Tuesday Night Smackdown! Live Television Report for February 21, 2017 – “Decisions, Decisions.”
Introduction: Video Promo
A recap montage of Elimination Chamber, last week’s Smackdown!, and Talking Smack surrounding the WWE Championship scenario starts.
Arena Promo
We go live to Ontario, California. Tonight, a 10-Man Battle Royal to determine who will meet WWE Champion Bray Wyatt (love to write that!) at WrestleMania for the WWE Championship will happen. General Manager Daniel Bryan makes his entrance to a loud ovation. He reiterates how close we are to WrestleMania, and that many things can change before then. He asks the crowd to welcome Women’s Champion Naomi. She fans greet her happily with “you deserve it chants,” but theirs and hers moods turn when Bryan announces that he has to get her to give up the title due to her knee injury.
Naomi surrenders the championship and gives a heart-felt goodbye, talking about how last week was a high and this week is not. She figures that wrestling at WrestleMania is not going to happen either, but vows to regain the title as soon as she is ready.
Former champion Alexa Bliss walks out. She applauds and mocks Naomi for her speech, and then, after getting frustrated with the fans, she presumes she will be getting the championship back. Daniel starts to and then denies; instead, he says that she will wrestle another woman for the title, right now! That woman is Becky Lynch!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single for the Women’s Championship – Alexa Bliss (Challenger) VS. Becky Lynch (Challenger)
They lockup and then shove each other. Alexa goes for a kick but Becky turns it into a roll-up. Lynch goes for a kick, but Bliss catches it; Becky counters with an enziguri for two! Becky runs off of the ropes with a shoulder-tackle, and then trips up Alexa as she went for a leapfrog. Bliss reverses into a jackknife cover, which Lynch turns into a backslide for two! “The Irish Lass-Kicker” arm drags Alexa, but can’t get an O’Connor Roll-up as Bliss held onto the top rope.
Alexa pounds away on Becky’s head and then presses her against the middle rope. She stretches Lynch’s arms, but is reversed off of a whip-try into a Beck-Xploder suplex!
Commercials.
Lynch measures Bliss in the corner and hits her running-forearm and then exploder-suplexes her again for two! Becky kicks Bliss away and then climbs the turnbuckle. She soars off with a missile-dropkick but still can’t take this. She tries to drag Alexa, but Bliss holds onto the ring apron; as the referee fixes it, Alexa hits Becky in the throat and rolls her up for the victory!
Winner via Pinfall and NEW Women’s Champion: Alexa Bliss
Post-match, Bliss celebrates with Mickie James, and then Mickie runs and tries to attack Lynch, but is fended off.
The announcers put over the #1 Contender’s Battle Royal, and say that all involved will talk about the opportunity.
Video Promo
Dean Ambrose is backstage and says, that despite all he’s been through between Elimination Chamber and Smackdown! Live last week, he will fight for the right to the WWE Championship, even if he has to go through Baron Corbin.
Kalisto says that no one expected him to make it this far, but he has and will go further, thanks to the fans.
The Miz wonders why there is even a Battle Royal; he says he should just have the title shot due to his status.
Up next, Tag-Team Champions American Alpha will be wrestling!
Commercials.
Backstage Promo
Rene Young asks Natalya about her Falls-Count-Anywhere Match with Nikki Bella tonight. Natalya proclaims that Nikki “has everyone fooled,” which includes her real-life boyfriend John Cena, but that won’t happen anymore following their match, and she dismisses Rene.
Match #2: Tag-Team – Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) VS. Tag-Team Champions American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) (Non-Title)
Breezango attack Alpha right away and then dominate for a bit; Jordan and Gable comeback and finish Tyler and Fandango with an Electric-Chair Bulldog!
Winners via Pinfall: American Alpha
Post-match, The Usos cut a promo from the front row, saying that whatever feeling Chad and Jason have, it is Jey and Jimmy right behind them!
Commercials.
Video Promo
A.J. Styles is joyful backstage – he pronounces that he is going to WrestleMania!
Dolph Ziggler declares that “the new era is over” and superkicks the background.
Mojo Rawley is “hyped-up” (pun-intended) for the Battle Royal because “it’s for WrestleMania.”
Luke Harper says that he has broken himself from the spell of WWE Champion Bray Wyatt, and threatens “after I am victorious tonight, there will be nowhere left for him to run.”
Backstage Promo
Nikki Bella is asked by Rene Young about her feud with Natalya. She says “stay tuned, because after tonight, Nattie will forever be known as ‘The Broken Hart.’”
Nikki makes her entrance for the match, next!
Commercials.
Match #3: Single – Nikki Bella VS. Natalya
(Stipulation: Falls-Count-Anywhere)
Nikki spears and hammers away on Natalya immediately! She covers but only gets two, and then goes under the ring to collect a table. Natalya baseball-slides to stop it and then puts the table back under the ring. They brawl through the crowd, and Nattie tosses Nikki over a barricade into an equipment area. She tries a suplex from there to the floor, but Bella stops it. Nikki leaps off with a kick and almost takes this!
Bella chucks Natalya back to the ring area but is shoved into the corner of the barrier. Natalya throws her into the ring post and the steps. Nattie collects a kendo stick but elects to rip the announce table apart instead! Nikki hits back with forearms, but is almost powerbombed through the table from the apron! Nikki picks up Natalya Alabama-Slams her onto the table for a near-fall!
Commercials.
Natalya has Bella locked in the Sharpshooter, but Nikki crawls to the bottom rope. Natalya drags Nikki to the ramp where she suplexes her! 1 – 2 – Nikki lifts her shoulder! She chucks her into equipment boxes and into the backstage area. Maryse walks over and is tackled into; Nikki rams Nattie’s head into a mirror, shattering the object. 1 – 2 – Nattie lifts her shoulder! They fight back to the ramp, where Nikki reverses a Sharpshooter into the STF! Maryse runs out and starts whaling on Nikki with a pipe. Miz manages to lift Maryse away, but Natalya crawls over and covers for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Natalya
Commercials.
Video Promo
Baron Corbin is backstage, saying that “the spotlight will be on me, as I take my rightful place in the Main Event of WrestleMania. Why? Because ‘Baron Corbin.’”
Apollo Crews proclaims that anyone who is in his path will be “rolled-over, run-over, and tossed over the top, real quick.”
WWE Champion Bray Wyatt is with his new protégé, Randy Orton. He tells Orton that he has “earned the keys to ‘the kingdom,’” and that the winner of the Battle Royal will be his “sacrificial lamb” at WrestleMania.
John Cena makes his entrance and the Main Event is next!
Commercials.
Match #4: Battle Royal – John Cena VS. Kalisto VS. Apollo Crews VS. Mojo Rawley VS. The Miz VS. Dolph Ziggler VS. Luke Harper VS. Baron Corbin VS.A.J. Styles VS. Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose
(Stipulation: #1 Contender’s Spot for the WWE Championship)
They all brawl and try to eject each other for the first bit.
Commercials.
Baron Corbin is on top, as he is the only one standing. Mojo makes a comeback but is suddenly tossed over and is eliminated! Harper hits a superkick on Baron, and then Kalisto plants Ziggler with his Solida-Del-Sol! He puts Luke down and then (awkwardly) moonsaults Ambrose from the top turnbuckle. He and Dolph fight on the apron, and Ziggler tears at Kalisto’s mask and then superkicks him to eliminate! Apollo gains some momentum, and then leaping-kicks Dolph to eliminate him! Ziggler grabs a chair and whacks Kalisto on the back; Crews was distracted and then dumped out by Corbin! Apollo takes the chair and chases Dolph away.
A.J. and Cena slug away in the middle, with cheers for A.J. and jeers for John. An Attitude Adjustment is tried but Styles lands on his feet; Harper superkicks Cena but gets Pele-Kicked! Ambrose tries Dirty Deeds but is countered with a forearm; but A.J. is hit with a clothesline and then Dean hits back on Baron with the slingshot-clothesline!
Miz is realizes he is the only one fresh, and then taunts like Daniel Bryan. He hits running-corner-dropkicks on Harper, Corbin, Dean, and A.J. He then kicks away at John like Bryan, but misses the final one and Cena tosses him to the floor!
Commercials.
Ambrose tries to suplex A.J., but Styles reverses into a German Suplex try! Cena runs up and clasps Dean, and then a triple German suplex is given between all three! He goes for the Five-Knuckle-Shuffle, but is slammed with End of Days by Corbin! He almost gets a Dirty Deeds DDT, but works his way out of it; he runs at Ambrose but the I.C. Champ ducks and pulls the top rope down, sending Baron tumbling and eliminated! Baron yanks Ambrose under the rope (so he is not eliminated) and drives him to the floor with End of Days.
John is up but Miz slides back in and throws him over; the officials hold Cena back and signal that he is eliminated! Miz backs into the crowd.
We are down to Harper and Styles! They both go back-and-forth, with eliminations! Ambrose slides back in (right, he’s still in this!), and almost dumps both! All three are now on the apron, eligible for elimination. Dean is almost dropped, and then A.J. jumps onto him; Luke kicks Dean, taking him out!
Harper tries a suplex from the apron, but A.J. wiggles to land on the apron. Luke is back in the ring while Styles is on the apron. Harper sees it but they are both back in the ring and square off. A.J. kicks away, but Luke boots back. They both fight tooth-and-nail, and Harper suplexes A.J. but also drops to the floor. The referees are trying to decide who won; General Manager Daniel Bryan runs down and may do that!
Bryan calls it “a draw,” and announces there will be a winner next week.
Winner: None due to General Manager’s Decision of a Draw
Post-match, Luke is furious and hits A.J. with a Discus Clothesline! The lights go out and WWE Champion Bray Wyatt, along with Randy Orton, appears on screen; he laughs maniacally to close the show.
End of Smackdown! Live.
