Smackdown episode one thousand and one is in the books, and let’s be honest, it was not as good as last week.  But it was to be expected, you can’t have a celebration smackdown every week.  So, for a cool down episode, it was solid with a couple of good matches.

Kofi vs Big Show

Kofi Kingston went one on one with the Big Show last night… kind of.  By the end of the match, both the New day and The Bar were all fighting in the ring.  Big Show absolutely dominated Kofi, putting him in three or four choke slams, before Big E and Xavier Woods had seen enough.  I am not sure what Big Show’s role is with The Bar yet, but I like the direction it is going.  I think with the Big Show as their “bodyguard”, The Bar will be tag team champions for a while.

The Uso’s continue winning

The Uso’s vs AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan in a re-match from Smackdown 1000, was another great tag team match.  I love that the writers are not letting the Uso’s lose.  They are multiple time tag team champions and they should beat AJ and Bryan as a tag team.  As far as AJ and Bryan, the slow burn of the mutual respect is really starting to heat up.  Last week it was Daniel Bryan that “accidentally” hit AJ to cost them the match, and this week vise versa.  After the match both Bryan and AJ were in an interview segment and both men were frustrated by their performance.  I think next week on the Smackdown prior to Crown Jewel, they will come to blows.  I think this will be a great match and look forward to watching it.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte altercation

It was reported over the weekend that Becky Lynch and Charlotte were involved in an altercation at the performance center for NXT last weekend.  On Smackdown last night, we got to see the video footage of the incident.  Clearly it was a scripted segment, that was evident after the footage.  Charlotte was giving a speech to the up and coming female wrestlers when Becky interrupted and went after Charlotte.  I wasn’t a fan of this segment, and I am still hopeful for a double turn at Evolution this Sunday.

Rusev gets his revenge

Rusev went one on one with Aiden English and totally decimated him.  The match was quick and one-sided with Rusev picking up the submission win.  It would appear that this angle is over.  The rivalry, if we can call it that, was very lame.  I am not sure why they split the tag team.  The rivalry started out hot, with the one night in Milwaukee storyline.  It did not live up to the hype, and ended quicker than it needed to.  At the same time, I don’t think anyone would think Aiden English is a realistic threat to Rusev.  Which in my opinion is why this rivalry has ended so quickly.

The Miz vs Rey Mysterio

Miz TV was how this match came about.  Rey Mysterio was a guest on the show, and of course The Miz used the time to tout himself and call Rey a disappointment.  Rey responded by saying he was disappointed, because he thought he was supposed to be a guest on Truth TV.  That statement made The Miz mad and a match ensued.

The match was actually pretty good, with The Miz in control for most of the match.  But the baby face picked up the win in this match with his patent six one nine finisher.

Crown Jewel

Shane McMahon came out to promote the World Cup tournament at Crown Jewel.  The pay per view that is supposed to take place in Saudi Arabia is not being billed from Saudi Arabia on WWE tv anymore.  Eight days from the event and there have not been any ticket sales and the location of the pay per view has not officially been announced.  It will be interesting to see where it ends up and the backlash of WWE’s decision.  I do not believe it will take place in Saudi Arabia, because it has been reported that both John Cena and Daniel Bryan have said they will not go to Saudi Arabia.  Both men are still being promoted for the pay per view and are in marquee matches.  I am sure we will hear something very soon as to the location.

Main Event

Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton closed the show last night with another great match.  Orton was in control for most of the match, even putting his finger through Hardy’s ear-piercing again.  Hardy was able to get a little offense in and hit some classic moves on Orton, but missed a swanton from the ring apron to the floor.  Hardy hit with a splat, and was never able to recover.  About a minute later, Orton hit Hardy with the RKO to win the match.

Smackdown was fairly basic last night, and it was not going to be anything close to what RAW offered the night before.  RAW was an emotional roller coaster with the Roman Reigns news and the Ambrose turn at the end of the show.  Smackdown had no choice but to go on cruise control last night.  I look for next week to be better because we will have the aftermath of Evolution and the go home show for Crown Jewel.

Tomorrow is the weekly top ten and on Friday, Evolution predictions.  I will continue my favorite wrestler writing very soon.  A lot of news and a lot going on in wrestling right now that needs to be discussed.  I would love to hear your thoughts on anything and everything that is going on in wrestling right now.  Feel free to comment or like this writing and as always, thanks for checking out gohomepwb.com