Skip to content
Sports
Link copied to clipboard

WWE Smackdown Live results and observations (10/10/17): Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn shall be friends forever

Smackdown Live didn't have the hoopla of a Shield reunion like Raw did, but it was still a very good show that set the brand's course coming out of the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

One notable absence from the program, however, was WWE champion Jinder Mahal.  I figured that Tuesday would have been prime time for him to boast about retaining his championship at Hell in a Cell, but that was not the case.

Before I delve into my full analysis, here are the full match results from the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.:

- Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin def. The Hype Bros, The Ascension & Breezango

- Becky Lynch def. Carmella

- Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton def. Rusev & Aiden English

- WWE United States championship – Baron Corbin def. AJ Styles

Corbin takes down Styles

In what was perhaps the biggest victory of his career to date, Corbin defeated Styles in clean fashion to retain his newly won United States championship.

Corbin's victory accomplishes multiple things. Firstly, it cemented Corbin as a man worthy of carrying the United States title. Secondly, and probably most importantly, it completely removes Styles from contending for that title. Maybe this can now free him up to potentially challenge for the WWE title.

Thirdly, Corbin's win should put to rest all of the talk of Corbin being punished and taught a lesson for something he did behind the scenes.

Corbin failed in his Money in the Bank cash-in attempt, but is the United States champion after beating Styles less than two months later. Something is not quite adding up.

I thought the match Corbin and Styles had Tuesday was very good. Styles is seemingly incapable of having even a subpar match no matter who he is in the ring with, but that doesn't mean Corbin doesn't deserve at least some credit for his role in the match as well.

Corbin has had quality matches in the past, especially with people that are smaller than him. He simply seems to have good chemistry with people of that ilk and he showcased that yet again Tuesday night.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens = Friends forever

In what is one of the most compelling angles in quite some time, Zayn and Owens executed their time on Smackdown Live to near perfection.

Owens began the segment by boasting about defeating Shane McMahon at Hell in a Cell by getting all biblical on us. He even referred to Zayn as his guardian angel.

Owens the introduced Zayn, who did his usual jaunt to the ring, but did it with a hint of arrogance.

Owens thanked Zayn for pulling him off the announce table before McMahon came crashing down on top of him at Hell in a Cell and then allowed Zayn to explain his actions.

Everything Zayn said was not only splendidly executed, but it all made perfect sense, especially if you have been following the story intently. For the first time in what seems like forever, WWE rewarded its fans for paying attention to the details.

Zayn began by saying that he always did things the right way, but it got him nothing but mediocrity.

He said that he realized that he didn't necessarily hate Owens, but hated the fact that he could never achieve what his former friend did by doing things the right way.

Zayn then said that McMahon promised to utilize him correctly on Smackdown Live after he was grossly under-utilized during his time on Raw. However, once he got to Smackdown Live, McMahon failed to live up to his promises.

Then, when Zayn tried to warn McMahon about what Owens was capable of, McMahon blew him off.

That was when Zayn apparently realized that McMahon never cared about him and that Owens was right all along, and decided to help him at Hell in a Cell.

Zayn said that although he and Owens have been bitter enemies at times, at the end of the day, they are brothers, and he merely saved his brother from certain doom at Hell in a Cell.

In his mind, he did the absolute right thing.

Zayn and Owens showed the world that they are indeed on one accord, as the segment ended.

WWE is not afraid to leave gaping holes of logic in their stories, but with this, I can't find any. On top of that, I thought Zayn and Owens performed this segment in spectacular fashion.

The Usos, New Day found common ground

Although they were bitter rivals entering Hell in a Cell, The Usos and The New Day came out of their brutal encounter with a newfound respect for each other.

Both teams showcased that respect on Smackdown Live and even agreed to a truce.

I must say that The Usos were fantastic here. They have been fantastic since they turned heel last year, but their promo Tuesday night was probably their best one to date, in my opinion.

One of the things both teams agreed upon in their mutual respect summit was that the rest of the tag team division was not on their level.

Of course, that drew the ire of the other teams, who all made their way to the ring to stake their claim as the next ones in line for the Smackdown Tag Team titles, which meant The New Day are seemingly out of the picture despite WWE typically granting former champions rematches. It even happened in the main event with Styles.

But if WWE is going to break its own rule, this is one of the instances it should be done, as Hell in a Cell was the only logical conclusion to the Usos-New Day rivalry. It should not go any further.

Eventually, a feisty Smackdown Live general manager Daniel Bryan walked out and booked the teams not named The Usos or The New Day in a fatal four-way with the winners earning a shot at the titles.

Gable and Benjamin came out the winners. Gable and Benjamin versus The Usos should be a ton of fun.

The Bludgeon Brothers are here

A tag team that was not involved in that four-way was the Bludgeon Brothers.

Who are they, you ask? That is the new collective name for Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, who have both been off of Smackdown Live television for quite some time.

The logical thing for WWE to do with them was to put them back together as a team, but this is definitely a new spin on what they were before, which were members of the Wyatt Family.

Now, it looks like they are going to carry around mallets and possibly bludgeon people to death.

Either way, I'm ready to see Rowan and Harper together again and it is nice to see Smackdown Live receive some much-needed depth in its tag team division.

Vaughn Johnson has a podcast with Nick Piccone called the Straight Shooters on WildfireRadio.com. Check it out here HERE.