Ladies and Gentlemen, it appears that we have received Christmas presents in July as SmackDown delivered three women’s matches. The women were very well represented tonight.
Hey, @YaOnlyLivvOnce has something to say! pic.twitter.com/ZP9GfU87xH
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) July 17, 2019
During the Town Hall meeting at the start of the show, Charlotte Flair spoke on how much she appreciates Shane and the McMahon family. She gave praise to them for having been there for her since she was born. Liv Morgan took to the mic to stop the Queen from speaking.
Morgan asked Flair to stop being phony for once and asked her if there is anything real about her. Flair retaliated asking if she even works there. She didn’t even know she still worked there until Kevin Owens “belched” out her name last week. Morgan then blames Flair for the reason people like her don’t get opportunities.
This encounter led to the first women’s match of the night. Liv Morgan finally has a televised match since WrestleMania. The match may have only been a few minutes, but Morgan was able to get some solid offensive moves in with a Step Up Enziguri and a stomp to the back of Flair’s neck. Flair was able to put her away by executing a powerbomb and causing her to tap out in the Figure Eight.
After the match, Morgan grabbed the headset off of Corey Graves and yelled, “Charlotte was right, and when I come back I am going to be real.”
The other two matches were announced prior to tonight’s show starting. The next one was announced last week and that was Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville taking on Ember Moon and a partner of her choosing.
Moon chose Bayley as her partner. They were able to pick up the win against Fire and Desire as Moon delivered an Eclipse to Rose. After the match, Bayley stated she was ready for a new opponent for SummerSlam. She wants to “elevate” the SmackDown women’s division, which is what she wanted to do prior to her feud with Alexa Bliss.
She wanted someone who hasn’t faced her on the main roster. Someone who hasn’t had a title opportunity. Someone who would do the title justice if she lost. The champ chose Ember Moon. Moon accepted.
The last women’s match was for the nearly forgotten Women’s Tag Team Titles. The Kabuki Warriors finally received their title match after weeks of waiting. Kairi Sane and Asuka show great teamwork early on in the match and try to get a quick pin and a win, but fail to get the three count.
In the shortest match of the night, The IIconics play the heel game and get themselves counted out. The Kabuki Warriors win by count-out, but The IIconics are still your Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Only time will tell if this will lead to a rematch perhaps at SummerSlam, you know if WWE wants to allow the tag titles to actually be showcased again.
Let’s now discuss the Winners & Losers of the night.
WINNER: Liv Morgan
Liv Morgan may not have won her match, but she had a match. She also showed great work on the mic and up against Charlotte Flair no less. She did come out to the Riott Squad graphics and Ruby Riott‘s music, so it would be interesting to see that change.
Morgan had her own music and theme in NXT, but she hasn’t had to use her own since being on the main roster. Hopefully, this wasn’t just a one-off appearance to appease the “Shane McMahon is stealing time from the roster” storyline.
WINNER: Ember Moon
Ember picked up a win against her recent bullies in the form of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. She picked Bayley as her secret tag team partner despite many people thinking it could have been Sasha Banks returning.
After the match, Bayley chose Ember as her next opponent in a title match at SummerSlam. So naturally, this is possibly the biggest win and push for Ember’s main roster career. The decision was an awkward one in its delivery, but it happened nonetheless.
Perhaps the match will turn into a triple threat match or even a fatal four-way. It is hard to believe that Charlotte Flair will not be on the SummerSlam card in some fashion. Also if Sasha Banks returns she will more than likely be a part of this title bout.
LOSERS: The Kabuki Warriors
After weeks of waiting for their Women’s Tag Team Title chance that they earned, they weren’t able to capture gold. The IIconics got themselves counted out which means they retained their titles.
The Asuka and Kairi Sane pairing has been controversial since its inception and has received little to no air time. Perhaps they will face The IIconics again at SummerSlam and this storyline can actually build instead of having random backstage encounters.
What are your thoughts of SmackDown Live this week? Who were your Winners & Losers of the week? Discuss your thoughts in the comment section!!
