Renee Young welcomes us to Talking Smack alongside Commissioner Shane McMahon. Young talks about how excited she was to see Shinsuke Nakamura debut, and that every time she hears the violin play in his entrance she gets goosebumps. Shane McMahon wants to thank all the fans for making WrestleMania 33 such a big success. She asks how Shane feels after his match with AJ Styles and he says he feels okay. He thought AJ Styles was classy tonight to offer his hand for a “good little moment.” Renee Young shows us footage of the handshake and how it’s good that AJ and Shane are on speaking terms with the superstar shakeup this Monday.
Our hosts welcome our first guest, SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi, who just picked up her second win in her hometown of Orlando over the last 3 days with a successful title defense over Alexa Bliss. We see footage of Naomi’s entrance at WrestleMania, and Naomi said she got a little heat from her husband Jimmy Uso for her booty dancing as they all laugh. They talk about how long the 80 yard ramp was at Sunday’s show. Renee brings up the Superstar Shake-up and the possibility that Naomi could end up on Raw. When asked who she might like to face, Naomi says that she wants to wrestle Charlotte to see where she measures up against the best. Shane tells her not to sell herself short and puts over her vertical leap. Naomi says it’s time to see her family and ice her knee before she makes her exit.
Renee brings up the Superstar Shake-up again, and Shane says negotiations are already starting. She asks if he will be working with Kurt Angle during the process, and Shane tells us that everything must go through the Chairman. He wonders who will end up getting the first pick. Our co-hosts put over the deep talent pool, and when Renee asks Shane to pick a superstar that he might want from Raw, he [icks Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns stand out after their performances at ‘Mania. Young asks if there is anybody he might want to get rid of, but he says it’s all about opportunity and giving everyone on SmackDown a chance. He says maybe they could even have some secret agent spies on Raw.
This leads us to Renee Young welcoming Smackdown’s newest superstar Tye Dillinger. He says he’s been waiting 15 years for this moment and apologizes if he gets choked up. He thanks Shane for the opportunity and congratulates him on his match this past Sunday. Shane says he knew the crowd would go ballistic, and we replay the debut from earlier this evening. Dillinger is grateful that he was able to debut in NXT’s own backyard of Orlando, FL, and Shane brings up the Royal Rumble entry earlier this year. Tye says this is a bit more special, and puts over the passion of the WWE Universe. Once again we get to the Shake-up, and Tye says he has momentum here on SmackDown and is feeling the Blue, but will try to keep that momentum going no matter where he lands. We get a ’10’ chant from Renee before Dillinger leaves the table.
Shane and Renee talk about how everyone stepped their game up tonight for the post-Mania SmackDown, especially Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin following their Street Fight. Renee asks how the Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt feud will shake out, and Shane suggests that it’s not over but that the Superstar Shake-up creates more uncertainty. We go back to Shinsuke’s main roster debut and how exciting his entrance is for the fans. Shane wants to do everything he can to keep Nakamura on the Blue Brand, and puts over how ready he is for this moment.
Renee asks if the Shake-up might have anything to do with SmackDown catching up to Raw in popularity, and he seems to think that might be the case. As they talk about Cena and Nikki’s engagement moment, The Usos come crashing the show wondering how every title was defended except for theirs at WrestleMania 33. Shane puts them over and asks if they want to defend the titles now or next week. They said their shoulders are sore from just holding these tag titles and not defending, but Shane and Renee remind them that they might have a whole new batch of opponents like the Hardy Boyz after the Shake-up. They say bring on the Hardy Boyz, bring on the Bullet Club, bring on any team. Shane says if American Alpha is here next week, the Usos will defend against the former champions. The Usos seem a little shaken and Shane asks if they’re scared. They say they’re not scared and they invite Shane to one of their family barbecues to talk things out some time. Renee says goodbye to the Usos as they compose themselves and make their exit.
We go back to The Miz and Maryse impersonations of John Cena and Nikki Bella, and Shane says The Miz’s impression is hilarious. Renee talks about how this might be the best year that The Miz has ever had and Shane agrees, putting over his public appearances. Young brings up how Nakamura interrupted their appearance and how cool it was to see him debut. Both of our hosts remind us that we will have new rosters next week following the Superstar Shake-up as we sign off for this week’s episode of Talking Smack!
Thanks to Vince Scerbo for the recap
