Smackdown – April 11, 2017: The Ugly Stepchild of WWE
Smackdown
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April 11, 2017
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield
Randy Orton vs. Erick Rowan
Rowan gives Orton a full nelson slam.
Post match the Shining Stars run in and leave American Alpha laying.
Mojo Rawley vs. Jinder Mahal
Rob Gronkowski is in the front row again. Mahal starts fast and takes Rawley down for a kneedrop and armbar. Jinder makes the mistake of going after Gronkowski though and gets a cup thrown on him, allowing Mojo to take him back inside. The running right hand puts Jinder away at 2:41. At least it was short.
Mojo celebrates with some New England Patriots.
Sin Cara and Rusev (no mention of Lana) are coming to Smackdown.
Aiden English vs. Tye Dillinger
Tye gets the important things out of the way first with a snapmare and cartwheel into TEN. English takes him into the corner and sings that this is his show. The Tyebreaker is good for the pin on English at 2:20.
Video on AJ Styles.
Video on Baron Corbin.
New Day is coming to Smackdown. Now that helps things a lot.
Video on Sami Zayn.
Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin
The winner gets a US Title shot at some point after Payback. Styles and Zayn go after Corbin to start but he suplexes both of them at once without much effort. A double clothesline sends Corbin outside, leaving us with a Zayn vs. Styles showdown. Corbin pulls Styles to the floor but Sami moonsaults onto both of them as we take a break. Back with Corbin in full control, hitting a side slam and big boot for two on Styles.
AJ grabs the Hoshi Geroshi on Sami but gets blasted by a clothesline from Corbin to put all three down. Corbin takes a knee to the face and Sami grabs the Blue Thunder Bomb for two on AJ. Baron gets back up for one heck of a Deep Six on Sami with AJ making the save. The springboard 450 gets two on Corbin with Sami making a last second save this time around. That earns him a Pele kick but the Clash is backdropped to the apron. The Helluva Kick drops Corbin, only to have AJ hit the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin on Sami at 16:42.
Rating: B. Corbin is getting better and better every single week and working with people like AJ and Sami is only going to help him even more. AJ winning is a bit of a surprise but he immediately elevates the US Title. I do wonder who is next for Orton after this as you would think AJ would have been a good choice for the next challenger after Wyatt.
Results
Randy Orton b. Erick Rowan via DQ when Rowan used the steps
Usos b. American Alpha – Superfly Splash to Gable
Mojo Rawley b. Jinder Mahal – Running punch
Tye Dillinger b. Aiden English – Tyebreaker
AJ Styles b. Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn – Phenomenal Forearm to Zayn
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