WWE Smackdown LIVE Coverage & Discussion - November 21st, 2017

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Shane McMahon to kick off SmackDown LIVE in the wake of Survivor Series defeat

After falling short against Team Raw in the battle for brand supremacy at Survivor Series, how will Commissioner Shane McMahon and SmackDown LIVE deal with the fallout?



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– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown opens with a look at the main event of Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

– We’re live from the Toyota Center in Houston as Tom Phillips welcomes us. He’s joined by Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.

– We go right to the ring and out comes SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon.

Shane says Team SmackDown was so close on Sunday but they came up short. Shane says his sister and her husband will try to spin this but SmackDown proved, even in defeat, that they will be called The Show from now on in WWE. Shane talks about how he’s proud of the Team SmackDown members for bringing it but it’s not just Survivor Series, they bring it each week. Shane says they do it every week, except for two individuals. He calls Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens to the ring.

Owens and Sami hit the ring and mock Shane. They want Shane to say he’s sorry to them. Shane tells Owens to shut his mouth. Shane says Owens and Sami have no respect for any one else in the locker room, they also don’t respect Shane and anyone in the crowd. Sami agrees. Sami and Owens go on about how valuable they are and how Shane can’t fire them. Shane says they’re delusional and asks how delusional they must be to think they’re the top 2 Superstars in WWE. Shane says the entire SmackDown locker room hates their guts and has no respect for them. Shane calls them the most self-absorbed, crazy, megalomaniacs that have ever stepped foot in a WWE ring. Shane has just two words for them: you’re… the music interrupts and out comes SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan.

Bryan says Shane has every right to fire these two but he should first put his personal feelings aside. Owens and Sami talk about how reasonable Bryan is. Bryan tells Sami to shut up. Bryan says he has a better temporary solution instead of terminating their contracts. Bryan says everyone in the back does hate their guts, and he had to send Randy Orton home over threats Orton made about Owens and Sami. Bryan says The New Day is also furious at them. Bryan says they have a chance to prove they can beat anyone on any night when they face The New Day tonight. Sami says that’s totally bogus and unfair because there’s three of them. Bryan tells Sami to shut up again, he wasn’t finished. Like Shane said, everyone in the back hates Sami and Owens and wants to get their hands on them. Bryan announces that the SmackDown roster will be around the ring as Lumberjacks tonight to prevent Sami and Owens from trying to escape. Bryan’s music hits as a “yes!” chant starts. Sami and Owens aren’t happy.

– Still to come, Charlotte Flair defends against Natalya. Also, WWE Champion AJ Styles will be here to address a challenge from Jinder Mahal. We see Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable backstage. We also see The Usos. We go to commercial.

Jey Uso vs. Shelton Benjamin

Back from the break and out comes Shelton Benjamin with Chad Gable. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos are out next.

The bell rings and Jey Uso locks up with Benjamin, who takes it to the corner. They lock up again and Shelton takes Uso back to the corner but Uso ducks and decks him. Shelton drops Uso with a shoulder. Uso fights back but Benjamin nails a jumping knee, knocking Uso from the ropes to the floor. Jimmy Uso checks on his brother as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and Jey tries to fight back but Shelton keeps control. Uso finally hits a Samoan Drop and a running shot but Shelton goes to the floor for a breather. Gable gets on the apron to face off with Jey but Jimmy runs around and pulls him off. They tangle and Gable sends Jimmy into the barrier.

Shelton hits the ring and goes at it with Uso. Jey hits a superkick for a close 2 count. Gable tries to get involved again but Jey takes care of him. Uso comes off the top but Shelton counters. Shelton hits Paydirt for the pin.

Winner: Shelton Benjamin

– After the match, Shelton rolls to the floor and leaves with Gable, arms raised in the air. Jey recovers at ringside with Jimmy.

– Owens and Zayn are backstage talking to Baron Corbin, trying to make sure they have a friend in their corner tonight. Corbin smiles and asks what’s in it for him. Owens says sticking it to Shane feels good and it’s more about principles. Corbin says he can’t stand either one of them and they should find someone more weak-minded. They walk away and run into Bobby Roode. Sami asks if Roode wants to be someone in WWE or just another one of Shane’s puppets. Owens asks Roode if he wants to stand out and be different, like them, during tonight’s Lumberjack Match. Roode asks if they’re out of their minds. He was in the match that they ruined on Sunday. They ruined it for Roode and the entire SmackDown locker room. Roode says he will see them both out there tonight and he owes them both a receipt.

– We get a quick teaser for The Bludgeon Brothers. They will be in action tonight. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and Naomi is getting her makeup done when Ruby Riot from WWE NXT appears. She wants to introduce two of her friends to Naomi – Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. They beat Naomi down and destroy her. Becky Lynch tries to make the save but she gets taken out as well. Referees finally make the save and call for a doctor.

– Shane is backstage talking to Bryan, saying he didn’t know Bryan was bringing women from NXT but that’s awesome, and booking the Lumberjack Match for tonight was genius. Shane talks about how Bryan’s way is the best and he’s cooled down but will be going to the hotel to kick up his feet before he does something drastic tonight.

The Hype Bros vs. The Bludgeon Brothers

We go to the ring and out comes Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and The Hype Bros wait as Erick Rowan and Luke Harper make their returns as The Bludgeon Brothers.

Rowan start off with Mojo and runs him over. Harper takes out Ryder on the floor and sends him into the steel ring steps. Mojo tries to mount some offense but he gets put away with a double team move and pinned for the win.

Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers

– After the match, Rowan and Harper stand tall in the ring.

– Dasha Fuentes is backstage with Natalya. She calls the appearance last week by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, disgusting, and is confident going into tonight’s match with Charlotte Flair for the title.

– Back from a commercial and we get a look at Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles from Survivor Series.

– We go to the ring and out comes WWE Champion AJ Styles. We see the post-Survivor Series video of Paul Heyman praising Styles.

Fans chant for AJ as he waits to speak. AJ says he wishes he could be out here celebrating after slaying The Beast at Survivor Series but it didn’t go down as he wanted. Not because he didn’t try because he hit Lesnar with everything in the book. AJ says Lesnar is every bit of The Beast as we thought he was. AJ talks about getting post-match texts and messages from people saying he held his own. AJ says this is WWE and you don’t get trophies for second place but he wasn’t the one limping after the match. AJ says if Brock every wants to have a rematch, he should just remember that Rocky got the win in the sequel.

AJ says enough about Lesnar and Survivor Series because this is SmackDown, the house that he built. AJ says he’s a little salty because someone said they would take the title from him – Jinder Mahal. AJ takes off his shirt and lays the title in the middle of the ring. AJ challenges Jinder to come take the title from him. Jinder appears on the big screen and says he does this on his time. He’s too busy to come to the ring because he’s watching the match with Lesnar over and over. Jinder says AJ took advantage of him two weeks ago when he was preparing for The Beast. Jinder says if he would have faced Lesnar, he’d be standing here tonight as The Beastmaster. AJ knocks Jinder for being off the Survivor Series card and tells him to bring it. The Modern Day Maharaja says he will get his rematch when he wants it. Jinder says AJ is a disgrace to SmackDown. They will clash but it will be a place more deserving than Texas. Fans boo. Jinder says he will be invoking his rematch at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view on December 17th.

Jinder laughs as AJ looks on. The Singh Brothers suddenly hit the ring and attack AJ. AJ takes out Sunil and then Samir as Jinder watches on the big screen. AJ fights Samir into the ring while Sunil is down on the floor. AJ stares at Jinder before hitting a Styles Clash on Samir. AJ raises the title as his music hits. Jinder reminds him of their match at Clash.

– Zayn and Owens are backstage, still looking for someone to help them. They hear Aiden English singing. They walk up on Aiden and Rusev. Sami and Owens try to get Rusev and Aiden upset at The New Day before walking off.

– Still to come, Natalya vs. Charlotte. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and we get a WWE Shop Christmas segment with The Usos.

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SmackDown Women’s Title Match: Natalya vs. Charlotte Flair

We go to the ring and out first comes Natalya. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair is out next.

We get formal ring introductions from Greg Hamilton. The bell rings and Natalya goes right to work on the champ. Flair comes right back and drops her. Flair with chops now. Natalya hits the discus clothesline and goes for the Sharpshooter but ends up sending Flair face first into the turnbuckles instead. Natalya stands tall as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and Flair delivers a big elbow to turn it around. Flair unloads in the corner as fans count along. Natalya ends up nailing a sitdown powerbomb for a close 2 count. Fans chant for Flair now.

Natalya goes for the Sharpshooter again and locks it in. The hold is broke and Flair ends up dropping Natalya in the corner. Flair climbs up for the big moonsault but Natalya gets her knees up. Flair hits a spear, sending Natalya to the floor for a breather. Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan appear at ringside and destroy Natalya for the disqualification.

Winner by DQ: Natalya

– After the bell, fans chant for NXT as the three continue to beat down Natalya on the floor. Flair watches from the ring. They stalk Flair now. The three hit the ring but Flair fights them off until the numbers game catches up with her. They take turns on Flair and lay her out before standing tall with their arms in the air. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and we see what just happened to end the title match. Dasha approaches Bryan backstage but he has no comment on what just happened. Owens and Zayn approach Bryan next. Owens says they are going to get ripped apart tonight because the whole roster is jealous of their success. Sami says firing them after the match will be the biggest mistake Bryan ever made. Bryan wishes them good luck and walks off.

Handicap Lumberjack Match: The New Day vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

Back to the ring for tonight’s main event. Out comes Shinsuke Nakamura, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos, Bobby Roode, The Ascension, Tye Dillinger, Rusev, Aiden English, The Colons, Chad Gable, Shelton Benjamin, Sin Cara, Mike Kanellis, Breezango and WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin. They all surround the ring as Lumberjacks. The New Day is out first. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and out comes Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Big E starts off with Owens and they lock up. Owens goes behind but Big E tosses Owens. Owens with a headlock now. Kofi ends up tagging in for a quick double team. Kofi gets sent to the floor but the Lumberjacks leave him alone. Sami and Owens yell at them. Kofi returns to the ring and Sami tags in.

Kofi blocks a cheap shot but Sami drops him with a shoulder. Fans are chanting for Nakamura as Kofi runs the ropes for a back elbow to Sami. Kofi with a 1 count. Sami tosses Kofi to the floor but the Lumberjacks let him go back in on his own. Sami and Owens aren’t happy. Sami comes to the floor but the Lumberjacks attack, then throw him back into the ring. Kofi follows. Sami tries to run up the ramp but the Lumberjacks stop him. They bring him back to the ring and toss him in. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and The New Day does the Unicorn Stomp on Owens in their corner. Kofi with a 2 count. Owens looks to turn it around now. Kofi ends up dropping Sami on the apron but he turns around to a superkick from Owens. Owens unloads on Kofi now and talks some trash. Sami comes back in and works Kofi over while showing off some.

Sami drops Kofi with a clothesline for a 2 count. Owens tags in and drops Kofi with a headbutt in the corner. Owens with more offense and another pin attempt. Big E finally gets the tag. He unloads on both and hits a pair of belly-to-belly suplexes on Sami. Big E runs the ropes and hits the splash on Sami. Fans chant for The New Day now. Sami counters the Big Ending and sends Big E back into the corner. Kofi tags in and comes off the top with a big crossbody for a 2 count as Owens breaks it up. All 4 go down in the middle of the ring now. Kofi sends Sami over the top onto several Lumberjacks. Corbin charges Sami but Sami moves and he hits Roode. A big brawl among the Lumberjacks breaks out now.

The brawl goes into the ring as chaos breaks out now. The Lumberjacks fight back out of the ring to the floor. Woods knocks Kanellis to the floor. Owens drops Woods. Kofi comes from behind on Owens but Sami comes from behind on Kofi and rolls him up for the win.

Winners: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

– After the match, Big E and Owens face off at ringside. Rusev nails Big E from the side and lays him out. English joins him. Owens runs away through the crowd. Kofi leaps from the top and takes down Rusev and English. Sami tries to run away through the crowd too but Woods stops him. Woods rolls Sami back into the ring and The New Day surrounds him. Sami pleads with them but they triple team him. Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise on Sami. Big E scoops Sami while Woods goes to the top for Midnight Hour. The New Day stands tall and talks trash to Sami as their music hits. We go to replays. We see Owens approaching Bryan backstage. Bryan asks if Owens is at all concerned about what happened to his partner. Owens is concerned but he and Sami want to know about their jobs. Owens begs Bryan not to fire them. Bryan says Owens doesn’t have to beg, he was never going to fire them. Bryan says he does recognize their talents, which is why he wants him here next week for a one-on-one match with Randy Orton. Owens changes his mind and thanks Bryan, then walks off. SmackDown goes off the air.