By Kyle Combs
I gotta be real with y’all, I have failed you the past couple of weeks, no excuses I should’ve been here with the recaps, but I am back. Did we find out the identity of the hacker? Do I need to put anymore click bait stuff here? I absolutely can, anyway, let’s get our Smackdown on.
Miz TV - Special Guest Otis
If you weren’t aware, Otis is Mr. Money in the Bank. Otis jumped the gun a little bit and came out before being properly introduced by the Miz. Otis broke the chair when he sat down and that was epic. Otis has the contract, some rolaids and some gas x as well as a bratwurst in there in case he gets hungry later. Miz and Morrison dig into his personal life a little bit and they make quite a bit of fun of him, they said he looked pregnant and should relenquish the briefcase like Becky did with the title.
Otis is seriously the best, he took a bunch of crap from Miz and Morrison, this was kind of a roasting and it got real personal. Miz has had enough, he asked for Tucker so they could have a tag match, Tucker isn’t available he has some issues in the Oregon Trail if you know what I’m sayin’, so Otis needs a tag team partner.
Elias vs. Corbin - IC Title Tournament Match
WWE has to make this belt have meaning again, I’m not saying Shinsuke wasn’t a great champ but the whole thing with him being a part of Sami Zayn and Cesaro took quite a bit away from it. This match started hot with Elias going at him early, Corbin stuck to the power game. Corbin grabbed the guitar and taunted Cole with it, why does every large person taunt Cole? Elias took that as an opportunity to attack and get back on control, they stayed outside most of the match.
Corbin was in control after the commercial and maintained that, he wailed on Elias over the announce table. Corbin continued his assault over and over going for the pinfall but Elias kept kicking out. No real big bumps, I expected a little more intensity between these two given how the past few weeks have gone. Corbin landed clothesline after clothesline, one chokeslam after another, Elias wouldn’t stay down. Corbin got frustrated and obliterated the guitar which means a lot to Elias as you know. Elias rolled Corbin up after witnessing the brutal murder of his guitar over the ring post and got the three count after delivering a knee to the chin.
Otis and Sheamus Backstage
Otis asked Sheamus to be his tag team partner, Sheamus went along with it, got the big man excited but he said “not a chance.”
Otis and Mandy Backstage
Otis is stressed, but his peach was there to help calm him down. Otis was having a hard time getting someone to join up with him, Mandy suggested asking Braun Strowman and the hacker interrupted. The hacker is everywhere and sees everyone and sees everything. No one is safe, according to them and the truth will be heard. Like an old Saturday Night Live skit, this is getting tired and the reveal needs to happen.
Otis and Braun Backstage
Braun asked him if he was asking him to be his partner or to get him in the ring so he can cash in, Braun said he’d think about it. There’s nobody more honest than Otis, except an infant.
Naomi vs. Dana Brooke
Naomi looked for revenge in this match, Dana is the woman who she lost to missing the money in the bank match. Naomi was laser focused, Dana tried to overpower her but the technical moves of Naomi kept her slippery. She gained confidence but got too confident and allowed Dana to roll her up for a three count. This one ended in a hurry! Naomi was frustrated. So we can see what WWE is doing here, we know Bayley’s reign is coming to an end and I have to believe that there is big plans in store for Naomi, she can’t be completely taken out of the picture right?
Charlotte Flair Promo
The wild card rule….brand to brand invitational is in full effect. Sorry, got a little confused. Bayley didn’t give a flying crap about anything Charlotte had to say, she and the boss interrupted the promo. Bayley went for the throat, told Charlotte she doesn’t belong, to go back to NXT and be the queen or go back to Raw and beat Liv Morgan over and over again. Bayley told Charlotte to get the hell out of their ring.
Charlotte ignored Bayley, said Sasha was the reason she was a champion. Charlotte finally said what we’ve all been saying. She asked if Sasha was content standing in the corner, standing in the shadow of Bayley. Bayley said, enough talk she was ready for a fight. Charlotte accepted the challenge, Sasha had a lot on her mind, the turn is coming folks. Charlotte asked flat out if Sasha was happy being Bayley’s lackey or being her own woman. Sasha also had a shade of purple in her blue hair, not just a turn on Bayley but a babyface run coming? Let’s hope.
Backstage with Charly
A glistening Braun Strowman was warming up with resistance bands and was remarkably sweaty, Charly asked if this was a sign of him going to join Otis, Braun said he was thinking about it.
The Forgotten Sons Promo
They cut a promo about how they were treated upon returning from overseas, they were mistreated and promised to welcome their opponents with closed fists.
Renee Young with Miz and Morrison backstage
They were asked by Renee how they felt about Otis trying to recruit Braun, they said he was called Braun and not brain and then they did their new day impression and skidaddled the hell off the camera.
Daniel Bryan vs. Gulak - IC Title Tournament Match
They started with a handshake, these guys didn’t hold back. Cole kept referring to this match as a technical masterpiece and that’s what we got. Two guys that are incredible with grappling and with the mat work. The first major bump came a few minutes in, Gulak reversed Bryan, tossing him over the top rope and bouncing his face off the ring apron.
Neither man was in a hurry, they were engaged in a great battle on the mat with Bryan getting the best out of the majority of exchanges. Gulak maintained control after the bump and the commercial break. Bryan landed three shin breakers, after the third Gulak was hurting, he hit a dragon screw, Bryan rolled through and hit a dragon screw of his own. Bryan landed a perfect German suplex before Gulak could rope break after the dragon screw, awesome back and forth wrestling. Bryan went for another suplex but was reversed as Gulak rolled him up he almost got the three count.
Gulak pounded Bryan into the mat with a sick driver and somehow Bryan kicked out. Gulak went right back on top and dominated the backside of Bryan. Gulak attempted a suplex, Bryan rolled through and the speed went into overdrive, off the ropes, Bryan landed an epic suplex using Gulak’s own momentum against him. Bryan attempted a running knee, Gulak rolled through and planted him with a power bomb, Bryan kicked out of the jack knife and rolled for a pinfall attempt of his own, Gulak rolled out and applied the dragon sleeper to Bryan in the middle of the ring.
Somehow Bryan rolled through, he attempted the yes lock, Gulak rolled through, this got insane! Bryan twisted and slammed Gulak’s knee into the mat and rolled into a heel hook. Bryan rolled him to the middle of the ring, Gulak tapped out giving Bryan the win. Match of the night for sure. This was truly incredible, these guys put on a hell of a show.
Daniel Bryan promo
Daniel Bryan wants the title to mean something, he wants it to belong to the best wrestler in WWE, him. He and Gulak shook hands and shared a perfect bro hug in the ring.
Sonya and Dolph backstage
Sonya promises to humiliate Mandy and Otis in the mix tag team match next week on Smackdown. Sonya continues to cut some serious fire promos, why has this woman been held back for so long? We know Dolph is stellar in the ring and on the mic, him and Sonya are an amazing team. Sonya got real personal, saying Mandy will be in a double wide with a bunch of little kids running around, and she has a lot of plans still, Sonya wants to ruin her life and promises to do it.
Miz and Morrison vs. Otis and Braun Strowman
Miz and Morrison kept up the badgering and giving him hell before Braun decided to show up, that shut them up pretty quick. Morrison goes for the belly early and we all know that thing has a mind of its own so it was ineffective. Morrison tried to out power Otis, as you can imagine, that did not work well. It worked about as well as Braun doing the worm, he tried though.
Miz took control during the commercial with an eye poke to Otis. Miz stayed on him with his bedazzled tights, he wore the big man down. Otis had Miz on his back, he tried to tag Braun in, Miz took him back to his corner and tagged Morrison in. Otis got a second wind and landed a double suplex on Miz and Morrison, he was able to tag the Strowman express in and he came in like a freight train and cleaned house.
Braun threw Miz out of the ring and greased up the wheels and chased Morrison around the ring, Morrison got the hell out and jumped over the barricade, so Miz ate the Strowman express. Braun got Miz back in the ring and charged him in the corner, Morrison drug him out of the way and tagged himself back in, he had a short lived blast of offense but Braun just outmuscled him and slammed him in the ring and gained the three count.
Mandy came out after the match as Braun and Otis celebrated together. This was an effort to distract Braun, Otis snuck up on him but Braun caught him. Otis said it was just for a laugh, and it seemed to be true, I mean it’s Otis for God sake.
Two of the matches were really good, the main event and Bryan vs. Gulak. This was a mediocre episode, the hacker needs to be revealed sooner rather than later, Sasha needs to turn. The women’s division needs a mid card title on each show, it’s ridiculous that there’s only one, things would be a lot more interesting.