5 botches, slip-ups, and outrageous moments from WWE SmackDown Live (November 7, 2017)
Survivor Series has experienced a major shakeup and that's all thanks to AJ Styles. On this pre-taped episode of SmackDown Live, The Phenomenal One defeated The Maharaja in an unexpected title switch.
Paul Heyman had already dedicated promo time to talk about Jinder Mahal, so it's odd to see the plans for the huge Champion vs. Champion singles match change. Mahal may find championship gold again one day, but as things stand, he will not face Brock Lesnar in Houston.
That shocking title switch was one of the most outrageous moments of the year, so of course, it made it onto this SmackDown-returning edition of this article series.
Joining that was a rare intergender contest, a unique dive outside of the ring by Kofi Kingston, and a chop block that made many fans question if it was a work or real. Five of the botchiest as well as the most outrageous moments from the show follow, so let's dive right in.
#5 Manchester booed Daniel Bryan
Manchester was overall a great crowd — the Brits generally are. However, they experienced a brief bit of collective confusion during Shane McMahon's show opening promo.
At first, they responded uproariously for the absent Daniel Bryan as the Smackdown Commissioner talked about how he was going to get his payback for what happened in that dark room on Raw. There were lively "Yes!" chants at this point.
Immediately after that, Shane told the crowd that their illustrious General Manager would be back in one week. It was to this that Manchester booed viciously. This stunned McMahon, who responded by saying, "That's a great thing! Daniel Bryan... yeah!" It was as if he had to remind them of how much they adored the man a mere twenty seconds prior.