Someone Please Tell Me Where the Smackdown Midcard Is

These last few weeks on Smackdown, there’s been a noticeable lack of superstars on the show. I’m not even referring to American Alpha.

“We used to be your tag team champions!”

You’d think that with the Money in the Bank ladder match coming up, the blue brand would want to use that match to help build up some of their lower players. There’s no reason that Tye Dillinger, Luke Harper, or even Aiden English shouldn’t be in the match. Even if management didn’t want them there, at least have qualifying matches and have those guys lose. As much as I hate to say it, Smackdown’s been recycling matches ever since Backlash. Some variation of the 6 men in the ladder match will fight, they’ll tag against each other, etc. Quite a few people have been missing action, and it’s a shame, because the roster is so talented right now.

The United States Championship Is on Lock Right Now

Did you know that Luke Harper and Tye Dillinger won their matches at Backlash? Crazy, right? What are they up to now? Nothing, that’s what. They could have very easily been put into a program for the United States Championship. You know, the title that’s meant for the midcard guys? Instead, Kevin Owens is in the ladder match, and the title will not be defended at all this Sunday.

After Money in the Bank, I’m sure Shinsuke Nakamura will go on to take the title from Mr. Kevin Owens. I don’t mind that. I’m cool with that. However, it is highly unlikely that Nakamura will spend his time defending the title against Erick Rowan or Aiden English. It’s not happening.

They don’t have to win the title. I get that. Not everyone can be a champion. But give the guys some exposure. Rusev defended the title against Kalisto, Zack Ryder, and Titus O’Neil. John Cena fought the likes of Stardust and Neville for the US title. The point is, these guys who aren’t being used need a purpose.

Create Engaging Feuds For Them

Tye Dillinger had something interesting going on with Aiden English. Dillinger would beat him, and English would cry. English would also sing a lot and Dillinger would interrupt and kick him in the face. That was something.

Erick Rowan was angry at Luke Harper for leaving the family. He had a whole bunch of masks, and it was sort of cool. That was something.

After Backlash, what happened to Luke Harper and Erick Rowan? Absolutely nothing. What happened to Tye Dillinger and Aiden English? Absolutely nothing. Apparently they’re trying to start a program between Luke Harper and Aiden English. But how is someone supposed to know that if it isn’t even televised?

One of the best parts of Smackdown last year was the fact that almost everyone had something to do. Heath Slater got a job. The Usos became thugs. Kalisto wanted to fight Baron Corbin. When Raw was struggling to use more than 5 people per show, Smackdown had something for everyone. Sure, the roster was thinner, but even with the current roster  you should still be able to create engaging stories for everyone. Heck, that’s what Raw is doing right now. Who attacked Enzo? Who will join the Titus Brand? Even Goldust and R-Truth are battling each other via film quotes and vignettes.

Please, Smackdown. Make better use of your roster. It’s too talented to waste.

Return Confirmed for SmackDown Live Next Week

Daniel Bryan, who has been off WWE television because his wife Brie gave birth to their child, announced on Twitter that he will be returning to SmackDown Live next week.

Speculation on John Cena’s Schedule After He Returns

As previously noted, John Cena will be making his return to weekly WWE programming on the July 4th episode of SmackDown Live and will be billed as a “free agent” moving forward. Dave Meltzer discussed Cena’s return on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio and speculated what his schedule could be like when he returns to the company.

While none of this is confirmed, Meltzer presented a scenario that could see Cena work only RAW and SmackDown televised events on Monday’s and Tuesday. He would not work WWE Live Events later in the week. This scenario would leave Cena plenty of time to fulfill his non-WWE commitments and Cena would still have a strong presence on WWE programming. Cena would of course work both pay-per-view events for the RAW and SmackDown Live brands each month. So basically, he would work Sunday-Tuesday and have Wednesday through Saturday off.

Two Matches Confirmed for Next Week’s 205 Live

WWE announced two matches for next week’s episode of 205 Live on Tuesday. Those matches are:

Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali
Tony Nese vs. Jack Gallagher

Next week’s show takes place from from Dayton, Ohio and airs on the WWE Network after Smackdown concludes on USA Network.

Favorites to Win at Sunday’s Money in the Bank Event

Here are the updated Betting Odds for Sunday’s Money in the Bank event, courtesy of Best Wrestling:
(Note: The lower the number, the higher the chances of winner are)

WWE Money in the Bank Match
* Baron Corbin -190
* Sami Zayn +650
* Kevin Owens +650
* AJ Styles +750
* Shinsuke Nakamura +450
* Dolph Ziggler +1500

WWE Women’s Money in the Bank Match
* Carmella -145
* Becky Lynch +350
* Natalya +365
* Charlotte Flair +950
* Tamina +2800

WWE Championship Match
* Jinder Mahal(c) -250 vs. Randy Orton +175

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
* Naomi(c) -500 vs. Lana +300

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship
* The Usos(c) -120 vs. The New Day -120

Length of Men’s MitB Match
* Under 24 Minutes -137
* 24 Minutes or More -110

Length of Women’s MitB Match
* Under 20 Minutes -137
* 20 Minutes or More -110

Length of WWE Championship Match
* Under 18 Minutes -120
* 18 Minutes or More -120

MitB Men’s Special Bets
* Rusev to Appear Ringside During the Match +400
* Briefcase to be Cashed in the Night of MitB +500

MitB Women’s Special Bets
* James Ellsworth to be Ejected from Ringside +110
* Nikki Bella to Appear at Ringside +300
* Briefcase to be Cashed in at Event +500

WWE SmackDown Live Results – 13 June 2017

Welcome to our coverage of SmackDown Live for the 13th of June 2017!

The Money in the Bank competitors will square-off tonight in a huge six-man tag team match, with AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sami Zayn, taking on Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin. Tonight’s match gives a couple of guys a chance to gain some much-needed momentum heading into the all-important match on Sunday night.

Ahead of their huge title rematch at Money in the Bank, Randy Orton comes face-to-face with Jinder Mahal.  Sunday’s show is set in Randy’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, so can he win his 14th World Heavyweight Championship. I would expect fireworks to happen tonight with Orton taking the fight to Mahal and The Singh Brothers!

Also on tonight’s show, Breezango will tag with The New Day to take on The Uso’s and The Colon’s. Naomi is set to face Tamina in singles competition, which is a big opportunity for the second generation star. Naomi’s challenger at MITB, Lana , could cost her the match and give Tamina some huge momentum. On top of that, Natalya also faces Charlotte ahead of their big ladder match.

All that and more to look forward to on tonight’s SmackDown Live! Are you excited to see the show? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check out the Ringside News app, and enjoy the show!

The Taz Show Recap – Bringing Back War Games, Special Guest Jim Ross, Where’s Rusev? More!

Block 1:

A listener calls into the show and points out that the promo graphic for Great Balls of Fire somewhat resembles a penis and two testicles. Taz says that this has been brought up online already and it’s hard to deny the resemblance. He says that WWE has a graphic design team that does all the work for PPV graphics, but Vince McMahon has to approve everything.

Taz says that he just chooses to look at that logo and see a literal ball of fire, but some people might choose to see other things. Either way, it’s an interesting piece of graphic design work without a doubt.

Another listener calls into the show and says that WWE should change the Cruiserweight division to a Light Heavyweight division. Taz says that if they did that they’d still have all the same issues that the Cruiserweight division has, because more than the name needs to change. Taz says that the specific Cruiserweight branding with purple ropes and aprons simply isn’t working.

In addition, filming 205 Live after Smackdown Live isn’t working either. Taz says that WWE needs to change their approach to the Cruiserweights and start filming 205 Live at Full Sail University. He also doesn’t mind the idea of WWE merging the Cruiserweights into the main roster, where they can also challenge for WWE Titles such as the United States Title and Intercontinental Title.

Speculation on Lana Competing on SmackDown Live Before MITB

WWE confirmed on their website that Lana will not be competing before the Money in the Bank event in her match against Naomi for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. There was speculation online this week in regards to her facing in a match before hand but that obviously won’t be happening.

WWE wrote the following, confirming that her match at MITB will be her first official match on the SmackDown Live brand:

“At SmackDown LIVE’s WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Lana will make her blue brand in-ring debut when she challenges Naomi for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a match that was made following the turbulent events of the June 6 edition of SmackDown LIVE.”

WWE Cracking Down on Explicit & Private Material of Talents Leaking Online

PWInsider reports that WWE held talent meetings at this week’s RAW and SmackDown tapings to discuss ways to prevent explicit and private material from leaking on the internet.

The meeting was mandatory and was basically a class on cyber security threats. The company brought in an expert from a cyber security firm and give a presentation to the roster. The expert went over different ways that talents could be tricked into inadvertently allow their security to be breached. One of the things discussed was not the accept USB drives as gifts, even if they were from beautiful women promising naked photos. This one was scenario that happened to several celebrities in the past. They also went over ways to as to how the talent should handle themselves online, as they are in the public eye.

The meeting closed with the company gaving out an amendment to their social media policy for talents to sign and stressed that no one but talents and the WWE social media teams should have access to their social media accounts.

The Taz Show Recap – Smackdown Analysis, Jinder Taking Bumps, Lack of Babyface Champions, More!

Block 1:

Taz opens today’s show speaking about last night’s episode of Smackdown Live.

The first thing that stuck out to Taz on last night’s show was that Jinder Mahal came off like a complete star. He’s very glad that Mahal is Champion because this guy has extreme heat, and his poise, stature and ‘It factor’ all make him look like a legitimate Champion.

However, Taz couldn’t believe the way WWE booked Mahal’s match against Mojo Rawley last night. After Mahal’s amazing entrance, the bell rang and Mahal took a plethora of bumps right away. This killed Mahal’s heat in Taz’s opinion, and he says he would have booked the match completely different.

He says that Mahal should have gotten some heat on Rawley right away, and then later in the match Rawley could have had his comeback where Mahal could bump a little bit. Taz isn’t saying that Mahal should never bump, but he certainly shouldn’t be bumping out of the ring multiple times right at the start of the match.

Taz believes that Mahal should not be a ‘chicken’ heel. He needs to be more of a bad ass, killer heel because he’s a very intimidating man. From his height to his physique, from his entrance music to his ring gear, Mahal has everything going for him right now, and he should not be bumping all around the ring for Mojo Rawley.