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WWE SMACKDOWN LIVE EVENT REPORT
MAY 7, 2018
ALLENTOWN, PA. AT PPL CENTER
REPORT BY ADAM, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT
The arena, which holds up to 10,000, was about half full. The show ran from 7:30 t0 10:00 p.m.
Byron Saxton was the ring announcer.
You were able to vote for which WrestleMania 34 match you watched prior to the show. The winning match was Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, but it was a five minute abbreviated version.
(1) The Bludgeon Brothers (Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) defeated The Usos and The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E w/Xavier Woods) and Rusev & Aiden English to retain the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Titles. Everyone cheered for Rusev Day. The New Day still get a pop from the crowds. In the beginning, Harper and Rowan stayed on the floor while the other three teams did some comedy in the ring. After three minutes, Harper and Rowan took everyone out and controlled the ring for five minutes. After a flurry of back and forth between the teams, Bludgeon Brothers pinned Rusev with their double team to retain.
(2) Big Cass pinned Tye Dillinger. Back and forth match with Tye going after Cass’s knee. In the end, Cass won with a big boot.
(3) Naomi & Becky Lynch & Asuka beat Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose & Lana. Sonya and Mandy came out to their own individual music, so no more Absolution. The crowd loved Becky and people danced to Naomi’s entrance. Becky took the mid-match beating and then tagged in Asuka to clean house. Asuka won with the Asuka Lock on Mandy Rose.
On the video board: Samoa Joe cut a promo for the U.S. Championship match against Jeff Hardy later in the evening
Miz TV: The Miz spoke about their past from NXT and the Talking Smack segment. The Miz played the insincere heel and said he wanted to “be friends with Daniel.” Daniel punched Miz, did the “Yes” Kicks, and then did the “Knee-Plus.” They may be going for that feud for Summerslam.
(4) Jeff Hardy defeated Samoa Joe and Shelton Benjamin and Jeff Hardy in a Fatal Four-way to retain the U.S. Title. Hardy touched every fans’ hands all around the front row all the way around the ramp and ring before the match. Even after 20 years, you can tell he still loves this and the people just connect with him. At the start of the match, Jeff was double teamed by Joe and Shelton. Joe then knocked Shelton out of the ring and controlled Hardy for five minutes. Shelton came in and broke up a count. Both Joe and Shelton fought which gave Jeff a chance to hit the “Whisper in the Wind” on both of them. Jeff then hit all of his moves and in the end hit the Swanton Bomb on Shelton for the win.
(6) Carmella pinned Charlotte to retain the Smackdown Women’s Title. Charlotte came out to “Wooos” everywhere. The IIconics came out, made fun of Charlotte, and then introduced Carmella. Carmella came out and paraded around with the title. They did formal ring introductions. During the match, every time Charlotte got the upper hand, the IIconics would interfere. After another distraction from the IIconics, Carmella won with a quick roll up for the win.
(7) A.J. Styles & Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson beat Shinsuke Nakamura & The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro). Although Shinsuke had the remixed theme, everyone watched his entrance, no matter what. I’m a huge fan of the remix. After Gallows and Anderson came out, A.J. Styles got a big pop. Shinsuke and A.J. were in the ring to start the match, but Shinsuke tagged out right away. After a few minutes of Gallows and Anderson controlling the match, the heels took over on Anderson and beat him down for ten minutes. At this point, Shinsuke tagged in once for a minute and A.J. only started the match for a minute. Then Shinsuke tagged in and hit A.J. on the apron. After a few more minutes Karl finally tagged in Luke Gallows. He cleared the ring of the heels and after a few minutes, A.J. hit the “Phenomenal Forearm” on Cesaro for the win.
Overall Pops of the Night:
(1) Daniel Bryan
(2) AJ Styles
(3) Jeff Hardy
Overall Boos:
(1) The Miz
(2) Big Cass
(3) Bludgeon Brothers
FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall, a good night of action and at least the stars appeared. The faces were cheered and the heels booed.
NOW CHECK OUT THIS RECENT REPORT: 5/2 WWE Smackdown HOLT Report in Montreal: On-site correspondent details what happened off live TV, Bryan vs. Nakamura
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