. He looks like a man who's found his passion for wwe again

CSF

That was class. Cena absolutely nailed it.

Bounty Hunter

Really good SD imo, much better than the 1st one last week

Lord TSC

One thing I've often moaned about is that, with a lot of feuds for the titles, you can watch the first and last week before a PPV, and miss nothing if you skip the rest of the TV shows. Hell, sometimes you can skip the go home too.

Didn't feel that way with Smackdown; between Bray's introduction and the fact that (shock and horror) Ziggler's character actually got some development, this was an episode of Smackdown you needed to see to keep up with the story. From Ambrose running him down, to Shane/Bryan/Ziggler segment, to the end with Bray laying them both out....this epsiode didn't just tread water, it actually furthered the storyline!

I do think that Ziggler loses at Summerslam; it's important that Ambrose gets a proper defense under his belt. But now, we've got the seeds planted for an actual story to develop after the show with Dolph, who can question himself, and possibly turn heel in a "Ambrose is right, less showing off, more trying to win" manner.

Really happy that the story has taken a step forward, in a well written way that leaves a few options for them.

Meanwhile...ALPHAS!!!! I thought the Eva angle was a fun way to protect her AND get her heat. I like the interviews taking place at the table, rather than in front of a monitor. That, plus the new entrance graphic cards, actually makes it feel like something has changed in the production (something I didn't feel last night).

Only gripe...I think I'd have had Brock laying out some security to sell the "monster" status. Knocking down security, destroying some stuff at ringside, etc. I much prefered Randy's hit-and-run on Raw because I thought it maintained the brand split better than Brock walking to ringside unopposed and then just walking backstage and driving off while smiling.

Lord TSC

Bryan on Cena's promo...

https://twitter.com/DeathToAllMarks/status/760670046951772160

Bounty Hunter

The great thing about that is that it makes it all seem real for Bryan to be assessing it in that way, I mean I almost feel like agreeing with him and getting annoying at Cena even though I of course know that what AJ / Cena both said was obviously pre-planned pre-planned.

CSF

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

The great thing about that is that it makes it all seem real for Bryan to be assessing it in that way, I mean I almost feel like agreeing with him and getting annoying at Cena even though I of course know that what AJ / Cena both said was obviously pre-planned pre-planned.

I think what Cena said was fair enough. I think kayfabe taking into account that AJ Styles mightn't have been able to get the opportunity to be in the WWE before now doesn't help build him into the star attraction that WWE have treated him as.

I mean yes, the reality may have been just like Bryan's, but painting him as someone who was the best of the best somewhere else before sauntering into WWE to be equally in the big leagues is much better.

Mr.Nice Guy

I thought this was a very good show. I enjoyed it more than Raw.

My only quibble would be what I mentioned about Raw: the fact that it's only 2 weeks in and we have guys showing up on rival shows. I want them to take the split seriously or I fear it will flop. I hope it's not going to become a thing.

Thumbs up for Smackdown this time though.

sky88

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I thought this was a very good show. I enjoyed it more than Raw.

My only quibble would be what I mentioned about Raw: the fact that it's only 2 weeks in and we have guys showing up on rival shows. I want them to take the split seriously or I fear it will flop. I hope it's not going to become a thing.

Thumbs up for Smackdown this time though.

I get why people would worry but im weirdly confident its just a once off till summerslam with brock and orton. They have to build the match somehow.

IncognitoMan

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I thought this was a very good show. I enjoyed it more than Raw.

My only quibble would be what I mentioned about Raw: the fact that it's only 2 weeks in and we have guys showing up on rival shows. I want them to take the split seriously or I fear it will flop. I hope it's not going to become a thing.

Thumbs up for Smackdown this time though.

I hope we can have cross brand matches in the future when they come together at the big ppv from time to time, not all the time but it would be good to have big hitters (guys not involved in the title pictures on either show) being able to go against each other in a one off at the likes of wrestlemania or summerslam.

So when that happens I'm fine with other show talent showing up, again not all the time though. Keep it special.

Obviously if there is loads of this happening all the time it will lose its appeal pretty quickly.

I don't think they should do champion vs champion though as it obviously puts down one shows champion but say if Cena has no feud say going into a summerslam then I've no problem with him facing say Sami Zayn or something if he's also at nothing that's interesting. I'm not sure if I've explained this the right way, hopefully you get what I'm saying.

correction

That Styles/Cena promo was brilliant. These 2 could put on a genuine classic match at SummerSlam, their match at MITB was pretty good but you could tell Cena was rusty and they hadn't worked each other before but with Cena back in form and that added experience with each other I absolutely can't wait for that match.

Loughc

Really good Smackdown. Really enjoyed the Ziggler progress. One thing tho wasn't Shelton meant to Debut this week?

Lithium93_

Better than last week... And RE: Shelton Benjamin, I think it was a "Coming Soon" graphic shown for him last week..

And

Virtanen

Loughc wrote: »

Really good Smackdown. Really enjoyed the Ziggler progress. One thing tho wasn't Shelton meant to Debut this week?

Promo trailer last week just said "Coming Soon"

CastorTroy

Much better show this week. Though was kind of disappointed they replaced Apollo Creed with Apollo Crews. My first thought was he meant Consequences Creed. Genuinely forgot about Crews and wasn't until I remembered Woods was on Raw that I remembered Crews.

Liked what they did with Eva Marie. I was thinking they may do something like it every week with a match against Becky but then that would mean we wouldn't get a Becky match all those weeks. Speaking of not having matches, we've now had 2 episodes of Smackdown after they've been drafted and neither Alexa or Carmella have had a match. I know she was meant to have one but Carmella was attacked. So that was the 2 women's matches basically cut from the show. Not really a good way to go. Can say it was story building or whatever but they managed to do that okay with the guys. I guess with so few women, they have to limit the matches they get.

Liked Ziggler's promo, including the Spirit Squad reference.

As for the interviews, does that mean Renee is exclusive to SD as well? When Ambrose said he couldn't do this, I thought he was gonna say something about them being together. She looks tiny beside him

ERG89

Good promo by Ziggler, never thought I'd say that. Showed passion & like he meant every word. Take note Finn.
Women's stuff was poor & like it existed to fill TV time. Cena's promo was well delivered, it seemed to exist to allay fears on his recent focus on his career outside wwe & rumours he'd miss the first Smackdown only ppv. American Alpha got their debut & looked good against the Vaudevillains who are hoping to avoid the fate of The Ascension. It was better than last week but it wouldn't be hard. You can see the limitations of the roster every show though. It has inferior divisions from top to bottom.
Everything David Otunga contributes is pointless too.

Bounty Hunter

ERG89 wrote: »

Good promo by Ziggler, never thought I'd say that. Showed passion & like he meant every word. Take note Finn.
Women's stuff was poor & like it existed to fill TV time. Cena's promo was well delivered, it seemed to exist to allay fears on his recent focus on his career outside wwe & rumours he'd miss the first Smackdown only ppv. American Alpha got their debut & looked good against the Vaudevillains who are hoping to avoid the fate of The Ascension. It was better than last week but it wouldn't be hard. You can see the limitations of the roster every show though. It has inferior divisions from top to bottom.
Everything David Otunga contributes is pointless too.

I guess they need a quiet person on a 3 person panel but i'd still have much prefered (may not be very popular as I think she divides some) Renee Young with Mauro & JBL

CastorTroy

You say about Cena allaying fears of his outside career. If I remember correctly The Rock said something very similar at one point. About how WWE is his home, etc. I'm sure if Cena started getting a load of movie role offers similar to Dwayne, he'd take them.

Neil3030

John Cena net worth: $35m
Time spent by John Cena each year taking bumps: several nights per week.

Dwayne Johnson net worth: $125m
Time spent by Dwayne Johnson each year taking bumps: approx 15 minutes (if at all).

Let's see how much longer this 'loyalty' lasts....

IncognitoMan

I think we're in the last year or 2 of Cena as a full time guy. Once he goes over flairs record there's nothing really left to do. He'll be a part timer then. Wrestlemaina appearances and the likes while he goes and makes a few movies. And good luck to him, he's not my favorite but he's definitely earned his break.

sky88

i think weve the last of cena dull time already. hes 39 and has had a lot of injury's the last while. Plus he is getting lots of outside work presenting and tbh he deserves all the time off hes carried the company for the last ten years working full time.

correction

I think Cena will become somewhat of an Undertaker type attraction where he doesn't appear all the time but he comes back for a quality match from time to time. Taker does that just for WrestleMania (mostly) but I see Cena doing it more frequently, say 4-5 PPV matches a year but against top quality opponents so you know you're in for a good match.