Tiffany’s Takes: WWE Smackdown Live (7/16/19)

How will the fallout of Extreme Rules affect WWE SmackDown as we head into SummerSlam? And is Randy Orton #1 Contender OUTTA NOWHERE???

This Kevin Owens/Shane McMahon feud is going just like Austin/McMahon used to and I think it’ll end just as badly…for the McMahon.

WWE seems to be really leaning in at taking a stab at current events, because this ‘townhall’ sounds like a political one where the person in charge is going to do what they want and listening to the constiuents, or superstars, is merely a formality. Still, love Owens pulling an Austin and getting the Stunner on Shane.

So we got Aleister Black vs Cesaro II from Extreme Rules. The match was just as amazing as the one on Sunday, but I keep feeling like Cesaro wasn’t the original endgame for this, especially since Black picked up another win. It was a good match, but I’m not feeling this feud.

What is it with McMahons and lackluster lackeys? Ziggler hasn’t exactly been putting up victories since his return, yet, he’s still in Shane’s circle. At least he took the time to re-bleach his hair.

So, how many of us knew Liv Morgan was going to get squashed by Charlotte Flair? All of us? Yeah, me too. Still, Liv went toe to toe with the Queen and got her attention, hopefully, she’ll get another chance down the road. The Squad believes in you, Liv!

Okay, re-writing this because I’m pretty sure referring to two women as Trash and Trailer will get me in trouble. ANYWAY, the big deal is that Bayley came to help Ember Moon deal with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Preferably, it would’ve been Sasha making her shocking return, but I’ll take Bayley, even if she didn’t do that much in the match, except level the playing field, AND give Moon a shot at SummerSlam! A new and fresh match? What world is this? I’m not fooled though, this is WWE, they’ll shoehorn Charlotte or Alexa Bliss in somehow.

Ali vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship? Yeah, I’ll take that, sign me up.

So, what was Daniel Bryan’s career-altering announcement? We have no idea since the little tree-hugging gremlin wouldn’t tell us, except to bring out Samoa Joe, who thinks he has a right to a rematch at SummerSlam, despite a CLEAN win by Kofi Kingston at Extreme Rules.  Also, Elias thinks he deserves a shot for some reason, and so does Randy Orton, never mind that Elias and Orton have done nothing to deserve a shot. I’m not thrilled about Orton vs Kingstons, it feels like WWE doesn’t know how to do a storyline without it having racist undertones, especially with Orton involved, but that’s what we got, so hopefully Kofi survives.

Carmella and Truth are the best team going in WWE right now. How Truth got into the washing machine is beyond me, hope he wasn’t there long. Why was there a washing machine there to start with?

I’m going to be honest, after Paige’s conduct last week in slapping Billie Kay knowing Billie couldn’t hit her back, I was rooting for the IIconics harder than ever. I’m not shocked that the IIconics took the countout win, Champion’s Advantage, but I’m hoping that they’ll do better at SummerSlam, since that’s probably where this is going.

I’m not sure what’s going on with Andrade vs Crews. The feud doesn’t have anything at stake, and Andrade keeps winning, so what’s the point? Just the look on Andrade’s face when Crews pinned him with a crucifix pin. Good one, dude.

Well, Ziggler actually got out of the box this time, which is a step up from Sunday’s encounter with Ice Cold Kevin Owens. The reprise of Austin vs McMahon was in full force and it was a lot of fun, though I doubt Owens vs McMahon will get as out of control as Austin vs McMahon did. Also, Kevin Owens can RUN! Run, Kevin, Run!

That’s it for Tiffany’s SmackDown Takes! Stay tuned for 205 Live!