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Posted by Ris Laiman on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 LAIMAN'S LINKS Marissa's Website Marissa's Blog Marissa’s podcast Twitter - @RisMcCool Email - [email protected] All my books and bookings are available at RisMcCool.com IN LAIMAN'S TERMS #327 - Thoughts on SD Live - 10-10-17 1. Welcome back to the "Jinder Mahal is Still Champion" Hour. Let's take a look at some photo stills to ask "Why, Sami, Why?" AJ gets his return match for the US title, and hopefully that's because he's on his way back up, and we start with the hot-potato tag champs, the Usos. Maybe they're trying to make up for the length of the New Day reign by making sure that no one stays very long this year. 2. The Usos sell the effects of the Hell in a Cell match by slowly and tenderly moving toward the ring. When they replay more stills, I have to wonder... Did they censor the "holy shit!" chants on the actual show? Would make sense continuity-wise, given that they were on the buildup. 3. They immediately call out the New Day, cause they've got something to say. A cheap pop in the place where The Family Man was set doesn't feel quite as epic as other places. Then again, how has someone not turned the Nic Cage-overacting style into a wrestling gimmick? Moxley made it work with the Joker. 4. Post-PPV show drinking game: drink every time someone says "a whole new/nother level." 5. New Day looks like I did on Monday night after turning off the playoffs, and they bury the rest of the tag division while talking about how good their match was. That's one way to go. I'm getting a vibe of Edge and Christian/Hardy Boyz mutual respect after the ladder match out of this. 6. I don't even have anything to add so far; this is great promo work. 7. The moment after they're about to share a handshake in mutual respect, they're interrupted by Smackdown's losing streak, the Hype Bros. Gable and Benjamin and their interesting blend of tag team music join them. Eight-man tag on the horizon? 8. Finally, the Fashion Files decide to make an in-person appearance, and damn if they shouldn't have come out to some Eifel 65. They don't get a word out before their skit nemeses join them. Now we have six tag teams opening the show. It's a good old-fashioned Hustle clusterfuck! 9. There's been a challenge laid out. I'm guessing that's the cue for Wagner and plaid. It is! He asks New Day and the Usos to leave the ring. Thank you guys. They refuse to leave like CM Punk is about to be on commentary for a few minutes, but we aren't having any of that. Unsurprisingly, it's about to become a fatal-x-way match for the number one contender's match, because that's the way it happens now. 10. It's good to see the Fashion Files in person, as well as a good view of the rest of the division. It's likely the Usos will retain against whomever wins, because the other two teams have traded back and forth almost every time. It does mean that both teams leave looking pretty much even with each other, but where do the rest of the teams end up being? 11. This is fun, though seeing the Chad and Shelton unit go team suplex and spinebuster crazy, it makes you wonder what would've happened if they'd just left Alpha alone. Most of this match here is NXT, and maybe it's better that they're working with each other. It's terrifying to see how they're treated once they get to the main roster. They end up getting the win, bringing back 3/4 of a previous tag title feud that was pretty good earlier in the year. I'm good with that. Fun opening match with a lot of personality. 12. Owens and Zayn now have their own locker room. That's quite a change after the last few years, to say the least. 13. I'm pretty sure Natalya begins her awkward backstage segment by quoting Lita's old entrance theme. Is it going to be another roll call of the division segment? Charlotte gets right in her face and punches her right in the fuck. The rest of the division comes out for the melee. That was badass. 14. Then, in another area of the backstage interview space, Baron Corbin is also there. Blah blah, keyboard warriors lolrite? 15. Now, randomly, we've got Carmella and Becky Lynch in the Kink portion of the show. Becky's steam remains cut from the budget. 16. Can Carmella cash in the MITB contract at any time?! Is that how it works?! 17. Becky ends up getting the win by making Carmella, which by the looks of things is usually Ellsworth's job. Either way, fun for what it was. 18. I still find it weird that TLC is presented by another product of their own company. It should be fun to be there live. 14 years between live PPVs, I sure hope it will be. Being there live made Unforgiven 2003 seem really good. 19. An amusement park line metaphor mixed with overtly religious sentiment, which conversely makes KO... Kevin Owens the White Wizard? 20. I guess pulling someone off a table gave Sami Zayn his wings or something, because here we are. I'm intrigued at least. It's something different, if nothing else. The powerbomb was his inciting incident, if you will, and his mission of putting the world on his back (instead of his hands, right Bray?) brought him only to mediocrity. That comparison backstage didn't go over well, and Shane being a dick probably didn't help. 21. Thank you for the continuity, Sami. I've been wondering about the whole "Smackdown will give you the respect you deserve" thing, and the columns can back that up. At least this entire story makes sense. With the history they have, it embraces continuity and logic instead of randomly turning heel for the hell of it. If it gets Sami Zayn doing something other than... well, what he had been doing... I'm all for it. They end it by trading hand-raises and calls for pops. 22. The question on Aiden's mind should be the one on everyone else's as well: Will there be another Festival of Friendship? 23. The operatic General Zod gets such a jobber entrance that even his interrupted aria airs during the commercial. That displeases the leaders of Planet Houston. 24. I'm predicting that Dolph Ziggler's next entrance feud will be with Nakamura, because we all need to recognize that the person who should be headlining and representing the Smackdown brand is... well, mercifully absent. 25. Nakamura gets the hot tag as we do our best to not remind ourselves that both of the faces in this match have lost multiple times to one-third of 3MB. 26. Rusev is still paying some serious dues, as he loses yet again. Where does this leave everything? I'm not sure at all. AJ after this match perhaps finding a way? Can't be KO, as a heel challenger to... Yep, still a reality. I was hoping I was in the alternate timeline somewhere. 27. Harper and Rowan are back together naming various things on the Skeptic's Creed, so another tag team is about to be entered into the fold. So much for Harper cleaning up, eh? 28. Are we gonna get a prompt to summon our inner HAM and say "glorious?" We sure the fuck are, and I'm completely okay with that. Oh goodness, what a shock, Dolph Ziggler attacked somebody after losing a match. What a twist, Dolphykins! 29. Zigglesworth visited the hair straightening iron before his (lack-of) entrance. Dolph's talk of dominating someone in the ring only reinforces the kink air they were giving earlier. Is Linda Miles offering training sessions backstage? 30. Yay, let's review the impact (no TNA) match with a stillshot more disturbing than North in Hawaii. Yeah, dug deep for that reference of a terrible movie... This seems awkward. Even Bobby Roode seems awkward. 31. Wow, a heel teased getting in the ring before not doing it. There's something new. Meanwhile, Baron Corbin wants people to smell his leather belt up close or something. Kay. 32. The commentators discussing Baron Corbin being happy to shove it in everyone's face must've been read straight from the show-notes, because he acted that out to the letter. 33. The match is good, because of course it is, but once again, when you have the same people wrestling week in and week out, it's hard to feel that it's important or has any tension to it whatsoever. 34. What an awesome sequence of these two being ready for each other's moves. At least they're building it that way, that they're learning to anticipate each other's tendencies. Makes for a much more interesting match than multiple finisher kickouts. 35. Corbin wins, no shock there. We get the river of tears celebration conclusion before signing off. Smackdown was... fine. I mean, it's been a lot worse in recent weeks, but we still have Jinder Mahal has champion, and having the same match over and over again needs to stop. But it was definitely a step up from how it's been lately, so there's that. Hopefully AJ going back to the main event where he belongs is on the horizon. HAM OF THE NIGHT The Usos were fun tonight and really went over the top for their promo. I enjoyed it thoroughly. 2012 - Daniel Bryan 2013 - Paul Heyman 2016 - Chris Jericho 1-2-17 - Kevin Owens 1-3-17 - Jack Gallagher 1-9-17 - Shawn Michaels 1-10-17 - Dean Ambrose 1-16-17 - Sami Zayn 1-17-17 - John Cena 1-23-17 - Xavier Woods 1-24-17 - James Ellsworth 1-30-17 - Mick Foley 1-31-17 - Daniel Bryan 2-6-17 - Goldberg 2-7-17 - Daniel Bryan 2-13-17 - Chris Jericho 2-14-17 - Alexa Bliss 2-20-17 - Lana 2-21-17 - Maryse 2-27-17 - Mick Foley 2-28-17 - Bray Wyatt 3-13-17 - Paul Heyman 3-14-17 - AJ Styles 3-20-17 - Austin Aries 3-21-17 - Mizcena 3-27-17 - Big Cass 3-28-17 - Mizcena/Mizbryan/John Cena 4-1-17 - Bobby Roode's dueling pianists 4-2-17 - The Undertaker 4-3-17 - Chris Jericho 4-4-17 - Shinsuke Nakamura 4-10-17 - Braun Strowman 4-11-17 - Shinsuke Nakamura 4-17-17 - Samoa Joe 4-18-17 - Nobody 4-24-17 - Alexa Bliss 4-25-17 - Dolph Ziggler 5-8-17 - The Miz 5-9-17 - The Usos 5-15-17 - Titus O'Neill 5-16-17 - Fandango/Tyler Breeze 5-22-17 - Bray Wyatt 5-29-17 - Alexa Bliss/Ohai Bayley 5-30-17 - Fashion Files 6-5-17 - The Miz 6-26-17 - Paul Heyman 6-27-17 - The Ascension 7-3-17 - TROOF 7-10-17 - Paul Heyman 7-17-17 - Crossfit Jesus 7-18-17 - Randy Orton 7-24-17 - Kurt Angle 7-25-17- Chris Jericho 7-31-17 - Bray Wyatt 8-7-17 - Paul Heyman 8-8-17 - Arn Anderson 8-14-17 - Big Cass 8-15-17 - Breezango 8-28-17 - John Cena 9-4-17 - Braun Strowman 9-11-17 - The Miz 9-18-17 - Neville 9-19-17 - Dolph Ziggler 9-24-17 - Paul Heyman 9-25-17 - Alexa Bliss 9-26-17 - Dolph Ziggler 10-2-17 - The Miz 10-3-17 - Rusev 10-9-17 - Finn Balor 10-10-17 - The Usos Marissa Laiman, In Laiman’s Terms, and Inciting Incident are owned by It’s a Shameful Thing, Lobsterhead, LLC. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.
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