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WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER
NOVEMBER 14, 2017
CHARLOTTE, N.C. AT THE SPECTRUM CENTER
By Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTORCH SPECIALIST
ANNOUNCED BY WWE
- Charlotte Flair challenges Natalya on home turf for the Smackdown Women’s Championship
- Baron Corbin defends his United States Championship against the high-flying Sin Cara
- Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn return to SD Live to face the New Day
- Daniel Bryan is back
“THE QUEEN IN HER KINGDOM”
Since the build to Survivor Series began the WWE hinted to us that the card was subject to change if the current champions were not able to maintain their reigns. We saw this just last week on a massive scale when A.J. Styles DEFEATED Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship ending a near six-month run for the Maharaja. Tonight, two titles are on the line, and both could create a cosmic shift in Sunday’s event.
The first and more important bout will be another chapter in the long Flair/Neidhart lineage rivalry. For years Charlotte has been besting Natalya, whether it be down in NXT or on the main roster. Twice she has beaten Natty in front of her Uncle Bret the Hitman Hart, although one of those times was a repeat of the infamous “screwjob” at Payback in Chicago. Times do change though. It is now Natalya who is the heel champion, who will do whatever it takes to hold onto her gold, and Charlotte as the hungry chaser. If WWE were planning on pulling one more switch this would be the most likely scenario. However, that doesn’t mean you should rule out Carmella swerving us all and cashing in on tonight’s matchup in the Queen City.
“RETURN OF THE YES MAN”
The biggest question of the night will be if Raw responds to the #UnderSiege invasion that took place a few weeks ago. It seems as if the flagship show is still reeling from that sudden takeover, and general manager Kurt Angle has certainly had a hell of a time trying to put a team together. Shane McMahon meanwhile seems cool and calculated. He put his team through the ringer to make them earn their spots in the battle for brand supremacy, and they seem as prepared as ever to sweep on Sunday.
Which is exactly why a Raw retaliation must happen, especially with Roman Reigns back at full strength. The Shield alone can cause a WHOLE hell of a lot of chaos on their own. I think it’s time this feud between shows got turned up to an 11. Things get even more interesting with the return of Daniel Bryan, who made it clear from the beginning that he did not condone Shane’s actions during the invasion. However, when he tried to reach out to Kurt Angle to make peace, he was “chokeslammed” through a table by his former tag-team partner/rival Kane. What possibly does Bryan have on his mind?
“SOLDIERS ON A CHESS BOARD”
-Speaking of chaos, there’s been a 2017 title feud occurring for the last several weeks and it’s involved the Mexican Lucha-star Sin Cara. I’m as surprised as you are, but for some reason the sight of him kicking Baron Corbin’s ass gives me great pleasure. He’ll get to do that and more if he’s able to upset The Lone Wolf for the United States Championship and represent SD at Survivor Series.
-The Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn story still remains to be completed. Whether these two went into business for themselves or had a severe miscommunication last week remains to be seen. All that is known is that they were sent home from the tour early, and were reportedly extremely unhappy. They must be happy enough to compete tonight however, since they’ll be clashing with The New Day. It does beg the question though? Are we really about to have a Big Four PPV and Kevin Owens isn’t going to be on it? YEEESH.
-Jimmy & Jey Uso narrowly escaped with their tag-team titles when they faced Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin. The champs will still get to square off against the Bar on Sunday, but I doubt that this feud with Alpha 2.0 is in the books yet.
-The Phenomenal One is our champion once again, and now faces the biggest challenge of his career when he faces the Beast Brock Lesnar. Brock and Paul Heyman have already taken their opportunity to add some spice to this new main event that came out of nowhere. Will A.J. respond to add more intrigue?
-What of Jinder Mahal now? For a while he was headlining every SD event and every tour as champion, and now there’s a chance he won’t even be competing Survivor Series. He is probably stoked that he gets to face Triple-H in India though.
The go home SD show! Will Raw invade? Will a title change hands? Will you be watching?!
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 11/7: Spoiler-free – Two big title matches, Styles vs. Jinder, Usos vs. Gable & Shelton, plus intergender match-up
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