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SmackDown Live review (Dec. 12, 2017): 3 takeaways

By Christopher Novak

Credit: WWE.com
Credit: WWE.com /
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We’re five days away from Clash of Champions. How did SmackDown Live play its finale out?

SmackDown Live made its final stop before Clash of Champions in Cincinnati, Ohio on Tuesday night. The blue brand, five days away from its final Network event of 2017, put together a pretty solid show. There were high points, there were some hit-or-miss moments, but the main angle continues to hit the point home.

Let’s look over some noteworthy moments from the episode:

  • AJ Styles didn’t fall for The Singh Brothers’ tricks, but wound up paying for it anyway. The Singhs (who’ve delivered in this run, no doubt about it) tried to play it like they were done with Mahal. However, Styles had the receipts, showing that they were at Jinder’s side during the India tour. Later on in the show, “The Phenomenal One” was attacked by Mahal. Styles is probably going to win Sunday, and it will be intriguing to see what’s next after. For both men, really.
  • The Bludgeon Brothers did it again, rolling over another pair of jobbers. One jobber is a notable fellow. You might remember Colin Delaney of WWECW fame. Delaney was one of the two competitors who were on the receiving end of the thumping handed out by Harper and Rowan. And the other? Well, the other let out a blood-curdling scream. No lie: You have to love character work like that. It was also absolutely hilarious. Harper and Rowan are going to face Breezango, meanwhile, at Clash of Champions this Sunday.  
  • Bobby Roode got revenge from last week. Roode attacked both Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler during their match tonight. This came a week after Ziggler did the same to both Roode and Corbin. They seem to be going through the motions in this U.S. Title feud. The hope, here, is that the match on Sunday usurps expectations and, maybe, something dramatic happens.
  • Every single match, besides the one with the Bludgeon Brothers, had someone on commentary. Holy overkill, Batman.

And now, our takeaways for the Dec. 12 episode of SmackDown Live.

Credit: WWE.com
Credit: WWE.com /

Deja vu

Conceptually, nothing was all that wrong with what happened Tuesday night with the women. Ruby Riott and Charlotte wrestled in a stirring match. Natalya got her licks in. The Riott Squad beat up on the Women’s Champion (but conspicuously, not Nattie). Naomi came back, ran roughshod, hit an AMAZING double dropkick and looked awesome. Tamina, Lana and Carmella then sent Liv, Sarah and Ruby packing.

However, if that all sounds familiar… it’s because it was.

On RAW, Paige, Sonya and Mandy got their licks in on pretty much everyone. Then, they tried to poke a bear (Asuka) which led to the entire locker room coming out. The entire RAW women’s division then took offense to Absolution, and took a stand against them.

On SmackDown Live, the entire locker room (sans Natalya) took offense to The Riott Squad and took a stand against them.

There have been a few micro-level differences between the two stables. Their motivations are certainly different. The buildups have been different. But goodness, the similarities are growing to be a bit TOO obvious. Some originality wouldn’t hurt anybody. In this case, thankfully, things will be different on Sunday during Charlotte and Natalya’s match (which, hopefully, will bring the end of this program). But Tuesday night was deja vu all over again.