From Sean Thompson: First things first, this was a Smackdown house show and the crowd was more than ready for WWE to be back in Ch...
First things first, this was a Smackdown house show and the crowd was more than ready for WWE to be back in Chattanooga.
Attendance was roughly 4,000 give or take.
Match 1
Breezeango vs Primo and Epico
Crowd was red hot for Tyler Breeze and Fandango, and by default hated Primo and Epico who are great in ring hands but their character development leaves a bit to be desired. Breezeango on the other hand has everything a great up and coming tag team should have. Chemistry, amazing in ring skills, and great character development. This match was a great opener especially the breakup tease by Primo and Epico who showed with that one moment why they have the potential to be great entertainers. Breezeango over much to the delight of the crowd.
Match 2
Aiden English vs Mojo Rawley
Aiden English out first while singing his own made up entrance. I love the guy to death.
Already his character is great. Mojo Rawley is really over with the WWE Universe, the crowd absolutely loved him. Lots of he ain’t hyped chants directed at Aiden English. When Mojo is in the ring you can tell the crowd is having a lot of fun as the guy has it all, charisma and he is just a beast in the ring. They put on a solid match. Mojo over. Crowd yet again ate it up when English got the microphone and said that he would not be humiliated in a town like this and demanded another match.
Already his character is great. Mojo Rawley is really over with the WWE Universe, the crowd absolutely loved him. Lots of he ain’t hyped chants directed at Aiden English. When Mojo is in the ring you can tell the crowd is having a lot of fun as the guy has it all, charisma and he is just a beast in the ring. They put on a solid match. Mojo over. Crowd yet again ate it up when English got the microphone and said that he would not be humiliated in a town like this and demanded another match.
Match 3
Aiden English vs Sin Cara
This was really quick I looked down at my phone for a split second and the match was over. Sin Cara over.
Match 4
Luke Harper vs Erick Rowan
Harper came out to a great pop this guy is very underrated.both of them are actually. These guys started out with some mat wrestling but it turned into a brawl shortly after. Harper is very athletic and showed it with a drop kick that popped the crowd big. The crowd was very much behind Harper and tried to will him back into the match whenever Rowan was on offense. Both men are incredibly gifted in the ring and the crowd loved it as these two monsters went at it. Harper over with his clothesline
Match 5
Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura
At first the crowd popped huge for Dolph Ziggler as Chattanooga is a very pro- Ziggler town and has been for years. That changed however when his partner was revealed to be Kevin Owens, who is an amazing heel in every sense of the word. The crowd popped huge for Zayn and Nakamura and were loving Nakamura and his theme song by humming along. This guy is incredibly over with the fans and I give it a year maybe less before he is world champion. Nakamura and Zayn over to a massive pop.
Match 6
Becky Lynch and Charlotte vs Natayla, Tamina Snuka, and Carmella
Charlotte got a huge ovation lots of woos, even a we hate Ellsworth chant. crowd was solidly behind Becky and Charlotte. Crowd popped huge for the hot tag to Charlotte. Her and Becky popped the crowd with a nice looking double baseball slide. Charlotte and Becky over with a figure 8.
Match 7
Tye Dillenger vs Baron Corbin
Crowd loved the Perfect 10. And absolutely hated the more powerful and menacing Lone Wolf Baron Corbin. Crowd was chanting 10 at all the refs counts just having a blast. Corbin showed off his power in this one yet it was still very much back and forth. Good stuff here, Tye Dillenger over with a small package.
Match 8 ( main event)
Jinder Mahal vs AJ Styles for the WWE Championship
Lots of USA chants at Jinder Mahal. Pop of the night went to AJ Styles. Smackdown love is truly the house that AJ Styles built. If the WWE is looking for the next star to replace Cena as top guy, they have it already in AJ. This was match of the night and it showcased both guys,and showed why Jinder Mahal deserves to be WWE champion. Crowd was soundly behind AJ and went absolutely crazy when he hit the phenomenal forearm. AJ over by disqualification due to interference from the Singh Brothers. After the match AJ said he was sorry he couldn’t win the championship for the fans but he would be champion again one day. He told us to never forget the men and women who fought and died for this country.
All in all this was a great show start to finish. I really needed Sunday night after the type of week I had. If Thursday was like eating week old food out of the garbage, Sunday night was like eating a perfectly cooked fresh steak from a 5 star restaurant.