Daniel Bryan and Mick Foley as General Managers of Smackdown and RAW
To kick off the show, we find out that Mick Foley will be running RAW, while Daniel Bryan will be running Smackdown. These are neither of my first choices, but I cannot say I am NOT excited to see where this goes. Mick Foley spoke gold on RAW, comparing this era to the Attitude Era. Whenever those two words are spoken, all of our ears perk up and we listen. I do not think it will be anything like it, but it was smart for him to focus on what got RAW high ratings in the past. I also enjoy the fact that he does have a voice that has been heard over social media. He became quite a controversial guy outside of WWE, freely speaking about his opinions. Even if he is only used as an on-screen character, his status in the company can only help some of the young guys that he views as “the future.”
Daniel Bryan is interesting to me as well. He is not the best speaker, but the crowd still loves him. I think Daniel is a great fit for a young and changing Smackdown. He can still relate to the casual fans, but bring in the hardcore fans on a Tuesday night. His biggest obstacle might be the crowd wanting him to give them “One More Match.” Can’t you see this affecting him down the road? Other than the fact that both General Managers are faces, which makes no sense, thumbs up for both men leading the shows. It should bring something fresh and different on a weekly basis.
Sami and Cesaro defeated Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho starts off with Cesaro, who hits a gutwrench for a two count. Uppercuts and more strikes until Sami Zayn gets tagged in. Back from the break and Jericho grounds Sami on the mat. He works on his legs and lower body, as Owens hits Zayn with a cheap shot. Cesaro tags in and unloads on Jericho with about 10-15 uppercuts. Cesaro with the Uppercut Train on Owens. Cesaro hits the springboard uppercut on Jericho for a 2 count. Sami and Owens eventually get tags and unload on each other with rights and lefts, something we have seen plenty of times before. Kevin Owens tries the pop-up powerbomb and a blind tag is made. Cesaro and Jericho get in and a crossbody from the Swiss Superman. Zayn is able to use a brief distraction to roll up Jericho for the win.
Very smooth execution tonight from these four guys. Kevin Owens did not get all of his offense in, but that is okay. He is a guy that does not need to utilize his entire set every night. Jericho and Cesaro carried the offense here and both men are so smooth when transitioning into their next moves. I cannot recall such precision and strength from a guy other than Cesaro in quite some time. Great tag team action, maybe the last one we see for a while as these four will most likely be split up a bit.
