Ricky Jackson Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Going into this one pretty cold. I haven't seen anything from Smackdown since the women's MITB rematch, whenever that was. Looking at the card it should be a good show, with a few possible standout matches. Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English (pre-show) Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton Punjabi Prison match The Usos vs. The New Day John Cena vs. Rusev Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. Lana Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 I know it's the Network era, but these PPV's every two weeks don't mean anything anymore. The product is oversaturated as hell already. Orton vs Mahal AGAIN. I sure hope for them they crack that great Indian market... Wait, Cena vs Rusev ? Where did that come from ? What kind of redux is it ? It'll only show how low Rusev had dropped from the totem pole since that Mania tank introduction with the (then) glorious Lana. No interest in Nak facing Corbin at all. No real interest in AJ vs Owens although it'll probably be Owens best WWE match ever if AJ works at his usual level. Multi-women match again. Yeah, that's totally making them look important... Zayn vs Kanellis, I have no idea, I only saw Bennett in New Japan teaming with the other guy. I guess it's their version of Skip vs Barry Horowitz at this point (yeah, it's not that bad in term of push, but Zayn still is basically a JTTS right now) Usos vs New Day will probably be quite good. So yeah, looks like nothing on paper but could end up with a number of actually good fun matches (Cena vs Rusev / AJ vs Owens / Usos vs New Day / multi-women), but it's still a nothing happening product in term of characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton - Expecting Mahal to retain. I read that the WWE will be in India in September, so I'm guessing he'll drop the title in October, but between then and now, I'd really love a more interesting challenger. When the smoke clears, Orton will need to be taken off TV for at least a month to get the loser stench off him. Then again, they'll probably just insert him into a feud with Owens and blame KO when fan interest is tepid. John Cena vs. Rusev - This reminds me of when Triple H returned at SummerSlam 2007 to beat King Booker because Triple H needed a win over a respectable opponent, even though it ended up causing more damage to Booker than it actually helped Triple H. I see the same thing happening here. I get that Cena needed a special return match, but Rusev as the sacrificial lamb? Ugh. One step forward for Cena, two steps back for the Bulgarian Brute. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin - This is either going to be surprisingly great with Nak stepping up to lead Corbin through a solid match that is nice and stiff and keeps both guys over or a total mess that will expose both men (but that redditers will entirely blame Corbin for). To me, this is a make-or-break Nak match because if you can't produce passable matches against your Corbins and your Kanes, you can't be a top guy. Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis - I'm more excited for this than for Owens/AJ, which will no doubt be filled with better and more movez but will probably lack any story beyond "you're turn/my turn." Zayn/Kanellis should at least offer a clear good guy/bad guy dynamic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 It's amazing that guys get blamed for circumstances that aren't there fault and never get a chance on top again but man, Randy Orton gets the ball every other year it seems and just fails in spectacular fashion. If it was a sane company and he wasn't a HHH guy, he wouldn't be seen as a viable main eventer after this. Just an awful program. Mahal is also an absolute dogshit champion and he has to be one of the lowest points for the WWE Title on a historical basis. I've also seen some commentators that live in India say they aren't going to make money there. No one is going to buy the network because it's too expensive and no one is going to be merchandise because you can get bootlegs for 10% of the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 I also expect to see another show where it's all heels winning again minus a token win for Cena and Charlotte. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 First ppv I get to watch all the way live this year.... lucky me! Actually it all looks solidish enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 First ppv I get to watch all the way live this year.... lucky me! Actually it all looks solidish enough. I'm sure it will be the usual decent wrestling with shitty finishes and booking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Luke Harper, still MIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Apparently I'm in the minority on this one as the card looks very weak to me. Zero interest in Orton/Jinder or Nak/Corbin. No interest in almost anything either Orton or Corbin, especially the latter, as Orton has potential against the right opponent. AJ/Owens should be solid as their first PPV match was good and despite the MSG title change being a bit underwhelming I expect Owens to go hard tonight. The women have potential in the right setting, but a 5 way with Tamina & Lana is not that. If AJ & the tag title match deliver, and Cena/Rusev isn't held down by rust, there's potential for a good show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 It feels like the Smackdown roster is paper thin right now and I'm just not down for another show of all heels winning. I think Usos/New Day will be good and I think Cena/Rusev could be really good as well. I expect Orton/Mahal to be an absolute pile of garbage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 All I'm looking forward to is finding out once and for all if the truth is or is not H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 A pretty weak card all around but I expect the tag and Cena/Rusev to be worth watching. I'm also going for Orton winning tonight with Mahal winning the title IN India with the idea that they're going to have a huge crowd pop that they can show in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Am I just out of touch or is there absolutely zero interest in this PPV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Am I just out of touch or is there absolutely zero interest in this PPV? There seems to be very little interest in this PPV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Am I just out of touch or is there absolutely zero interest in this PPV? You may very well be out of touch! But there is very much zero interest in this show. I'm hoping that along with my super low expectations lead to a pleasantly surprising evening. Not holding my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Am I just out of touch or is there absolutely zero interest in this PPV? You may very well be out of touch! But there is very much zero interest in this show. I'm hoping that along with my super low expectations lead to a pleasantly surprising evening. Not holding my breath. True... the answer could be both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Am I just out of touch or is there absolutely zero interest in this PPV? You may very well be out of touch! But there is very much zero interest in this show. I'm hoping that along with my super low expectations lead to a pleasantly surprising evening. Not holding my breath. True... the answer could be both! They couldn't sell the show out in Philly and were even offering good discounts on seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 I kinda wanna see Styles vs Owens and that is about it. I may throw this on in the background while I work sometime this week, but I am not sure I will even do that. I hope Zayn doesn't lose. I hope Rusev doesn't get shined on too much. I also genuinely hope Jinder wins because I not only don't hate his push like some people do, but the whole thing would feel like such an incredible waste of time if he didn't at least make it one math past a randy orton feud. Other than that, not a ton of interest in this (and I more or less like the individual parts of the show). I have been catching up on recent-ish progress shows and that is far more compelling to me right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 I'm expecting a solid, but not spectacular show. It seemed that Orton was actually very invested and gave a fuck about dropping the title to Jinder, but after the initial build and first match, all that fire diminished. I hope that with this always absurd stipulation of the Punjabi Prison, things get better. As for the rest of the card... pretty much all the results seem pretty obvious and/or non-consequential, 'cept for the 5-way (which I hope is not going the way bookies are saying it goes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Wasn't Dillinger vs English the pre show match at the last Smackdown PPV? I doubt there was any development in this angle? Mike Bennett cosplaying a 1992 Shawn Michael with the outfit is just ridiculous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 TBH Dillinger/English is the best possible match for a pre show. Both are great opening acts and are over with the crowds, but it's pretty much their ceiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Actually that was pretty good. Positively surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 Is there a backstory to Dillinger's stupid hairdo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornette's racket Posted July 24, 2017 Report Share Posted July 24, 2017 I think it's fair to say that Randy and jinder will have the best Punjabi prison of the two previous. The two before were hardly **** star classics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornette's racket Posted July 24, 2017 Report Share Posted July 24, 2017 I love that WWE still put the warning at the start of their PPVs even though it's slightly out of date due to the WWE network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.