Shenanigans at the AJ Styles Interview
YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP! YEP!#SDLive @FightOwensFight @SamiZayn #YEPMovement pic.twitter.com/56oxJNyu8D
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 10, 2018
Styles sat in the ring across from Renee, Pantene commercial hair and all, and discussed his continuing beef with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. After a few minutes of this, Owens and Zayn couldn’t take anymore and came out on the entrance stage to confront him.
Owens did most of the talking, cutting Styles down, saying he could never beat them. Sami contributed by saying “yep” repeatedly while making smug facial expressions.
All the yeps apparently got Shane McMahon heated, as he then came out to set the main event for the show: a handicap match featuring AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and Shinsuke Nakamura against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
We then saw Shane shaking hands with Daniel Bryan backstage.
Becky Lynch vs. Ruby Riott
.@RubyRiottWWE wasn’t ready for @BeckyLynchWWE‘s ??? as the #RiottSquad member taps to the #DisArmHer! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/sVnNLd6XLI
— WWE (@WWE) January 10, 2018
Naomi and Charlotte came out to stand at ringside in support of Becky Lynch to match the number of women in the Riott Squad. These ladies all have great entrances, but perhaps Ruby’s is a tad colorful/energetic for such a dastardly heel character?
There appeared to be some good back and forth in this match; however, the pancake commercial taking up 3/4ths of the screen was a bit distracting.
I have high hopes for Ruby, I think she is in the top tier of the women’s division in terms of talent. I could easily see her in the title picture sooner rather than later. Riott got in slightly more offense, but The Lass Kicker came back to win the match with her Dis-arm-her.
Winner: Becky Lynch
The Ascension vs. The Bludgeon Brothers
Sleep tight, @ViktorRiseWWE…
The #BludgeonBrothers make quick work of #TheAscension. @ERICKROWAN @LukeHarperWWE @KonnorWWE pic.twitter.com/fOXqepJ2Be
— WWE (@WWE) January 10, 2018
After repeatedly volunteering their friends, Tyler Breeze and Fandango, to be sacrificed to The Bludgeon Brothers, The Ascension finally decided to take them on themselves.
…And were immediately destroyed. And then kicked around a little more while they were down. The end.
Winner: The Bludgeon Brothers
Mojo Rawley vs. Zack Ryder
(w/Bobby Roode at the Announce Table)
Pure AGGRESSION from @MojoRawleyWWE!!! #SDLive #USTitle @ZackRyder pic.twitter.com/Htlzn3qz5U
— WWE (@WWE) January 10, 2018
This was the last first round match of the tournament for Dolph Ziggler’s recently relinquished United States Championship. Former best friends and hype brothers, Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley wasted no time getting physical with each other.
Heel Mojo has been impressive so far with his smack talk and newfound violence in the ring. It wouldn’t be totally unfair to say this was a squash match.
After the match, Roode got into the ring and seemed to give a nod of approval to Rawley before stealing his moment and soaking in the crowd while his glorious theme played Rawley out.
Winner: Mojo Rawley
Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin File a Complaint
#FreeTheTagTitles #SDLive @WWEGable @Sheltyb803 pic.twitter.com/I7IIvY53nn
— WWE (@WWE) January 10, 2018
Gable and Benjamin got on the mics and immediately insulted the crowd with football references, perfect move if you’re trying to get booed in Alabama the night after the championship game.
Then they started trash talking the referee from their match with The Usos, calling him a snitch and a rat, saying they wouldn’t have lost without the instant replay (not untrue, by the way).
Daniel Bryan then made his entrance to set Gable and Benjamin straight, telling them that if they had a problem with the referees, they had a problem with him. He listened to them rant about their loss with an expression I can only describe as an annoyed dad face.
The segment ended with Daniel setting a 2-out-of-3 falls match between The Usos and Benjamin & Gable to take place at the Royal Rumble.
Styles, Orton, Nakamura, & The Championship
Good talk. #SDLive @ShinsukeN @AJStylesOrg @RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/8CQ55NdnXk
— WWE (@WWE) January 10, 2018
After a few moments of Flight of the Valkyries enjoyment, we cut backstage to AJ Styles and Randy Orton discussing the WWE Championship. Orton made it clear that he would be coming for the title, regardless of who was holding it. The King of Strongstyle then sauntered on screen, too sweet-ed the title, and implied that he, too, would be gunning for the top spot.
Breezango vs. Rusev & Aiden English
Cheers of #RusevDay fill the arena and @RusevBUL is FEELING IT!!! @WWEDramaKing @mmmgorgeous @WWEFandango #SDLive pic.twitter.com/kfKS74aN83
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 10, 2018
Rusev and English came to the ring first, where Aiden English announced his and Rusev’s entrance in the Rusev Rumble match on Rusev Day. In song, of course.
Breezango got in some early offense against English; however, the tides changed once Rusev was tagged in. Rusev and English were fairly dominant in this match, but Breezango pulled out the victory at the last second in a somewhat surprising finish.
Winner: Breezango
Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan Backstage
“We’re going to agree to disagree…I’m going to leave you alone.” – @shanemcmahon to @WWEDanielBryan #SDLive pic.twitter.com/6HhwWgm9uc
— WWE (@WWE) January 10, 2018
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon’s partnership continued to deteriorate in this segment. It seems every SmackDown Live episode includes a McMahon/Bryan spat at this point. We’re really hoping this is leading to the ring, but it’s probably best not to get our hopes up.
AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
.@SamiZayn, Canvas. Canvas, @SamiZayn. #SDLive #HandicapMatch @RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/58BhMIikaI
— WWE (@WWE) January 10, 2018
Shane McMahon continued to punish Owens and Zayn by making this handicap match earlier in the evening. Four lengthy (but entertaining) entrances later, the main event was underway.
Owens and Zayn attempted to escape by count out, but Shane came out and forced them back in the match by restarting the match and making it no count out, which prompted Styles and his team to race down the ramp to resume the beatdown.
After a commercial break, all 5 men were back in the ring, where Owens and Zayn appeared to have gained the upper-hand. The match was just starting to get exciting when Owens disqualified himself by using a chair to attack everyone not named Sami Zayn.
But again, Shane McMahon’s music hit. He came to the ramp to say that the match was now no count out and no disqualification and restarted it a second time. This all but secured the victory for Styles, Orton, and Nakamura, who indeed won the match after a few short minutes.
Winner: AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Randy Orton
What letter grade would you give tonight’s show? #SDLive
— Rumble Ramble (@TheRumbleRamble) January 10, 2018
