WWE SmackDown Live Review: Becky vs. Charlotte Bound To Be Brutal

Tonight was the SmackDown Live go-home episode before the pay-per-view Super Shown-Down airs live on the WWE Network this Saturday. Some feuds were fueled well, while others left much more to be desired.

The show opened in the most obvious way, with GM Paige in the ring to address Samoa Joe’s appearance at the Styles’ home. AJ Styles is allegedly not in Portland tonight, and he appears via satellite from his home, insisting it’s more important for him to be with his family. Paige insisted that while trespassing charges were filed against Joe, AJ dropped them in favor of just giving Joe the beating he deserved at Super Show-Down.

… that was it. Neither Joe OR AJ made an in-ring appearance on the last show before their big deal No-DQ match. Granted, this feud has already done a LOT, and it’s been paced excellently. However, you have to be asking yourself why WWE wouldn’t be promoting a match for their biggest championship right before a pay-per-view.

Joe wasn’t even featured, aside from playback of his visit to the Styles home. I’m grateful for all the feud has given us in the passed two to three months, but I’m a little let down.

Credit: WWE.com

Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega lost their bout with The Fabulous Truth. I wish I could say I’m more on board with Fabulous Truth, but they’re falling flat with me. They’re entertaining, simply by virtue that R-Truth is a crowd favorite. Story-wise, you have to know this is going nowhere, and while I feel like I should be able to enjoy it for what it is, it’s not funny enough for me to enjoy it for what it is.

My big, big problem with Fabulous Truth is that it does absolutely nothing for Carmella. Think about when Carmella was a heel during her SmackDown Women’s Championship reign – she got 100% of her heat from her promos, and her promos were gold. She’s a talker, but R-Truth has overshadowed her, and that just doesn’t sit right with me.

Tye Dillinger told Paige he would rather have a match with Randy Orton, who attacked him for seemingly no reason last week during his United States Championship match against Shinsuke Nakamura, than a rematch for the championship. Yeah, that’s right.

The United States Championship is officially irrelevant when WWE takes a performer they acknowledge has never had that kind of opportunity with the company before, and have him be more interested a completely senseless feud instead. The ref yelled “what’re you planning on doing?” to Randy Orton during this match, and that’s exactly the question I have for WWE regarding making Shinsuke and the United States Championship relevant again.

Orton vs. Dillinger was actually a pretty brutal “match” for what it’s worth. Randy got started before the bell even rang, and he had Tye wrapped around the ring post in excruciating pain. The match was a no contest. I’d have preferred a championship opportunity, but to each his own.

Credit: WWE.com

You had to know from the jump that Shelton Benjamin vs. Daniel Brian would turn into Miz and Daniel Bryan getting into it again. Shelton had the upperhand for a decent part of this match. This match actually, by this point in the night, was the highlight, with strong showings from both sides. Adding Miz on commentary took the whole thing over the edge.

Shelton even won! Shelton Benjamin won! Sure Miz interfered, but Shelton won! That should have been the end, but you know WWE. Miz attacks Daniel after the match, ramming him into the announce table and offering him a Skull Crushing Finale.

Asuka faced Peyton Royce before their tag-match at Super Show-Down. After some usual trash talk from the IIconics, the match is evenly matched, with Asuka eventually getting the win via submission. I’m hoping his leads into a big win for the IIconics on their home turf. The IIconics, in my opinion, don’t get the credit on paper for what they put out every week, pure entertainment.

Credit: WWE.com

The Queen is here, everyone. Becky came in hot, championship belt held high for all to see. Becky rightly says she’s the best thing about SmackDown Live, and this of course totally doesn’t go over as a heel promo. It’s so nice to see Becky having fun being the bad guy; it’s just so inspiring to see someone who you can tell is actually enjoying what they do that.

This is really not a heel promo. People want to see Becky on the cover of everything too! In fact, that’s what Becky’s surprise is! Becky brought her own graphics!

Charlotte of course comes out and throws Becky around the ring and is met with a hoard of boos. Charlotte leaves Becky lying in a heap in the ring, clutching onto her title before they meet again this Saturday.

Any segment with Becky in it is good these days, and this one wasn’t much different. It’s hard for me to pin-point what makes Charlotte so unlikable in this feud, whether it’s just that Becky has been so good and so on-point with most things or something else? Either way, this match as Super Show-Down may be there most brutal one yet, and I can’t wait.

What did you think of tonight’s SmackDown Live? What match are you most excited to see at Super Show-Down? Tweet your thoughts to us on Twitter @FansidedDDT or comment them below!