Smackdown – October 11, 2019 (WWE Draft): Spoiler Alert! And It’s From WWE!
IMG Credit: WWE
Smackdown
Date: October 11, 2019
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
So since we’re starting things new around here, it’s time to reset the roster with the annual Draft. Now that could be interesting this time around as well, with a bunch of non-wrestling celebrities and a big question of who is going to be brought over from Raw. This is only going to be the first half though as things keep going on Raw. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence. Dang that thing looks cool.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
Non-title and Smackdown vs. Raw with the winner’s brand getting the #1 pick. Feeling out process to start with Seth’s headlock being blocked so he goes with a headlock takeover instead. That’s broken up so they head outside with neither being able to hit a big running strike, meaning it’s time to get back inside for the staredown. They start the shoving with Reigns knocking him down and we take a break.
Back with Reigns blocking the Stomp (oh dang that could have been like 1/10th devastating) and hitting a sitout powerbomb for two. Rollins fights back up and sends Reigns outside for back to back suicide dives (the most common move in wrestling these days). The springboard knee to the head sets up the frog splash for two but the Stomp misses again.
Rollins hits the Buckle Bomb but Reigns bounces out of the corner with the Superman Punch. The spear is countered into a Pedigree (same sequence from Money in the Bank 2016) for two….and we’ve got a Fiend. He pulls Rollins down into a hole in the ring with the Mandible Claw but Seth crawls back out as the lights come back on. Fiend pokes his head out and the lights go out again, with Fiend appearing on the stage. I guess that’s a no contest at 14:43 as Reigns must have stepped out for a hot pretzel.
Rating: C. This was just a match but the important thing here is the Fiend. They’re actually keeping the thing going after Rollins beat the Fiend clean via stoppage? Why? There shouldn’t be any rematches in a match after a disaster like that, but picking it up again so soon is a little surprising.
So officially Rollins won via DQ, even though the bell never rang. They really need to work on that stuff.
Here’s Stephanie to announce the first picks from each show. After asking why no one is booing, we get the following picks:
Raw – Becky Lynch
Smackdown – Roman Reigns
Raw – OC
Smackdown – Bray Wyatt
Raw – Drew McIntyre
The expert panel (Samoa Joe, Renee Young, Booker T. and Beth Phoenix) don’t have much to say.
FOX’s Troy Aikman and Joe Buck talk about the importance of being a #1 draft pick, with Aikman saying his finisher would be a piledriver because it has served him sell over the years. Buck: “I’m Joe Buck, and like all of you, I’ve just learned a lot about Troy Aikman.”
King Corbin vs. Shorty Gable
The real sports show has a guy named Shorty. Before the match, Corbin talks about wanting to sit in his castle because the peasants disturb him. They go outside in a hurry with Corbin sending him into the barricade, only to have Gable start back in on the leg. It heads straight back to the floor with Corbin chokeslamming him onto the announcers’ table as we take a break.
Back with Deep Six being countered into a bulldog and the rolling Liger kick sending Corbin outside again. They head back in with Corbin avoiding the moonsault but getting German suplexes for two. Some rolling German suplexes set up the ankle lock to put Corbin in more trouble but he rolls out without much trouble. The End of Days is good for the pin at 9:17.
Rating: D+. I know it’s old news at this point but EGADS WHY ARE THEY CALLING AN OLYMPIAN SHORTY??? This is just infuriating at this point as you have someone who could be a solid midcard (if not more) talent and you give him a name that belongs in a 1930s gangster movie.
The panel from the NFL on FOX pre-game show talk about the importance of building through a draft. They talk about some of their old favorites, including Dusty Rhodes and Bruno Sammartino.
More picks:
Raw – Randy Orton
Smackdown – Sasha Banks
Raw – Ricochet
Smackdown – Braun Strowman
Raw – Bobby Lashley
Unless I missed it, there is no reason given for the male World Champions not being drafted yet.
The panel talks again.
We look at Braun Strowman and Tyson Fury’s issues. They fight at Crown Jewel.
Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a chat. Heyman talks about how WWE is trying to make Brock Lesnar repeat October 23, 2010, when Cain Velasquez conquered Lesnar. Brock has never made an excuse for that because he has no excuse. That brings Heyman to last week, when Lesnar won the WWE Championship and then had to face the ghost of his past. Lesnar embraces his fears because he conquers them, which he will do at Crown Jewel on October 31.
You can roll this clip back in a few weeks and find out that this is a….moment that is being interrupted by Rey Mysterio and Velasquez. Rey shows us some stills of Velasquez massacring Lesnar in their UFC fight and busting him open, leaving a scar on Lesnar’s face. Cain promises to give him a matching scar on the other cheek at Crown Jewel.
New Day brings out two sisters, one of whom survived breast cancer. They get pink title belts for a nice moment.
New Day vs. OC
Gallows knocks Woods down to start and it’s a double teaming on the floor to make it even worse. We take a break fifteen seconds in and come back with Kofi coming in off the hot tag to clean house, including the Boom Drop to Styles. The high crossbody gives Kofi two and everything breaks down. Woods hits the big flip dive onto Anderson and Gallows and Kofi dropkicks AJ. The Calf Crusher is broken up but AJ rolls Kofi up for two. The fireman’s carry backbreaker is countered as well and it’s Trouble in Paradise to pin Styles at 6:20.
Rating: C-. That was barely enough to rate but egads man. The entire point of having Anderson and Gallows out there is to take a fall here and let Kofi get some momentum back. I could go for Kofi vs. AJ, but there is a real chance that isn’t going to be the case given the Draft.
More picks:
Raw – Alexa Bliss
Smackdown – Lacey Evans
Raw – Kevin Owens
Smackdown – Revival
Raw – Natalya
Raw – Viking Raiders
Smackdown – Lucha House Party
Raw – Nikki Cross
Smackdown – Heavy Machinery
Raw – Street Profits
The panel gets in one more chat.
NFL analyst Jay Glazer lets us know that trades are possible.
Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Charlotte
Charlotte is defending. Bayley has cut her hair and doesn’t have it in a ponytail anymore, plus has a new theme. She also doesn’t dance on the way to the ring….but she does pull out an ax and DESTROYS THE BAYLEY BUDDIES! Bayley starts fast and gets knocked right back down. They head outside instead with Charlotte being sent into the steps and we take an early break.
Back with Bayley grabbing a headlock to keep Charlotte in trouble. That’s broken up with Bayley being sent outside for a slingshot dive and it’s time to start in on the knee. Some kicks to the leg put Bayley on the floor and Charlotte hits a moonsault off the barricade. Back in and Bayley grabs a quick Bayley to Belly for two, followed by the top rope elbow for the same. Bayley freaks out and gets caught with Natural Selection, but the Figure Eight is countered into a small package to give Bayley the pin and the title at 11:25.
Rating: C-. The match was nothing but thank goodness they got Charlotte another title reign of five days so she can be a ten time champion. Bayley’s heel turn was a very hard one and that’s a good thing in her case. It didn’t make a ton of sense for her to be upset and then come dancing out there so making her a harder heel is the right move. Not as right as giving her the title back, but a right one nonetheless.
Post match, Bayley grabs the mic and says “B******. Screw all of you!” Well that’s a hard shift.
Overall Rating: C-. It didn’t have the energy that last week’s did but it also felt like they had a point, which is a good sign. It’s still not a very good show but you can tell that it’s a big deal and thankfully the FOX celebrities didn’t sound like buffoons who were miserable to be there. Things can settle down next week, though hopefully that makes the show more interesting as it just seems like a regular show on a bigger budget.
Oh and as a bonus: WWE managed to spoil the Draft order on their own website yesterday. Check this out:
Results
Seth Rollins b. Roman Reigns via DQ when the Fiend interfered
King Corbin b. Shorty Gable – End of Days
New Day b. OC – Trouble in Paradise to Styles
Bayley b. Charlotte – Small package
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at: