Opinion
WWE Smackdown Live: The Big Winners For 5/8/18
Even when the story doesn’t place as much importance on it, winners and losers are as basic to wrestling as ring ropes and fans. But in this day and age, winning and losing in the ring doesn’t always translate to your standing on the card, how you are trending, and what’s on the horizon.
So who were the big winners for WWE Smackdown Live?
First off, let’s see who the actual match winners were:
- The Miz pinned United States Champion Jeff Hardy to qualify for the Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
- Charlotte Flair beats Peyton Royce (w/Billie Kay) to qualify for the Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
- Cesaro (w/Sheamus) defeated Xavier Woods (w/The New Day)
- Mandy Rose beat Becky Lynch
- Rusev (w/Aiden English) pinned Daniel Bryan to qualify for the Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Match winners be-damned, here are the TRUE winners of the May 7th edition of WWE Monday Night Raw!
The Miz
After losing to Seth Rollins in (once again) the best match on the card at Backlash, The Miz returned to WWE Smackdown Live and immediately qualified for the Money In The Bank Ladder Match, this time defeating current United States Champion Jeff Hardy. The booking makes sense, as Hardy can defend his championship on the show, but The Miz is honestly “above” a mid-card championship at this point. He proved it, beating Hardy not by nefarious means, but clean.
I would love to see The Miz capture the briefcase again, and use it to tell his story of ascending to the WWE Championship. Plus, what better (and more fitting) match for WrestleMania 35 than Royal Rumble winner Daniel Bryan challenging WWE Champion The Miz.
(On a side note, that powerbomb looked NASTY. His head bounced off of the mat in a very concerning way.)
Mandy Rose
When Absolution made their debut, Mandy Rose impressed me with her mic skills. I absolutely loved her involvement in her RoseGold tag team with Goldust for the Mixed Match Challenge. But when Absolution was, ahem, absolved (that’s a reach, I know), Sonya Deville seemed primed to have the most success.
What does Mandy Rose do? She defeats the first ever Smackdown Women’s Champion, and one of the true pioneers of the current women’s division in Becky Lynch. And much like The Miz, Mandy did it clean.
Peyton Royce
I know, Peyton Royce lost. But it’s about how she lost, and she did so with credibility. Much like Mandy Rose, she is being established, and she looked like she belonged.
And the biggest winner for the May 8 edition of WWE Smackdown Live? It’s the founder of Rusev Day!
Rusev
I am not a firm believer that you always have to give the people what they want. But damn, do the people want a push for Rusev. While I don’t think the ultimate endgame is Rusev as a big time face (and don’t get it mixed up, the man is a babyface right now), a push for Rusev Day as a gimmick can only do wonders for Rusev’s eventual heel turn.
But man is it odd the way this comes about! The WWE Universe finally gets Daniel Bryan back in the ring, on Smackdown (the brand he believes in), and he’s the guy used to put Rusev over?
On the flip side, this is a big, relatively clean, win for Rusev. Like many other heels tonight (Mandy Rose, The Miz, and Cesaro), Rusev won clean. THAT says a lot for the future of everyone’s favorite Bulgarian Brute.
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Opinion
Chris King: Is Brock Lesnar Truly Retired?
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
At WrestleMania 42, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar took off his boots and gloves following his loss to Oba Femi. Lesnar has done it all inside of his twenty-four-year career in professional wrestling. He’s a ten-time WWE Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and he’s one who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
While Lesnar was in the ring, he was visibly overwhelmed with emotion and crying while he thanked the fans in his own way. The Beast even threw up an x to signal to Paul Heyman, his longtime friend and advocate, that this was not scripted and was real. There had been rumors that Lesnar and Oba were supposed to have a series of matches before everything went down at Mania.
‘The Career Killer’ Gunther was doing Heyman’s bidding as he faced Seth Rollins for a favor. For a while now since Gunther retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, the rumor has been Gunther was set to retire Lesnar in his hometown at this year’s SummerSlam event. There’s been no confirmation if Lesnar is truly retired, but on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, we saw Heyman talking with General Manager Nick Aldis. Later that night following Rhodes’ match against the debuting Ricky Saints, Gunther choked out the WWE Champion. Could this be the favor from Heyman?
I know in the world of professional wrestling we live by the mantra of “never say never,” but what if Lesnar is actually retired and this was WWE’s way of shutting down those rumors about Gunther and Lesnar? What if Gunther’s next program is chasing after the WWE title, and where is Randy Orton at in all of these plans? There are so many questions that need to be answered, hopefully soon!
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MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
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THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
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SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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Opinion
Chris King: Defend The Intercontinental Championship At Backlash!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
This year’s annual Backlash showcase is only a few days away, and while there are many big matches announced, one that definitely should be isn’t on the card. In my opinion, outside of Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu and Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Championship scene has been stellar over the last month.
Penta has been an excellent champion, especially after his triumphant title defense in a ladder match against JeVon Evans, Rusev, Dragon Lee, and the Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. Their ladder match at Mania was one of the best that WWE has produced in a while.
The momentum never stopped, as on the post-Mania episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page made his debut and was quickly inserted into the Intercontinental title scene. Page had a fantastic showing against his longtime NXT rival Evans and picked up a big win in his debut match thanks to an assist from Rusev.
All Ego immediately joined forces with ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev, who was also vying for the Intercontinental Title in his own right. On this week’s episode of Raw, Page and Rusev defeated Evans and Penta. All Ego pinned the champion, making a huge statement and putting him one step closer to getting a title shot. For the past few weeks I’ve been anxiously waiting to see if WWE was going to add this incredible fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t happened yet.
As much as the WWE Universe enjoys witnessing great matches on free television, I truly believe all four superstars deserve the chance to showcase their talents on the PLE. While Penta has done a terrific job as the intercontinental champion, it’s time for a fresh face to hold the prestigious title. Page would make a great braggadocious heel that would help elevate the Intercontinental Championship to new heights!
Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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