WWE SmackDown Live
Episode 950
#SDLive
Original Air Date: October 31, 2017
Event Date: October 31, 2017 (aired live)
City: Norfolk, VA
Venue: Norfolk Scope Arena
Commentary: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
Ring Announcer: Greg Hamilton
Intro Video
“Take a Chance” by CFO$
Ring Area
Shane McMahon heads to the ring. He addresses his attack of RAW last week, saying that RAW, and everyone involved in the show, has always considered SmackDown the inferior brand. Putting RAW “under siege” was about making a statement. He then challenges Kurt to bring his best from RAW, because Shane says he will captain Team SmackDown himself.
Match 1
Two out of Three Falls Survivor Series Qualifying Match
Bobby Roode vs Dolph Ziggler
(referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Bobby Roode wins two falls to one and joins Team SmackDown Live
Fall 1: Dolph Ziggler wins via pinfall after a superkick (3:42)
Fall 2: Bobby Roode wins via pinfall with a slingshot int the corer and a sunset flip (6:58)
Fall 3: Bobby Roode wins via pinfall after a Glorious DDT (11:29)
Time: 11:29
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Too often 2 out of 3 falls matches on TV have falls that feel unusually brief and underwhelming. While the first fall here didn’t take a very long time, all the falls felt like they were earned. At least as much as they can be given TV time. Both guys crammed a lot of action into the time they were given, and this was a pretty good way to end their feud, if this even is an ending. This match would have been better served on a PPV, but it was a good TV match regardless.
Ring Area
Renee Young congratulates Roode on joining Team SmackDown. He hopes the final two members will share the passion he has for SmackDown.
Backstage
New Day, dressed as Brother Love (Kofi), Akeem (Big E), and Jimmy Hart (Xavier), encounter Rusev and Aiden English. Rusev is angry. He thinks New Day should be on guard for an attack from RAW. He thinks Halloween is a dumb holiday for dumb, dumb, dumb children. He stomps on New Day’s candy, and Big E doesn’t like that.
Backstage
Becky Lynch is tired of being looked at as the B show, so she gives her fellow Smackdown women (consisting of Charlotte, Naomi, Carmella, Lana, and Tamina) a pep talk. James Ellsworth is there too. Natalya walks up and says it’s a shame she’s not team captain, but she’ll be defending the honor of the SD Women’s Title at Survivor Series. Natalya also wonders who the weak link of Team SmackDown is.
Match 2
Baron Corbin (US Champ) vs Sin Cara
(referee: Danilo Anfibio)
Result: the match ends in a No Contest when Sin Cara won’t stop beating up Corbin on the outside
Time: 3:02
Match Thoughts
This was interesting. It wasn’t much of a match, but I enjoyed it. Corbin immediately went for Sin Cara’s mask, and after a couple of attempts, Sin Cara wasn’t going to put up with it anymore. He got Corbin on the outside and brawled, not letting Corbin escape or get in any shots of his own. Eventually, Corbin had to run away through the crowd. I think this was a good match for Sin Cara, though this is still one of the lesser feuds in WWE right now in my opinion.
Backstage
Renee Young welcomes The Usos and asks them about facing Rollins and Ambrose. They’re excited about the chance to prove that they are the A team on the A show. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin walk up and let The Usos know that the SD Tag Champs will face the RAW tag champs, and they’ll be getting their tag title match against The Usos next week on SmackDown. Gable then raps. Or something. The Usos aren’t impressed.
Ring Area
The Singh Brothers introduce Jinder Mahal, and all three head to the ring. Mahal is still upset about being “unfairly” ejected from ringside last week. He also says that Brock Lesnar fears Jinder Mahal. After Survivor Series, Mahal will be known as the Beast Master. He then begins to speak in Punjabi when AJ Styles interrupts and heads to the ring.
Match 3
Samir Singh w/ Sunil Singh, Jinder Mahal (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles
(referee: Dan Engler)
Result: AJ Styles wins via pinfall after a Styles Clash
Time: 0:36
Match Thoughts
This was pretty much a one move match. As expected.
Ring Area
Mahal and the Singh Brothers attack Styles after the match. The beating is one-sided, and Styles is left lying in the ring as Mahal leaves with the Singhs.
Backstage
Sami Zayn is upset about Shane taking the opportunity of being team captain away from the SmackDown roster, and he’s upset that Randy Orton cheated to beat him last week. Owens isn’t surprised by Shane’s actions, but he plans to beat Nakamura tonight as a step towards taking over SmackDown.
Video
The Bludgeon Brothers smash something with their hammers.
Match 4
Rusev w/ Aiden English vs Big E w/ Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods
(referee: Charles Robinson)
Result: Rusev wins via pinfall after a kick to the back
Time: 7:34
Match Thoughts
This was a pretty fun match. Rusev dominated a large portion of the match, but Big E started an impressive comeback near the end. The final portion of the match involved shenanigans from English that led to Woods getting attacked and Big E getting distracted. It was a fast finish, but I think it worked well.
Backstage
Renee Young asks Sin Cara about his mask. He says the mask represents his familia. He went through Hell to get his mask, and he’ll go through Hell to keep it.
Backstage
Rusev gloats about his victory to Shane McMahon and says that he should be put on Team SmackDown. Shane decides to give him an opportunity in the form of a qualifying match next week. His opponent will be Randy Orton.
Backstage
Fashion Files presents “Strangerer Things.” Fandango feeds Uggo waffles to someone under a sheet when Tyler Breeze walks up as Eleven. It turns out Ten (Tye Dillinger) was under the sheet. The Ascension show up, the lights go out, and the Christmas lights on the wall shine around a picture of The Bludgeon Brothers. Everyone disappears, and a tiny TV shows a version of the doll from the Saw movies. To be continued, I expect.
Match 5
Survivor Series Qualifying Match
Kevin Owens vs Shinsuke Nakamura
(referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Shinsuke Nakamura wins via pinfall after a Kinshasa and joins Team SmackDown
Time: 9:30 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. Owens and Nakamura hit some big moves and had some exciting moments, and the finish was built up to nicely.
Show Impressions
I liked this show. It didn’t feel particularly Holloween-like, but that’s fine. New Day in their costumes was plenty for me, and the Rusev/Big E match was probably better than the Trick or Street fight from RAW. I like how Team SmackDown is shaping up, though I’m on the fence about whether or not I like Shane naming himself as team captain. There’s so much talent on SmackDown it almost seems like a waste to fill one of the spots with Shane, but I understand how it matches well with how Team RAW is forming with Angle as the captain. It’s strange that Shane is the heel in this whole thing though, yet his team is made up of all babyfaces so far. I mean, Roode is sort of a babyface since he’s been on SmackDown, and his definitely the good guy in his feud with Ziggler.
Match of the Night
Kevin Owens vs Shinsuke Nakamura
They’ll have better and more definitive matches, but this was a good TV main event and a worthy match to name the latest SMackDown team member for Survivor Series.