WWE SmackDown Live Review - October 25, 2016

Alexa Bliss interrupts Becky Lynch.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bray Wyatt def. Kane in a No Disqualification Match

Here's hoping this is the last time we see these two against each other for a while because their in-ring chemistry is absolutely awful. I love how they touted the No Disqualification stipulation as a big deal yet they met in the same exact match at Backlash last month. Luke Harper's interference was pretty predictable (yet logical), but Randy Orton turning on Kane was an interesting twist. I really couldn't care less about a heel Orton vs. face Kane feud, but I assume it's leading to Orton "joining" The Wyatt Family only to betray Bray eventually.


Alexa Bliss Attacked SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch

It's great to see Becky back ahead of schedule. She returned to the ring at a live event over the weekend, so she should be ready to go by the Nov. 8 SmackDown in Glasgow in a couple of weeks. Bliss continues to come off so amazing in her heel role and Lynch is the perfect babyface for her to work with. I missed their feud in the time Lynch was on the shelf for and I'm happy they're picking up where they left off.

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Kane takes flight against Bray Wyatt.

The Hype Bros def. The Ascension to Qualify For Team SmackDown at Survivor Series

It's incredible how much more meaningful a match between two directionelss tag teams can be when there's something at stake. I'm curious as to whether there will qualifying matches to fill out the remaining spots on the team aside from the tag team champions because I don't know if there's enough tandems in the division for that to be possible. At any rate, this was a good match and the crowd being behind The Hype Bros was pleasantly surprising.


Nikki Bella def. Natayla to Become Captain For SmackDown's Women's Team at Survivor Series

You had to know Nikki was winning this match, and I think the crowd was well aware of that too, but they contested a solid match, nevertheless. Natalya has always been a skilled worker and Nikki has improved since coming back, and I was glad they weren't cut for time, either. Why wouldn't have Carmella wanted to cost Nikki the match? Either way, the post-match attack was effective and a simple way to further their feud.


SmackDown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater and Rhyno def. The Spirit Squad

The Spirit Squad have played their roles extremely well in the short time they have been back in WWE, and Slater and Rhyno were awesome opponents for them. Slater and Rhyno are underdog-esque champions, so there were a few points that The Spirit Squad had the crowd convinced they would win. All in all, this was a fun little match and exactly what it needed to be. So, what's next for The Spirit Squad now that they've gotten their title shot and lost?


WWE World Champion AJ Styles def. Dean Ambrose by Disqualification (Non-title)

Of the three matches Styles and Ambrose have had over the past month and a half, each of them have been excellent and this was no exception. Once again, I thrilled with the ample amount of time they were allotted and they more than made the most of it by putting on an instant classic. I was fearful James Ellsworth would serve as a distraction at ringside, but he was a focal point at the right times and him exacting revenge on Styles only to get Ambrose unintentionally disqualified was great. Fingers crossed this was meant to plant the seeds for an Ambrose heel turn sooner rather than later as him unleashing hell on Ellsworth would elicit some serious heat.


Overall Show

There is little doubt that of Raw and SmackDown, the blue brand is the easier show to watch week-to-week. Everything just seems to click and flow naturally, and it speaks volumes that the program is still entertaining despite not having a pay-per-view of its own for another two months. The build to Survivor Series on the SmackDown side of things has been well done so far and I'm looking forward to how several storylines are fleshed out in the weeks ahead.

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