By John Moore
WWE Talking Smack
Aired April 5, 2017 on the WWE Network
-Shane McMahon filled in for Daniel Bryan this week as he and Renee Young checked in from the Talking Smack set. Renee talked about how exciting it was to see the debuts of Tye Dillinger and Shinsuke Nakamura on Smackdown. Renee recollected about how she got goosebumps from seeing the violin entrance at NXT Takeover. Shane said he was happy for both guys and liked their energy.
-Renee made the next topic WrestleMania. Shane said he felt great with Smackdown being a solid follow up to Mania while also thanking the fans who stuck around for multiple events during WrestleMania week. Renee said this was one of her most favorite WrestleMania sets ever.
-Renee asked Shane how he felt after his match with AJ. Shane talked about getting loosened up in the hot tub. Shane said his one on one confrontation with AJ on Smackdown meant a lot to him and he said AJ was Phenomenal. Shane went silent while watching his confrontation with AJ. Shane said mutual respect came out of the match. Shane said it was humbling to perform in front of 75,000 plus at WrestleMania 33.
-Naomi was the first guest who was selling knee soreness. Renee recapped Naomi’s WrestleMania entrance and wanted Naomi to elaborate on a “booty thing” that she did midway down the ramp. Naomi joked that Jimmy Uso didn’t like that part. Naomi said she didn’t feel the length of the ramp until she made it winded at the end. Shane revealed to her that the ramp was 80 yards much to Naomi’s surprise.
-Renee brought up the “Superstar Shakeup” and wondered what would happen if the Smackdown Women’s title went to Raw. Naomi said she would prefer to stay on Smackdown since she got her opportunity here but if she had to move she’s ready for anybody. Renee asked Naomi about possible dream opponents that could possibly come from Raw to face her. Naomi brought up wanting to face Charlotte due to them both being equal athletically. Naomi said she wanted to compare herself to the person considered the best in the division. Renee and Shane told Naomi not to sell herself short since she’s the best with the Women’s Championship.
-Shane wondered about Naomi’s vertical leap. Naomi said she wasn’t sure about that herself and Shane proposed possibly measuring her vertical someday in the future. This concluded the interview. Naomi said she was going to spend the rest of the night icing her knee and resting.
-Renee tried to prod at Shane about the “Superstar Shakeup”. Shane talked about negotiations being ongoing. Renee wondered if they had to contact Kurt Angle. Shane said everything goes through the chairman. Shane then wondered who would get “the first pick”.
John’s Thoughts: In what? A draft? Because Vince’s promo almost clearly stated that this wasn’t a draft.
-Renee assumed that Smackdown would get the first pick since Raw got the last number one pick. Shane was less hopeful since he called Stephanie “Daddy’s Little Girl”. Renee looked at the bumper card for the “Shakeup” and pointed out how that was a good visual as to how deep the WWE Talent pool is.
-Renee asked Shane “who’s got the monay!” to both poke fun at his theme music and to inquire about who Shane would want to see on Raw. Shane said he doesn’t want to tip his hand but Brock Lesnar would be an obvious choice. Shane also talked about Roman Reigns being a hot commodity after what he did to Undertaker. Renee gave Roman’s Raw boo moment a “dayyyyym”. Renee asked Shane if Smackdown wanted to ditch anyone. Shane said he doesn’t want anyone to leave since Smackdown is the land of opportunity. Shane said those wrestlers would have been buried on Raw. Shane then said if he does lose people he hopes they keep their momentum on Raw. He also joked about sending spies to Raw.
-Tye Dillinger was the next guest. Tye said it took him 15 years to get to this point. Tye thanked Shane and complemented Shane on Shane’s match against AJ Styles. Shane wondered what Tye thought about the crowd giving him a huge pop. Tye called Orlando NXT’s home turf, which is what made this moment easy. Shane also brought up Tye getting a great moment at the Royal Rumble. Tye said this moment from Smackdown topped it. Tye complimented the WWE Universe for latching on to wrestlers they like while letting the wrestlers they hate know that as well. Tye talked about liking the chance to perform on Smackdown and soon ended the interview.
-Renee said the superstar shakeup was tripping her out. Renee compared this episode of Smackdown to the Raw after Mania. Renee talked about Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin having a brutal match and thought the belt was a rare sight to see in matches like this. Shane talked about being impressed by the aggression and how this was the land of opportunity which the wrestlers took.
-Renee and Shane talked about Shinsuke Nakamura. Shane called Nakamura a rock star and Renee recapped NXT Takeover again where he had the violin entrance. Shane said Nakamura is ready and he’s trying hard to keep Nakamura on the Smackdown roster after the shakeup.
-Shane called the “Shake-up” a curveball thrown at him by Vince. Shane said there was discussion that wasn’t finalized but this was just a method of Vince. Renee wondered if Smackdown was being pushed down because they were getting to big.
-Before they could get to talking about John Cena and Nikki Bella, the Usos showed up as the next guests to hang out with Shane. The Usos brought up how they were snubbed from WrestleMania as the only championship not defended on the show. Jimmy talked about being okay resting on the sidelines, but he would prefer if they had a chance to represent. Shane called the Usos amazing and wondered if they wanted to defend the title. Jey said they were getting bored by just holding on to the titles. Shane brought up having their back but the Mania card just got full.
-Shane said if the Usos stay on Smackdown next week, who they were possibly looking forward to facing. Jey hyped still being the Smackdown champions on Shane’s show. He talked about shaking up Enzo and Cass, Hardy Boyz, Bullet Club. Jimmy said he was a fired up Uso too. Shane proposed a match against American Alpha for next week if both teams are still on Smackdown. Jey laughed it off. Shane wondered if they were scared. Jey said they weren’t scared because they go to church. Jimmy logically brought up how being the Smackdown champions should mean that they’re staying on Smackdown. Shane said Vince said “nothing’s off limits” and new information is coming in about the situation. The Usos eventually left and even invited Shane to their family BBQ. Shane talked about going way back with the Samoan family.
-Shane went back to talking about WrestleMania and how people were left off due to limited spots.
-Shane talked about Miz and Maryse being so funny. He said his favorite part was “John Cena” telling “Nikki” to show affection. Renee talked about how Miz has had one of his biggest years of his career. Shane gave Miz credit for working hard and being good in the ring. Shane also gave Miz credit for doing all of the WWE media things. Renee really liked Maryse’s Nikki Bella body language. Renee closed out the show.
John’s Thoughts: This episode was a bit all over the place. My hypothesis for that seems to be Shane and he’s usually pretty good on this show but he looked like he was half awake. He did mention that one time that he doesn’t watch Raw so he might just be way out of the loop (and WWE Network replays that quote during every Talking Smack advertisement). Renee really tried to tell a story regarding the “Roster Shakeup” but Shane just couldn’t stay in one direction throughout the night. Another one of Shane’s weaknesses on this show is when they start showing the replays he goes mostly silent to watch the recap rather than have the replay just be a visual aid for the audience. This episode really missed Daniel Bryan’s energy. Hopefully Bryan returns next week. Or hopefully Shane drinks an espresso beforehand if he has to host again.
Feedback is always appreciated and feel free to contact me via twitter @liljohnm to tweet and discuss Smackdown or Talking Smack. You can also comment and discuss WWE directly with me via email: jmoore3.net@gmail.com.
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