“I’m Better Than You, And You Know It”

"Every Man Has A Price For The Million Dollar Man"

"The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be"

"Whatcha Gonna Do, When Hulkamania Runs Wild On You"

"And That's The Bottom Line Because Stone Cold Said So"

<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Paige Is Done Being The GM While The Leading Women Get To Air Their Opinion</strong></h2>



<p>SmackDown started in a sombre mood this week. We are informed that <strong>Paige</strong> is now stepping down from her role as GM. </p>



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<p>This was not a change that we wanted to see. Paige was actually good in the role. However, we were also informed that she isn’t going away which points to a new role for her and we are excited to see what that is. The tribute she got from the entire locker room was very heartening.</p>


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<p>The action then moved on to the ring where understandably it was <strong>Becky Lynch</strong> who aired her grievances over losing her championship. <strong>Flair</strong> joined her and while we are still unsure about whether these two are heels or faces or somewhere in between, whatever they are doing is working. </p>


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<p><strong>Asuka</strong> came out to a nice ovation and we must admit that we are indeed very happy to see Asuka as the champion. It has been a long time coming and she truly deserves this spot even though it came under dubious circumstances. </p>



<p>This was cue for <strong>Vince McMahon</strong> to hit the ring and like yesterday, he was greeted with deafening boos. The old man still has it as he very concisely told Lynch to shut up as the title loss occurred on a match that was the “anything goes” type. </p>



<p>He reminded Flair and Lynch that if they have a problem with Rousey then they should take it up with Rousey instead of ranting about it. While the whole McMahons taking charge didn’t work on RAW, it was actually quite good to see Vince on SmackDown. </p>



<p>This could also be because Vince was alone and SmackDown isn’t as down in the dumps as RAW. This was a great start and points to an exciting angle between Rousey, Flair and Lynch. The women’s revolution is alive and well.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Asuka Overcomes The Glow</strong></h2>



<p>Vince McMahon booked <strong>Asuka’s first title defense</strong> and it was against former champ <strong>Naomi</strong>. </p>



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<p>This match took place with Charlotte and Lynch sitting and watching. At first it felt annoying as it looked like Asuka was playing the third wheel to these two. Thankfully, they didn’t interfere and allowed the match to proceed normally. </p>


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<p>The match was actually quite good and enjoyable. Naomi wasn’t expected to win here but that did not stop her from pulling out all the stops. Asuka put up her first title defense in style. </p>



<p>We were a bit skeptical about how this angle was going to work on SmackDown with the immensely popular Lynch dropping the title to Asuka. So far it has been great. Asuka is hanging in there with aplomb and could be more than just an enabler. </p>



<p>This brings the exciting prospect of having a worthwhile title feud hand in hand with Rousey, Flair and Lynch tearing the house down.</p>



<p><strong>Winner and still SmackDown Women’s Champion: </strong><em>Asuka</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Miz, Rusev And Samoa Joe Put On Interesting Segments</strong></h2>



<p>The whole angle of the <strong>Miz</strong> pursuing Shane to be his tag partner was getting a bit old but somehow the addition of Vince into the equation made it interesting again. </p>



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<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="KQFcXKXFSnE"><iframe loading="lazy" title="The Miz asks for Mr. McMahon&#039;s blessing to team with Shane McMahon: SmackDown LIVE, Dec. 18, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KQFcXKXFSnE?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<p>We are told that Miz will be in a tag match later with both his opponents and partner being selected by the senior McMahon which should be interesting.</p>


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<p><strong>Rusev</strong> made fun of <strong>Nakamura</strong> by calling him <em>Sonic the Hedgehog</em> and for once WWE found a way to make fun of an overseas heel without being racially insensitive. At this point we aren’t going to get too excited about the US title picture but something tells us that Rusev Day is going to be celebrated soon.</p>



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<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="P1qfD8e4UsY"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Rusev promises to take the United States Title from Shinsuke Nakamura: SmackDown LIVE, Dec. 18, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P1qfD8e4UsY?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<p>This was followed by an in-ring segment where <strong>Samoa Joe</strong> was supposed to apologize to <strong>Jeff Hardy</strong>. We all knew that this was a ruse and thankfully so did Jeff Hardy. He saw Joe’s tactics coming from a mile away and dealt with it in an authoritative way we haven’t seen from him lately. This part of the show was surprisingly good too. </p>



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<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>We Thank The Heavens For R-Truth And Carmella</strong></h2>



<p><strong>R-Truth</strong> and <strong>Carmella</strong> were revealed to be the surprise opponents for <strong>Miz</strong> and <strong>Mandy Rose</strong> was going to be his partner. R-Truth and Carmella are having the time of their lives and that is evident in the way they are just carrying themselves at the moment. </p>



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<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="L4l289Bw6uk"><iframe loading="lazy" title="R-Truth &amp; Carmella vs. The Miz &amp; Mandy Rose: SmackDown LIVE, Dec. 18, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L4l289Bw6uk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<p>The pre-match banter was silly but so entertaining. They even managed to squeeze a dance break into the match. Normally WWE has the habit of using a successful trope way too many times until it becomes unbearable. Thankfully, WWE is holding back and perfectly timing these dance breaks to make them as impactful as possible. </p>


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<p>We were almost hoping for another victory for this fun team but Miz and Mandy Rose would employ great teamwork to pick up the win and we are fine with that. </p>



<p>It is understandable that the Miz needed this win more and R-Truth and Carmella are the kind of team who can walk away unfazed from a defeat as long as they were able to entertain the crowd which they did here. </p>



<p><strong>Winners: </strong><em>The Miz and Mandy Rose</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Usos And The Good Brothers Put On A Great Tag Match</strong></h2>



<p>One area where WWE has been performing frustratingly poorly recently is in the tag division. We touched on this during our <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="One area where WWE has been performing frustratingly poorly recently is in the tag division. We touched on this during our review of TLC. We have been getting the rehash of the same three teamsagain and again and it all felt like WWE were playing the same stuff on a loopwhenever Smackdown’s tag division was on air. WWE proved today that they areaware of this as they had The Good Brothers come out to confront the Usos andlet them know that it is unfair for the same teams to keep getting all thechances. Rightfully they pointed out that it has been four months since theirlast match. This led to a match which was actually quite good again provingthat the fault isn’t with a lack of talent but the way it is being booked atthe moment. The match couldn’t come to a proper end as the Bar interrupted andwhile it felt like WWE were going back to their old script, SaNiTy hit the ringand laid everyone out to make things all right. The Bar played the cowardlyheels to perfection. Putting SaNiTy in the title picture would rejuvenate thefloundering tag division and tonight was a step in the right direction. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://api.wrestlingworld.co/reviews/wwe-tlc-2018-results-review/" target="_blank"><strong>review of TLC</strong></a>. </p>



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<p>We have been getting the rehash of the same three teams again and again and it all felt like WWE were playing the same stuff on a loop whenever SmackDown’s tag division was on air. </p>


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<p>WWE proved today that they are aware of this as they had <strong>The Good Brothers</strong> come out to confront <strong>The Usos</strong> and let them know that it is unfair for the same teams to keep getting all the chances. Rightfully they pointed out that it has been four months since their last match. </p>


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<p>This led to a match which was actually quite good again proving that the fault isn’t with a lack of talent but the way it is being booked at the moment. </p>



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<p>The match couldn’t come to a proper end as <strong>The Bar</strong> interrupted and while it felt like WWE were going back to their old script, <strong>SaNiTy</strong> hit the ring and laid everyone out to make things all right. The Bar played the cowardly heels to perfection. Putting SaNiTy in the title picture would rejuvenate the floundering tag division and this week was a step in the right direction.</p>



<p><strong>Winners: </strong><em>No contest</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>An Awesome Main Event</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Mustafa Ali</strong> is fitting in perfectly with his role on the SmackDown roster and tonight was his night. He teamed up with <strong>AJ Styles</strong> to take on the team of <strong>Daniel Bryan</strong> and <strong>Andrade Cien Almas</strong>. </p>



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<p>All four of these men are great single’s wrestlers but tonight they put on one of the best tag matches we have seen in a long time. It was a great exhibition of newcomers Ali and Almas while adding a fresh dimension to the feud of Bryan and Styles. </p>



<p>The match had everything a classic tag match should have but the biggest surprise was stored for the end. We were pretty sure that it would either end in a DQ or one of the newcomers pinning the other. Instead it was <strong>Mustafa Ali who pinned Daniel Bryan</strong>. Let that sink in. </p>


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<p>Mustafa Ali, who just two weeks ago was floundering on 205, pinned one of the biggest superstars of our generation cleanly on just his second outing on SmackDown. </p>



<p>This was a great way to end a great show. It keeps the feud alive and we are almost scared to think of what Bryan is going to do to Ali as retaliation. Either way, at least one men’s world title is in safe hands and we couldn’t really ask for more.</p>



<p><strong>Winners: </strong><em>Mustafa Ali and AJ Styles</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>


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<p><strong>Overall Review: </strong>SmackDown didn’t really need fixing and barring a couple of bad shows they have had a stellar record of late. The addition of just Vince McMahon was a big advantage and we had one of the most enjoyable SmackDowns in recent memory. </p>



<p>We are overjoyed that after complaining about the tag division ever since The Bar became the champs we were finally treated to not one, not two but three awesome tag matches. The tag division isn’t fixed yet but at least WWE is making the right moves. </p>



<p>The women’s division is smoulderingly hot right now and we are even excited for Rusev. We would also like to put it out there that R-Truth and Carmella are going to enter last in their respective Royal Rumble matches which should be fun as well.</p>



<p><strong>Overall Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>



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WWE SmackDown Live Results & Review: December 18, 2018

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