Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Baron Corbin
Nakamura gets a chance to avenge the low blow from Corbin on Smackdown Live. This match was slightly better than Sunday, with more physicality and intensity from both men. They turned it up a little bit, including strong shots of knees and punches from both men. Baron was able to get a close fall with a massive clothesline and a Deep Six, but Nakamura fired back with some knees to the neck/back area, a suplex and then a Kinsasha for the win.
A solid outing, nothing incredible, but a physical bout to let Nakamura win clean. Read below a little later on what Nakamura will be doing next week, but Baron Corbin losing does not do much good or bad for him. The briefcase is a safety net, no matter how they try to book him over the next few months. They have to let him find the perfect guy to cash in and I would not mind him in feuds with the likes of Styles, Dillinger or even something with John Cena.
Sami and Tye Win
A crowd favorite duo of men picked up a win over Mike Kanellis and Aiden English. Dillinger helped clean house with elbow shots and then a backbreaker. He would then tag in Sami Zayn and he hit a Helluva Kick for the win. He pins Mike Kanellis once again… clean.
Like I said on Battleground’s reaction piece, which can be read here, Mike Kanellis is not a guy like Kevin Owens or even AJ Styles. His success outside of WWE is great, but he is not someone on that level that can afford to come into the company and then lose consistently upon his debut. His gimmick CAN work, but losing certainly does not help that.
Tye Dillinger is the same, needing wins piled up. So, to play devil’s advocate, Tye should have won this match to make up for the odd booking of him on Sunday’s kickoff show. Luckily, not many people watch that and this can potentially help him get to another level of importance. It is all about timing with these mid card guys, and it might not the right time to climb the ladder.
