WWE SmackDown Live 8/30/16 Retro Recap, Raw 8/29/16 Review

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Fred Richani and Scott Anderson recap WWE SmackDown Live on Aug. 30, 2016, and Raw on Aug. 29, the night Kevin Owens won the Universal title, with an early look at Backlash.

Episode Recap

Summarized from the episode and edited for clarity and brevity. Listen above for the full discussion.

Both hosts give SmackDown thumbs in the middle: not a good show, not a bad show, just a show, and flat after such a newsworthy Raw. AJ Styles did some comedy wearing John Cena’s wristband, then beat Apollo Crews clean with the Phenomenal Forearm in a slightly sloppy match. Dean Ambrose beat Baron Corbin by disqualification when AJ’s kick hit Corbin instead, then hit Corbin with Dirty Deeds anyway. Fred wonders why Ambrose couldn’t just beat Corbin, while Scott notes SmackDown’s thin roster.

The ending bothered Fred. Ambrose ducked a Phenomenal Forearm, AJ crotched himself on the top rope, and Ambrose shook the rope, patted him on the back and posed with the title. Scott calls it a poor man’s version of something Stone Cold Steve Austin would do, but Fred says that kind of comedy doesn’t belong with the No. 1 contender who just beat Cena clean at SummerSlam. The Miz cut a great promo calling out Daniel Bryan and vowing to bring prestige back to the Intercontinental title, then got Dolph Ziggler, again, for Backlash. Fred respects Ziggler as a wrestler but says he has no heat as a babyface and should turn heel. Both worry WWE is teasing Shane McMahon vs. Brock Lesnar.

The Hype Bros beat The Vaudevillains in the tag team title tournament, and Heath Slater and Rhyno beat The Headbangers, after a trailer park skit with Renee Young that Scott didn’t love. Natalya and Alexa Bliss beat Becky Lynch and Naomi after Carmella attacked Nikki Bella. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt traded promos, and Fred fears Wyatt is about to lose another feud. Kane squashed a local wrestler and had a brief staredown with Baron Corbin.

On Raw, Fred is happy for new Universal champion Kevin Owens, but he worries Owens becomes what Randy Orton was in 2013 and Seth Rollins was in 2015 with The Authority. His ideas: have Owens power bomb Triple H to prove he doesn’t need help, or, in hindsight, a bigger swerve would have been Sami Zayn helping Owens win. Chris Jericho beat Neville in a really good match, Sheamus took a 2-0 lead over Cesaro in their best-of-seven series, and Paul Heyman’s apology to Stephanie McMahon was strange. Scott likes Bayley with The New Day, but Fred finds the pairing a little awkward and thinks Bayley is challenging for the title too soon.

Other news: Alberto Del Rio has reportedly opted out of his WWE contract, ending a return that started promisingly with a win over Cena and went nowhere. Both have concerns about how the cruiserweight division will be presented on Raw, and Fred says Ring of Honor’s partnership with New Japan is making New Japan look great and ROH look inferior. Fred also credits Michael Cole for doing a much better job alongside Corey Graves.