Put up or Shut up – Smackdown Live WM33 Go Home Show – 3/28/17

Forgive my tardiness, I thought I had already posted this one.

There’s a major difference between Raw and Smackdown.  Raw seems content to coast its way into Wrestlemania.  Smackdown wants you so excited you hop in the car on Tuesday and just head for Orlando already.  This show was awesome, and loaded with good stuff.  The Hulu version of Raw this week was 90 minutes, Smackdown could only be condensed to 81 minutes.  Remember, Smackdown is only a two hour broadcast, so 81 minutes is reasonably what was televised, every minute of it, even the 9 minute reading of the Wrestlemania match card.  And honestly, we’re going to do this one a little differently because holy crap…..

So Long PG Era, John Cena said the “P” word

John Cena flexed the biggest muscle he has, his mouth.  If you needed anyone to remind you of just why John Cena is who and where he is, this promo solidified it.  John Cena verbally tore Miz and Maryse new assholes and made them look completely pathetic.  Following another “lost episode” of Total Bellas, Cena and Nikki stormed down and Cena just laid into a promo the likes of which I don’t recall seeing since The Rock and Stone Cold went back and forth….and Miz just stood there and took it.  Proposal, no proposal, I do not give a damn at this point, I just want to see this match.  I want the culmination of what has easily been Miz’s best year ever meeting with a revitalized and supercharged John Cena.  This could be the main event with nothing on the line but pride and I’d be completely on board.

Teddy Long Booking 2.0 Feels the Glow

So a match was scheduled for Becky Lynch to take on Carmella.  We get started on that, then realize that Alexa and Mickie are on commentary for the match.  Rest assured that your expectation that they would become involved in the match is correct, as the ref calls the match for a DQ but a commercial break return reveals all four women are now in a tag team match, which features Becky and Mickie taking on Alexa and Carmella.  That one doesn’t go long either before Natalya gets involved from commentary.  At this point, Naomi appears, cleans house and announces she’s in for Wrestlemania.  Welcome back champ.

Yes, that’s me during Naomi’s entrance.

Bray Wyatt takes on Luke Harper in a non-title match

It’s not really going to come as a shock to you, but I’m a huge Luke Harper fan.  Now that Luke Harper is in significantly better shape than he was for a while there, it appears that the brass at WWE are too.  Bray Wyatt gets the win and seems all super creepy, but let’s not discount how good this match was while it lasted.  Then there was an Undertaker-esque video from Randy Orton.  We’re getting back into some Attitude Era creepy supernatural stuff, and it is finally going to get Bray Wyatt’s character more rounded out.

The Rest of the Show:

• AJ Styles and Shane McMahon had a contract signing where yet another member of the WWE reminds us that AJ Styles is the single greatest signing in the history of the company.
• 10 Man Tag Match featured 10 Smackdown Superstars entering the Andre the Giant MBR.  The good guys win, with a great showing from Mojo Rawley in this one.  If the rumor mill is to be believed, Zack Ryder is coming back as a singles competitor, and 2017 could be a big year for the Hyper of the two bros.  Maybe Mojo can pull it out in the AtGMBR.
• Did I mention this show was awesome and kicked Raw’s stagnant ass through a brick wall?

Not their best show, but this week’s 205 Live Featured

• Rich Swann picking up a win over Ariya Daivari.
• Mustafa Ali continued to simply amaze me.  They need to push this guy up the 205 Live card and keep him there.  He’s absolutely incredible.  Ali wins via Pinfall over a jobber.
• The Brian Kendrick beat Tozawa using an exposed turnbuckle to reveal lesson #9 “anything can be used as a weapon.”
• Aries and Neville come to blows, but Neville escapes before The Last Chancery is locked in.

NXT’s go home show, for those of you that didn’t already read the spoilers a month ago:

• Preview of the Triple Threat Tag Team Match – The Revival get the win by pinfall over DIY.
• Another teaser for whatever this Black guy is supposed to be, this one about Almas.  I don’t like this, this didn’t work when they were trying to build excitement for Batista, and it isn’t working for anybody now.  Just put the damn guy in the ring and let’s see if he can cut a promo that doesn’t offer him 100 takes in a dark room.
• Heavy Machinery eat a pair of Jobbers.
• Asuka, Ember and Regal build even more excitement for what could be the match of the weekend.
• Kassius Ohno defeats The Drifter so at least we won’t have to see that on NXT anymore….welcome to Smackdo – Oh, Damn it.
• 8-Person Tag Match Announced for Takeover.  It’s identical to the 6-Man tag from last week with the good guys against Sanity, only the two women have been added this go around.

Holy Crap it’s almost here.