Tuesday Night Smackdown! Live TV Report for September 6th, 2016 – “Who ‘Runs The Place?’”

Introduction Segment: Video and Arena Promo

The regular Smackdown! Live video plays and then we are live right away in the arena of Lincoln, Nebraska! Mauro Ranallo welcomes us, and in the ring is General Manager Daniel Bryan. He has the Women’s Championship displayed on a table, and the ring is decorated in a blue carpet. He talks about the Women’s Six-Pack Challenge for the title at this Sunday’s Backlash Network Show, and then introduces the forum featuring the women in that match.

He asks Becky Lynch to come out first, and she thought that he would call for Nikki, his real-life sister-in-law. Bryan does take the moment to promote the new Bellas TV show on E!, starting October 5th (just like I did!), but surprisingly, the crowd boos. He moves on and Lynch vows to become the Women’s Champion for Smackdown!

Natalya, Alexa, and Carmella saunter out and team-up against Becky, but Naomi and Nikki run out for backup. A small brawl ensues, and Becky, Naomi, and Nikki clear the ring.

Segment #2: Backstage Promo

WWE World Champion Dean Ambrose detests the coffee and pours a lot more sugar into it, and then hands it over to an assistant. Ambrose and A.J. will meet in the ring tonight!

Commercials.

Segment #3: Office Promo

Commissioner Shane McMahon and GM Bryan are discussing the women’s situation when Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and his wife Maryse, interrupt. He is not pleased with having to defend his title against Dolph Ziggler this Sunday at Backlash, but Daniel orders him to do that or surrender the championship right now. Miz’s music plays and he’s wrestling now!

Match #1: Single – Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with Maryse) VS. Apollo Crews (Non-Title)

(Note: Dolph Ziggler is on commentary.)

Miz waistlocks Crews and then turns into a side-headlock, but Apollo shoves him off of the ropes and gives him a shoulder-block. Crews waistlock-slams Miz a couple of times, and then reverses a backdrop-try later. He leapfrogs a couple of times, and then moonsaults from the apron-to-the-floor onto Miz!

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Apollo is battling back with a punch and a roll-up, but Miz kicks out and gives him a backbreaker and neckbreaker! 1 – 2 – Crews gets his shoulder up! He presses his knee against Apollo’s head in the turnbuckle and then snapmares him into a surfboard-stretch. Miz tries again for the backbreaker/neckbreaker combo, but is blocked. He regains control with a run and then climbs the turnbuckle, diving right into Apollo’s overhead-belly-to-belly suplex!

Crews fires up with leaping-clotheslines and a kick-up, but Miz wiggles out of another move. He hits Dolph on the outside and then shoves Apollo into Dolph, and then into the ring post. He drags Apollo into the ring and drives him down with the Skull-Krushing Finale and then covers for the victory!

Winner via Pinfall: Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with Maryse)

Post-match, Ziggler holds onto Miz’s IC title, but Miz has Maryse collect it, much to Dolph’s disbelief.

Segment #4: Backstage Promo

Rene Young interviews A.J. Styles about his opponent for Sunday, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose. A.J. slams his fists on the desk and wants to know who gave Rene the video of last week’s ending where Dean crotched Styles on the ropes. He berates the technician he thinks did it and appears frustrated.

Commercials.

Segment #5: Video Promo

Highlights of American Alpha’s quest to become Smackdown! Live’s first Tag Team Champions plays.

Segment #6: Backstage Promo

The Usos are questioned about their opponents for the semi-finals in the Tag-Team Championship Tournament, American Alpha. Jimmy and Jey declare their “respect” for Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, but predict they will be the ones to come out on top.

Segment #7: Video Promo

Bray Wyatt talks about the difference between the “Apex Predator” and mankind. He compares this to himself and Randy Orton, who he will wrestle at Sunday’s Backlash.

Nikki Bella makes her entrance, and the six-woman tag bout will take place next!

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Match #2: Six-woman tag team – Nikki Bella, Becky Lynch, and Naomi VS. Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and Carmella

Alexa and Naomi begin, with Alexa slapping Naomi, who rapid-bicycle-kicks back! Bliss tags in Carmella, who is waistlock slammed and clamped in a front facelock. Becky is in and avoids some of Carmella’s moves. She almost takes this with a backslide, ducks a clothesline, and sunset-flips her for two! She switches with Nikki, who has to chase Carmella out of the ring!

Commercials.

Becky is back in and controlling Carmella with an Exploder suplex! 1 – 2 – Carmella kicks out! Natalya and Alexa help Carmella take advantage over Lynch, and then Carmella punches away on Becky back in the ring. They work over Becky for a while, wishbone-leg-splitting her too! Alexa presses Lynch against the middle rope with her knee and then stomps on the back-of-the-head of Becky, and then wears on her with a grounding rear chinlock.

Lynch fights back with a punches and inside-cradle, but is taken over again. She rolls Natalya up in another inside-cradle, but Natalya gets out of it and stretches Becky. She whips Lynch off of the ropes, but Becky kicks back and rolls-up Natalya for a near-fall! Natalya drags Lynch away to prevent the hot-tag, but Alexa is in and misses an elbow; Becky manages the hot-tag to Nikki!

Bella cleans house on Alexa, but Bliss jawbreaks back to switch with Carmella. Nikki capitalizes with her T.K.O.-finisher (Fireman’s-Carry Cutter), and this breaks down with all women hitting moves/finishers. Nikki and Carmella are left, where Carmella clutches Bella in her “Code of Silence” necklock, forcing Nikki to give in!

Winners via Submission: Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and Carmella

Later tonight Rhyno and Slater will take on The Hype Bros in the Tag-Team Championship Tournament, and up next, The Usos face American Alpha in the same Tournament!

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Match #3: Tag-Team – The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) VS. American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable)

(Note: Tag-Team Championship Tournament, Semi-Final)

Both teams shake hands, and then The Usos suddenly hammer away on Alpha to boos! This breaks down quickly, and Jason and Chad out-smart the twins, catching them in their double-team finisher and the 1 – 2 – 3!

Winners via Pinfall and ADVANCING: American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable)

Post-match, the two teams shake hands again, but Jimmy and Jey turn, assaulting both Jordan and Gable. They appear to injure Chad’s knee with a jumping-kick and the Uso-Splash from the top turnbuckle.

Commercials.

Segment #8: Backstage Promo

Randy Orton is asked about Bray Wyatt’s words earlier. Randy wants to equal Bray’s, so he talks about a snake, a rabbit, and a man, and says the snake gets the better of both, mainly because of the man’s “over-confidence.”

Segment #9: Arena Promo

Fandango is without Tyler Breeze tonight and tries to get another woman to dance with him. She doesn’t dance to his standards, and he wants another partner. A burst of pyro comes from the stage and out walks “The Big Red Machine;” He chokeslams Fandango instead of dancing with him, and then mocks Fandango’s dance before going to the back.

Segment #10: Backstage Promo

A.J. Styles is angered at a backstage person who he thinks is taking pictures of him. He takes the man’s phone and hurls it against the wall.

Segment #11: Video Promo

The video from Raw for Connor’s Cure/The V Foundation plays.

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Segment #12: Video Promo

Curt Hawkins will be returning soon.

Match #4: Tag-Team – The Hype Bros (Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley) VS. Heath Slater and Rhyno

(Note: Tag-Team Championship Tournament, Semi-Final)

Heath starts out with Ryder and is soon governed by both Ryder and Rawley. They double team Slater and Rhyno for the first bit.

Commercials.

Rawley is still wearing down Heath with a grounding rear-chinlock. He whips Slater into the corner, but misses a running splash! Heath gets the hot-tag to Rhyno, who dominates over Zack! He almost gets this with a spinebuster, but Mojo broke up the pin attempt! Rhyno clotheslines Rawley on the outside and Heath celebrates, but Ryder takes advantage with a roll-up for a very-near-fall! He lines up Slater for the Broski Boot, but Slater moves and switches again with Rhyno, who Gores (spears) Zack and takes this!

Winners and ADVANCING: Heath Slater and Rhyno

Segment #13: Backstage Promo

After replays of The Usos’ attack on American Alpha, Rene announces that Commissioner Shane has said Jason Jordan and Chad Gable’s participation in the finals of the Tag Team Championship Tournament on Sunday at Backlash is “questionable.”

Jimmy and Jey interrupt her and rip on the fans for suddenly cheering on a new team in American Alpha after their six-year time in the WWE. They say they tried to do it with “respect,” but that is over now.

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Segment #14: Arena Promo

WWE World Champion Dean Ambrose and A.J. Styles face each other in the ring. Ambrose give A.J. a “participation trophy” from his bowling, as “that’s the only trophy you’re going to get from me.” A.J. retorts that he’s not a joke, but Dean shows footage of last week when Styles was bounced on the ropes by him.

“The Phenomenal One” proclaims that he doesn’t “want you to hand me anything,” and that he will “beat you at Backlash.” A.J. touts his “phenomenal” (pun-intended on my part) match with John Cena at SummerSlam, and says that John treated Styles sternly in their contest.

Dean goes off on how A.J. has to earn the WWE World Championship at Backlash, because they “don’t hand out trophies to ‘the face who comes in second place.’” Styles responds with a kick-to-the-groin, and then breaks the bowling trophy over a bent-over Ambrose to close the show.

End of Smackdown! Live.

Reporter’s Rumblings

This was a pretty-good Smackdown! Live; not as great as previous, as I felt there was too much talk versus action, but I also understand that in a way, since they were building for Backlash.

Excellence: promos by Bryan/Becky/Natalya/Alexa/Carmella, Bray, Randy, The Usos (heel), and A.J. Matches between Miz/Crews, Six-Women, and Hype Bros/Heath/Rhyno.

Loving the Women’s Division right now as they are all participating extremely-well, both on the mike and in the ring. Them and the Tag-Division are the best of Smackdown! currently!

The Miz has really stepped it up again on the mike and in the ring; love the slimy/cowardly act of making Maryse get his I.C. Title! A.J.’s seriousness is perfect and that is what he is/should be all about. Like The Uso’s heel turn, and the scenario with American Alpha.

Bogus: promos by Dean backstage, Fandango, and Curt Hawkins (don’t see him succeeding.). I was looking forward to Usos/American Alpha as a great match/main-event for the night, but after the angle, I’m ok with how it turned out.

Dolph on commentary – thought he talked the same way he usually does, which right now is hard to believe in his words, and I want him back in the main-event too, as that fire he had prior to Summerslam was much better and more believable.

Backlash Predictions: Naomi for the upset and to become the first Smackdown! Women’s Champion; Usos to viciously attack Heath and then win over Rhyno for the Tag-Team Championships – this will then give Slater a chance to protest not getting a contract, and Shane/Bryan giving him another chance; Miz needs to win to continue his personality; Orton/Bray no contest to go into October’s Pay-Per-View; Dean wins as his current personality fits him better as a champion then a chaser.

Until next week’s Raw, enjoy Backlash for those who are watching, and Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Fans!