What the hell happened that one night in Milwaukee?!
Aiden’s cryptic words have been ringing in my ears ever since he threatened to disclose Lana’s secret to a mystified Rusev. But what could this devastating revelation be?
A quick Google search revealed the city’s number one attraction to be the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear, as ranked by TripAdvisor. I dug a little deeper and learnt that the historic building, located on scenic 11th street, offers patrons a glimpse into bygone Milwaukee Americana, with exhibits dating back to the period between the World Wars – chiefly the 1920’s and 1930’s.
It sounded promising but I wasn’t sure that I was on the right trail. The past certainly sounded like something that Lana might be interested in. It is, after all, where she left her Russian accent.
But then I realised that the museum closes at 4pm, making it an unlikely scene for whatever went down “that one night”.
What happens in Milwaukee…#SDLive #AidenDay
— Matthew Rehwoldt (@DramaKingMatt) September 26, 2018
Frustrated and without many leads, I thought about packing it in. But then, out of the blue, I received a clue that could crack the case wide open. News that Raw would be broadcast live from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on November 26th. And that tickets would be going on sale this week!
Coincidence? I couldn’t be sure. All I knew was that the search for the truth was leading me down a dark and treacherous rabbit hole… and there’s no bigger or darker hole than Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
But I felt compelled to uncover Lana’s secret. And for that, I was willing to do whatever it took. Even travel to Milwaukee.
So I informed WrestleTalk management that I was on the case and needed to draw on the full financial might of the company. Who could say how long this investigation might take? How many bars, casinos and taverns I’d have to visit. How many nights would need to be spent in a hotel – nothing too fancy, maybe four stars – in order to dig up the truth?
They countered by suggesting I just watch next week’s episode of SmackDown Live, because Aiden had announced that he would be revealing the secret to the world next Tuesday. It was a fair compromise.
I can’t wait to see what the jealous liar @WWEDramaKing is going to show next week on #SDLIVE as of “proof” of what happened in Milwaukee https://t.co/Y1puT74STW
— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) September 26, 2018
What else went down on the blue brand last night though? As has become customary in our Wrestletalk Roundtable discussions, we take you through what we considered the best and worst moments from last night’s episode, and then share our overall rating of the show. You fire back with your hot takes on last night’s events.
There’s a ton to get through in what was an especially eventful (and possibly criminal?) episode of SmackDown Live, so let’s get started.
What was your favourite moment from SmackDown?
Nate Craver
Becky Lynch. Her match with Lana was nothing special, but Becky is. The attack on Charlotte ended with her posing with one foot on the ‘Queen’ and the SmackDown Women’s title held high. She’s getting all the little things right. I just hope those booking the show will keep the belt on her for a long while.
The only problem will be credible challengers. Who’s next after Charlotte? Too bad Asuka’s busy being somebody’s BFF.
https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1044789220894625792
Eric Stites
Truth TV was awesome. R-Truth was so good in this segment. He has so much charisma and it almost felt like he’d been doing this type of show regularly. Daniel Bryan and the Miz were fantastic in this as well.
It was nice to watch the Miz come out and lose his mind at the thought of R-Truth stealing his shtick, as well as cutting a promo on Daniel. That was made all the better by Truth explaining the logic behind taking the talk show from the Miz. Even the seven second dance break was awesome. Normally I would hate random things like that but I think it really works with R-Truth’s wacky character.
The match that followed, after Paige told the Miz he had to beat R-Truth to win back Miz TV, was also very entertaining. I really liked the Miz mocking Truth, Brian and Carmella throughout the match.
JP Wood
There were a lot of highlights on last night’s SmackDown Live: Truth TV was hilarious, Rusev Day managed to build an engaging story and the contract signing did a great job of keeping Styles and Joe from ripping each other apart, while also maintaining Samoa Joe’s tightrope walk on the now very thin line of going too far.
With all of that said, my top segment on SmackDown had to be the Randy Orton beatdown of Tye Dillinger. Not because of the act itself, but because it represents another move forward in the long story of Randy Orton’s motives.
Yesterday, we saw Nakamura respond to Tye Dillinger’s challenge only to be interrupted by someone off camera who he hurried off to meet. It might be my conspiratorial side, but there’s a story afoot here and it makes me happy.
Brian Farrell
I love R-Truth. He is just fantastic. The opening segment had me laughing out loud – something I rarely do while watching WWE. Miz was great, Carmella was great, Daniel was great. It was nice to see them all having fun. I especially liked the ending of the match where Miz cheated to win, showing how he has the advantage over Bryan.
This was a great segment, fine match, and good build that has really turned around the Miz / Bryan feud for me. This is what it should be built around. Daniel having to overcome the Miz by simply being a better wrestler.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Nate Craver
Samoa Joe and AJ Styles’ closing segment. A couple of weeks ago I liked ‘story time with Joe’. Last night was a different story. Compared to the bedtime story, this was not well done. AJ Styles is not a champion for his acting ability. He really shouldn’t be booked in stories where he has to act live.
The ending of “Daddy’s Home” was pure cheesiness. If SmackDown is going for a Pillman / Stone Cold vibe here, then it isn’t hitting the mark. Also, it’s been said before, but this match should be a submission match. Calf-crusher vs. Coquina Clutch. Last night’s segment did not make me want to see the match more. The only reaction it got from me was an eye roll.
Eric Stites
My least favorite moment was the backstage attack on Charlotte Flair by Becky Lynch. At face value, I actually loved this segment. Becky once again showed just how good she is here and looked like a badass as always.
However, the reason this is my least favorite segment is because of the way the commentary team handled it. I hate to sound like a broken record but I’m sick of them trying to get it through our heads that Becky is the heel when she is clearly still loved by the fans. It’s time for them to give up and make her the badass tweener that we want her to be.
JP Wood
100% this was the New Day / Bar segment. Did it have bland, goofy trash talk and insults that we’ve heard a thousand times? Yep. Have we seen every combination of one-on-one matches between the New Day and the Bar? Yep. Did it serve any purpose or bring anything new to the table? Nope. I’ve been on this particular ride before, and it’s no fun at all.
Brian Farrell
Absolution vs Naomi and Asuka. I still don’t understand this team. I don’t really care about them and have never been interested in this pairing. Naomi and Asuka are far better than this. All of this seems pointless and repetitive, at least until we introduce women’s tag team championships.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: SmackDamn, Smacktastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, Ellsworthy and A Smack in the Face)
Nate Craver
Honestly, I find these shows hard to rank. I feel confident some will disagree, but I felt like this show was Ellsworthy.
People are going to like the Truth TV segment, but I didn’t. Sure, it was funny, but Bryan and Miz don’t need all the sideshow antics for their feud. They have a simple story, but WWE has made it ridiculous by interjecting all of these pointless additions. Therefore, I found it a waste of time.
Orton attacking Dillinger was interesting, but where’s the great wrestling? You’ve got Almas, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Nakumura, Cesaro and Shelton Benjamin on your roster. You’ve got Asuka, Charlotte, Becky and Sonya Deville. Week in and week out, we should be seeing at least one or two high quality matches.
Instead, SmackDown gave us angles and meaningless, one-sided matches (with the exception of Sheamus and Big E). In recent weeks, we’ve seen matches where anyone with half a brain knew who the winner would be, but they were still great. There were no matches last night that I would say someone needs to watch.
In fact, other than Aiden dropping the Milwaukee bomb, you could have skipped this entire week of SmackDown and have no problem catching up next week. But, it’s still usually more entertaining than Raw. Whoo!!
Eric Stites
I’m giving this show a Smacktastic. Last night’s SmackDown was very entertaining and only one or two parts of the show seemed at all bad. There was a lot more wrestling than normal which was nice to see, especially because the the majority of it was great.
The promo segments were all very well done and the abrupt ending to the show after Samoa Joe rang the doorbell to AJ Styles’ house and said “Daddy’s home” was brilliant. This was a fantastic episode and I’m very excited to see what happens next week.
There MUST be a winner when @AJStylesOrg puts his #WWEChampionship ON THE LINE against @SamoaJoe at @WWE Super Show-Down! #WWESSD #SDLive pic.twitter.com/oaPGbLiwJF
— WWE (@WWE) September 26, 2018
JP Wood
Smacktastic. But I honestly considered going all the way to SmackDamn this week. Aside from a weak bit here and there, SmackDown Live was genuinely entertaining last night. It feels like WWE is coming back around on telling multiple stories within the same show. It amazes me how much better they are at it on SmackDown right now compared to Raw.
Brian Farrell
Smacktastic. This was a very enjoyable show. Loved the opening segment and the closing angle with Joe, liked Nakamura, Dillinger and Orton, loved Becky the whole night, loved the Rusev / Lana / English angle, liked Sheamus vs Big E. Becky Lynch vs Lana was fine, and Absolution vs Asuka wasn’t anything terrible. A very good show that flew by!
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