November 8, 2016
Episode 899
(aired live)
#SDLive
City: Glasgow, Scotland
Venue: The SSE Hydro
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, JBL, David Otunga, Tom Phillips
Ring Announcer: Greg Hamilton
Intro Video
“Take a Chance” by CFO$
Ring Area
AJ Styles heads to the ring. Styles asks everyone to put down their phones, have seat, and be quiet. He’s upset about last week when Ambrose cheated his way to a title shot. He’s also upset at the mutant turtle James Ellsworth. On top of of that, he’s frustrated that he’s been ordered to not lay a hand on Ambrose because they have to get along prior to Survivor Series. As the captain, Styles decides to bring down his team. Corbin comes out first.
Corbin says he’ll deliver at Survivor Series, just not for AJ’s team. The Wyatt Family appears next but doesn’t say anything. Next out is Dean Ambrose, and he has James Ellsworth with him. Styles isn’t happy to see Ellsworth, so Ambrose says if he has a problem with Ellsworth then he has a problem with Ambrose. Styles tells Ambrose he’s outnumbered tonight, but Corbin promptly leaves the ring. Styles looks to The Wyatt Family who enter the ring, but Shane McMahon comes out before anything can happen.
Shane says Team Blue has to put their differences aside and enter Survivor Series as a united front. Ellsworth suggest that he should be Team SmackDown’s mascot at Survivor Series. Shane likes the idea and makes it official. He also sets up a tag match for tonight.
Backstage
Shane approaches Corbin and tells him about tonight’s match, but Corbin isn’t interested. He tells Shane to kick him off the team if he doesn’t like it. Shane decides to put Corbin in a singles match tonight instead, against Kalisto.
Match 1
Survivor Series Qualifying Match
The Vaudevillains vs Breezango
(referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Fandango pins Aiden English after a falcon arrow
Time: 1:17
Match Thoughts
A super quick match. It was really only a few moves. The Vaudevillains started off extremely quickly with a steamroller and a swanton bomb, but they didn’t get the pin and Breezango turned things around with a few moves of their own. That’s about the extent of it. I would have liked this to be longer and more competitive so being on Team SmackDown actually meant something.
Match 2
Natalya vs Naomi
(referee: Charles Robinson; guest commentary: Nikki Bella)
Result: Naomi wins via pinfall with a small package
Time: 2:02
Match Thoughts
There wasn’t a whole lot of action in this. Carmella came down to the ring early in the match and confronted Nikki at ringside. As the coach of Team SmackDown, Natalya left the ring to try to break them up. After an awkward encounter where she couldn’t get her coach’s whistle to work properly, Natalya slid back into the ring to beat a ten count only to get rolled up.
Backstage
James Ellsworth tells Dean Ambrose that they don’t need Corbin tonight. Daniel Bryan walks up and says he’s found a partner for them tonight: Kane.
Ring Area
Baron Corbin heads to the ring for his match. Kalisto comes out next, but Corbin attacks him as soon as he enters the ring. Corbin slides Kalisto out of the ring. As Corbin goes to follow up on his attack outside the ring, he hurts his own knee. Kalisto takes advantage of the situation by kicking and splashing Corbin’s injury.
Video
Clips of the rivalry between Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss.
Backstage
Daniel Bryan informs Shane McMahon that Corbin’s injury will prevent him from competing at Survivor Series. Shane hands Bryan a list of names and tells him to pick one to add to Team SmackDown.
Match 3
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch (SD Women’s Champ)
(referee: Ryan Tran)
Result: Becky Lynch wins via submission with Disarm Her and retains the title (even though Alexa’s foot was on the rope)
Time: 10:19 (2 break)
Match Thoughts
This was a good match. It wasn’t extremely memorable, but it was a solid bout. Both women performed well together. The finish felt a little too deliberate and obvious though. I understand it was done to further the feud, but it was so blatant what they were trying to do that it felt like a letdown in the end.
Backstage
Daniel Bryan asks about going to RAW on Monday. Shane is going, so Bryan is in as well. The Miz and Maryse walk up. Maryse asks Bryan why he would allow Dolph Ziggler to put the title on the line against a RAW superstar at Survivor Series. Bryan explains that an agreement has been made to also have the Cruiserweight title defended. If Kalisto can beat Kendrick, then the title and the entire cruiserweight division will be property of SmackDown.
Bryan also says that if The Miz is so concerned about losing the IC Title to RAW, then he can defend it himself if he can beat Ziggler next week in a title match. That is, if Miz is willing to fight next week. Maryse accepts the match on The Miz’s behalf.
Match 4
Curt Hawkins vs Apollo Crews
(referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Curt Hawkins wins via pinfall with an Oklahoma roll
Time: 1:41
Match Thoughts
Another short match. Crews had some decent offense, but the finish wasn’t very believable.
Backstage
Renee Young asks Ziggler about having to face The Miz next week for the title. Ziggler seems he’s excited. After all, he’s a fighting champion.
Match 5
The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Randy Orton) vs Kane & James Ellsworth & Dean Ambrose
(referee: Mike Chioda; guest commentary: AJ Styles (replacing Tom Phillips))
Result: Bray Wyatt pins James Ellsworth after Sister Abigail
Time: 9:50 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
A good match. As expected, Ellsworth stayed out of the match until the end. The action with the rest of the guys was good and entertaining. The finish was a little obvious, but I liked it.
Ring Area
After the match, Ambrose is alone in the ring with Wyatt, Orton, and Styles closing in. Shane McMahon runs to the ring to prevent an attack. Daniel Bryan comes out next, clipboard in hand. Bryan has made a decision. He asks Shane McMahon to be the fifth member of Team SmackDown. Shane agrees.
Show Impressions
I think this show was okay. Only two of the matches were really worth watching. It was also strange how they repeatedly announced the Women’s Title match as the main event even though it was in the middle of the show. I guess it was the top of hour main event, but that’s not the same thing.
Match of the Night
Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss
Even though the finish felt a little forced, I liked this match the most. Also, being a title match made it feel more important than anything else on the show.