I took in the Smackdown house show on Sunday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. As tends to be the case, a lot of the arena was empty but given the six of the place (with a seating capacity of 23,500), even an only somewhat full arena is a rather nice turnout. A few more fans came in after the show started so it could have been worse. Let’s get to it.
Becky Lynch
Smackdown – January 8, 2019
Smackdown
Date: January 8, 2019
Location: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips
We’re getting closer to the Royal Rumble and that means a few more matches need to be announced. One of those is the Smackdown Women’s Title match, which will be set tonight. This week will see Charlotte, Carmella and Becky Lynch facing off in a triple threat match with the winner getting the shot at Asuka later this month. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – January 1, 2019
Smackdown
Date: January 1, 2019
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
It’s the first show of the year and we’re taped again, though for the last time here. The big story this week is the return of John Cena, who is making one of his regular stops here in between movies. It’s not clear what he’s going to be doing but there could be some interesting interactions with some of the people on the roster. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – December 18, 2018
Smackdown
Date: December 18, 2018
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Commentators: Tom Phillips, David Otunga, Corey Graves
The big story coming out of last night was the huge shakeup with the McMahons taking over the company again. This presents the question of what that means for Smackdown, which could be a few different things. The main story coming out of TLC is Asuka as the new Women’s Champion, which is likely setting up a big title match at the Royal Rumble. Let’s get to it.
Tables Ladders and Chairs 2018
Tables Ladders And Chairs 2018
Date: December 16, 2018
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young, David Otunga, Tom Phillips
This show is now all the more interesting with Vince McMahon coming back to Raw tomorrow for the next shake up. That means things very well may mean nothing tonight, but at least we might get some entertaining stuff here. TLC has a tendency to be fun in a big insanity kind of way and that can carry it a long way. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – December 11, 2018
Smackdown
Date: December 11, 2018
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips
It’s the final show before TLC and the card is actually stacked. This week we have a rap battle between the Usos and the Bar, a Wrestlemania rematch between Asuka and Charlotte and, surprisingly enough, Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali. That’s a good thing for 205 Live fans but I’m not sure what to expect. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – December 4, 2018
Smackdown
Date: December 4, 2018
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
We’re coming up on TLC and the big story, and pretty easily the real main event of the show, is coming from Smackdown. That would of course be the women’s triple threat, though odds are we’re going to be stuck watching Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman close things out at the pay per view. Hopefully we get a nice show tonight though as this has been a heck of a build towards the women’s triple threat, especially now that Becky is cleared. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – November 27, 2018
Smackdown
Date: November 27, 2018
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
It’s a night of returns this week as both AJ Styles and Becky Lynch are scheduled to appear, at least according to the preview. Of course the preview was rather wrong last week so you never know what you might get. My guess is three new authority figures, two long chinlocks and a rematch in a wrestling ring. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – November 13, 2018
Smackdown
Date: November 13, 2018
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
It’s the final show before Survivor Series and last night’s big angle saw the Smackdown women’s division invade Raw with Becky Lynch laying out Ronda Rousey. Now though, it seems that Lynch is going to have to miss the show thanks to a concussion. I’m not sure what that means for Sunday, but I know it’s a downgrade overall. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – November 6, 2018
Smackdown
Date: November 6, 2018
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips
We’re in England again for the final big show on the long international tour. This show is going to be almost all about the fallout from Crown Jewel and the build towards Survivor Series, which is a mere twelve days away. Expect a lot of people being added to the card in a hurry. Let’s get to it.
Evolution
Evolution
Date: October 28, 2018
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Beth Phoenix
It’s time for another historical one with the first ever all female pay per view. This has been long in the making and the card is pretty close to being stacked, though at seven matches with four hours to fill, we could be in for something interesting. The only mystery isn’t so much what Stephanie McMahon will say but how long she’ll take to say it. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – October 9, 2018
Smackdown
Date: October 9, 2018
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips
With Australia behind us, it’s time to get ready for the return to Saudi Arabia. That means qualifying matches for the World Cup of Wrestling, the latest tournament because the more than dozen plus that we’ve had this year already aren’t enough. Other than that we have the build towards Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles for the Smackdown World Title. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – October 2, 2018
Smackdown
Date: October 2, 2018
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
With less than a week before the big show in Australia, most of the card is set. Tonight you can expect a heavy dose of Miz vs. Daniel Bryan, as the other Smackdown main event of AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe is all but set. That won’t stop WWE from talking about the Raw matches non stop though, as Undertaker vs. HHH is by far and away the real main event. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – September 25, 2018
Smackdown
Date: September 25, 2018
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips
With less than two weeks to go before Super Show-Down, a lot of the big feuds are already in high gear. It’s almost like Smackdown has a good idea of how to set up a pay per view rather than just wasting time and having everything else going on at once. The big story is of course Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles for the World Title so let’s get to it.
Smackdown – September 18, 2018
Smackdown
Date: September 18, 2018
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton
We’re past Hell in a Cell now and AJ Styles is still the Smackdown World Champion, despite having tapped to Samoa Joe. That almost guarantees a rematch in Australia next month and that means the title is in jeopardy. Other than that, Becky Lynch won the Smackdown Women’s Title, which isn’t going to make people boo her any more. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – September 4, 2018
Smackdown
Date: September 4, 2018
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips
With the Cell less than two weeks away, it’s time to start filling out the rest of the card. One such match would be the Smackdown Tag Team Title match. While we won’t find that out this week, we’ll know one more option for the shot at the Usos as we have another triple threat match in the latest tournament. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – July 31, 2018
Smackdown
Date: July 31, 2018
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
Most of the blue half of Summerslam is either set up or you can tell where things are going. We still need to get the confirmation of Miz vs. Daniel Bryan and some #1 contenders for the Bludgeon Brothers. You can probably guess where things are going but it’s nice to have things made official. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – June 5, 2018
Smackdown
Date: June 5, 2018
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton
Please just let it be better than last night’s show. With three TV shows between the two brands until Money in the Bank, it’s hard to say how much worse things could get. Last night’s Monday Night Raw was really not that well received but maybe the extra hour is what brought them down. It should be interesting to see how things go with just two hours and maybe less of a focus on the ladder matches. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – May 15, 2018
Smackdown
Date: May 15, 2018
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
It’s the second night in London and this time around…it’s still mainly about Money in the Bank. Tonight will see more qualifying matches, but more importantly we’ll be getting AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, with the winner getting to pick the stipulation for their title match at Money in the Bank. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – May 1, 2018
Smackdown
Date: May 1, 2018
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
We’re still in Montreal and this time around it’s the go home show for Backlash. The big story tonight is Shinsuke Nakamura demanding an apology from AJ Styles. Other than that we need to build up Backlash quite a bit, but there’s so much fallout from the Greatest Royal Rumble to get through first. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – September 19, 2017
Smackdown
Date: September 19, 2017
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
I’m getting used to this idea of having title matches booked in advance of the TV shows. This time around we have the US Title on the line as AJ Styles defends against Baron Corbin, who said he was answering this week’s Open Challenge in advance. And there’s that whole Kevin Owens attempting to murder Vince McMahon deal. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – August 15, 2017
Smackdown
Date: August 15, 2017
Location: Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield
It’s the last show before Summerslam and there’s a big main event to send us home. This week features Jinder Mahal vs. John Cena in a non-title match, which likely means that Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura will be lurking around. Other than that we’ll be pushing some of Sunday’s lower card matches as well. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – June 27, 2017
Smackdown
Date: June 27, 2017
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield
It’s ladies night with two major women’s matches on the card. First up we have the second ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match as the WWE tries to fix the mess they made out of the first one just nine days ago. After that we have Lana challenging Naomi for the Women’s Title in another Money in the Bank rematch. It’s almost like they’re just doing the same things twice for the sake of not having to come up with anything new. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – March 14, 2017
Smackdown
Date: March 14, 2017
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips
We’ve got three Smackdowns left before Wrestlemania and now we have a #1 contender to Bray Wyatt’s Smackdown World Title. However, that means we have issues between Commissioner Shane McMahon and AJ Styles and there’s an official confrontation scheduled for tonight. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown – March 7, 2017
Smackdown
Date: March 7, 2017
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Mauro Ranallo, Tom Phillips, David Otunga
We’re down to four shows left before Wrestlemania XXXIII and tonight we’re likely finding out who is challenging for the Smackdown World Title. I know you might have heard that one before but this time seems to be the real thing. Tonight AJ Styles faces Randy Orton for the title shot against Bray Wyatt at the biggest show of the year. Let’s get to it.