SMACKDOWN 26/07/2016 - Really a New Era?

Much like the sun in summer, this show had the huge potential to be a scorcher! With RAW having a fantastic start, you would have to think that Smackdown would do their absolute best to outshine RAW. But did this happen? I have to start this review off with a negative as, in regards with the look of the show, it looked exactly like it did before. Quite literally the only things that changed were the logo and the ring ropes. Otherwise, the stage looked the same, the announce tables were in the same place, the refs were wearing the same colour shirts as the RAW refs do - it felt like nothing had really changed in the look of the show...but did things change with the happenings of the show? Let's take a look shall we?

WWE Title announcement
This segment started with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon backstage talking to the camera saying how it wouldn't be about them (management) which would then progress to them walking onto the ramp and saying it's about all the superstars and the WWE Universe. Fine that was ok. We then saw them in the middle of the ring with the entire Smackdown roster surrounding them - the men and the women. Now unlike RAW, there was no real point for the women to have been there at that moment, especially with what happens later. On RAW there was at least an announcement made about the women's match that would happen later that night. In this segment it was just about the male competitors because Daniel and Shane would announce that six competitors would compete in a six pack challenge later that night to determine the number one contender for Dean Ambrose's WWE Championship at Summerslam. Five names were mentioned:
Bray Wyatt - After a victory against New Day at Battleground this makes sense and shows how he's going on his own now
Dolph Ziggler - a strange pick in my opinion especially because he's been lost in the shuffle for a long while and has been losing majority of his matches
Baron Corbin - he's my guy and a well-deserved pick in my opinion
AJ Styles - a tremendous athlete in the ring and now separated from the Club, this is a good start to going on his own
John Cena - Understandable to have the face in that scene, but nobody wanted it because nobody wants to see him near the world title scene
Daniel then announced that the rest of the superstars would compete in a battle royal to determine who gets the sixth spot. So overall this was a decent start to the show, it was a cool announcement to make and made it slightly different to RAW, but like I said it made no sense to have the women out there for this segment.
Rating: 7

Battle Royal Match
I'm really not going to talk much on this match because I really did not enjoy it. I've felt like the Battle Royals WWE have been doing lately have been extremely disappointing. It's really been boring to watch and nothing special tends to happen in it. Apollo Crews came out with the victory for this match, which I don't fully agree with. If I'm honest, I'm still not a fan of Crews. As I've said before, he's great in the ring and all, but he needs some serious character development and shouldn't be anywhere near the world title scene.
Winner: Apollo Crews
Rating: 5

Becky Lynch VS Natalya
I know a lot of people would have a problem with this rematch, but much like at Battleground I felt myself actually anticipating something good happening. Probably one of the best things to happen to Natalya was her heel turn as there has been a completely new feel to her as well as her matches. For the time they had on here, it was actually a decent match and I quite enjoyed watching it. At the end they showed all the women on the roster come out: Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Eva Marie and Naomi. This means that there is a total of six women currently on Smackdown, which is very small, but you have to imagine that with all of them coming out, there must be a plan to create a women's title for the blue brand - which I'm all for. Keep in mind that Emma is still injured and Bayley is yet to be officially on the main roster, so there is a chance that one or both of these two could be coming to Smackdown. But I'm actually really happy with the women we do have on this show because it's all women that have been overlooked or are new, so we will get a chance to see them prove themselves.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Rating: 7.5

Miz TV feat. Randy Orton
Do I really need to talk about this? This was boring as hell and nothing significant happened! And what happened to promoting this huge match with Brock Lesnar? Like they really just mentioned it a bit and that was it, next thing we knew there was a match made for Miz VS Orton.
Rating: 3

Randy Orton VS the Miz
These two really aren't doing well this night are they? Two really great athletes in my opinion and they just dropped the ball. Much like Miz TV beforehand this was a huge disappointment. Probably the most significant part of it was when Orton got thrown out the ring and I legit thought he had re-injured his shoulder. That was about it. It didn't last very long after that as Miz worked the arm a bit before throwing Orton back in the ring which would then lead to an RKO "outta nowhere". Hugely disappointed guys.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: 4

Heath Slater gets heated in the ring

Heath Slater is currently playing out a "free agent" storyline as he was not picked by either brand during the WWE drafts. It is said that he will be playing this story out for the next few weeks as WWE brings in WWE veterans again. I would like to say that he did a tremendous job and truly is a fan favourite. He actually managed to get the crowd to chant "Sign Heath Slater" and it was loud! While he is playing this really well, I do hope that he actually goes somewhere when he does officially get put to a particular show. This segment was used to bring back Rhyno to the main roster. Much like he did in NXT, Rhyno will be used to make younger and newer talent look good.
Rating: 8.5

Six pack Challenge for WWE Championship contendership

Regardless of what I said about Apollo earlier, there is no denying that all six of the superstars in this match are top stars and they all did a good job putting on a great match. Going into it I thought that Bray Wyatt or Baron Corbin would win it - I would have also put AJ Styles' name in the mix if I thought for a second that his rivalry with John Cena was over. But much like RAW, Smackdown did the unthinkable by allowing Dolph Ziggler to pick up the win. What a great, great decision not only because people have been wanting to see Dolph pushed like this for a long time, but because regardless of how this show was beforehand, it's this moment that would make you want to tune in next week to see what other unexpected things could happen. The show ended with Dean Ambrose and Ziggler standing face to face and then...Daniel Bryan and Shance McMahon coming out to raise their hands. Now I don't so much have a problem with Daniel and Shane coming out, but I do have a problem with the fact that their entrance music played when they did. They started the show by saying that Smackdown is all about the superstars and not management, and yet the management's entrance theme plays when Dolph is trying to celebrate. It's small things like that that really ticks me off just a little bit.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: 8

So that was the very first Smackdown Live of the "New Era". Overall, I was really disappointed by the show as it didn't quite deliver as I was hoping and expecting. Hopefully they will really pick up their game as the weeks progress. But as for this week, RAW absolutely kicked Smackdown's ass! Now I'm a huge Smackdown fan and I really want to see them pull off a spectacular show. So the big question now is: Who will be the better show next week?

SMACKDOWN 19/07/2016 - The Drafts

The day every singles die-hard wrestling fan has been waiting for for a very long time! This was the very show that had been promoted every week in the media and on the shows for the last few months already. Not only was Smackdown finally going live for the first time in its seventeen year history, but WWE was finally bringing back the brand extension and this would mark the night they do the WWE Drafts. Before this we knew at least one thing: RAW would be running the Cruiserweight Division, so surely this would mean that Smackdown would have the women's division right? Well apparently not, but I will get to that later. I will give my overall impression of the show by the end of this review, so with that being said, "Let it roll, let it roll, let's rock n roll..."

Round 1 Drafts
I'm very happy that they actually started the night with the drafts instead of having a match first and then getting into it. This was the better move especially because this show is mainly surrounding the drafts. Here are the first five picks:
1) Seth Rollins (RAW) - I know a lot of people think that the very first pick should be the WWE Champion, however, if there is a chance that your pick will win the title and bring it to your show, it is perfectly ok to pick someone else. This is the case as, not only would Seth be fighting for the title later on Smackdown, but would still get a chance at Battleground to win it. Regardless, though, Seth would still be my number one pick - very well deserved!
2) Dean Ambrose (Smackdown) - No surprise here. You would have to know that if Dean wasn't the number one pick for the one show, he would be number one for the other. The WWE Champion, regardless of who it is, always deserves the number one pick of either show.
3) WWE Women's Champion, Charlotte (RAW) - Oh boy! So, RAW gets both the Cruiserweight AND Women's Division? Is this even fair? I mean, I understand that RAW is three hours long, but this is ridiculous! I don't believe that RAW will do well with so many divisions on the roster, but at the same time I really want them to prove me wrong, so let's see what happens.
4) AJ Styles (Smackdown) - No complaints here, it's a really great choice although I expected this pick to be Sasha Banks after the previous pick.
5) Finn Balor (RAW) - so beforehand we knew that six NXT Superstars would be drafted, but we didn't know who was eligible (although we could make a pretty good guess). There was no doubt that Finn would be drafted and it was a really good pick. I would like to point out that he was drafted number five out of everyone on the roster, which really goes to show how high he is ranked to WWE Officials.
The first round draft picks were actually really good picks. I admit that, despite me not agreeing with her being drafted to RAW, it was a very big surprise to me to see Charlotte being drafted so high up.
Rating: 8

John Cena w/Enzo & Big Cass VS Luke Gallows w/the Club
This match was really nothing too special. Actually, I felt it really wasn't very well done which is unfortunate because I've come to really enjoy matches involving the Club. The ending was very strange as we saw both the Club and Enzo & Big Cass enter the ring and just stare at each other before the Club were thrown out the ring and Cena delivered the Attitude Adjustment for the win. I do hope to see better matches from Luke Gallows in future.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: 5.5

Round 2 Drafts
1) Roman Reigns (RAW) - I don't think I need to say how loud the boos were when this name was mentioned as the next pick. I suppose he would be one of the top picks, but it doesn't stop people, myself included, not liking the decision. I honestly hope Reigns just rebuilds himself when he makes his return because he needs to do that more than anything.
2) John Cena (Smackdown) - the face that runs the place finally got a draft pick! I'm actually ok with this pick as I think Cena will do very well on Smackdown. Added to that, it will be something fresh for him as he was mostly featured on RAW over the last ten years. He is also a guy that I have gotten to like again over the last year. While he does win the majority of his matches, there's no denying he works quite well with the younger talent.
3) Brock Lesnar (RAW) - Another superstar that would always likely be a top pick. It is just interesting how WWE will play things out with him considering he was tested positive with a banned substance.
4) Randy Orton (Smackdown) - This was a very interesting pick. Assuming that nothing happens to Lesnar before Summerslam, WWE is promoting the match with Lesnar VS Orton, so it is very interesting to see how they would build this match up heading into Summerslam with these two being on separate shows.
5) WWE Tag Team Champions the New Day (RAW) - While I was hoping Xavier Woods would be drafted as a singles competitor, there is no denying these three guys deserve a draft to RAW and being listed in the top 10 picks. There is still a chance of Woods going as a singles competitor on RAW especially with the Cruiserweight Division coming back to the show.
There is no denying that all five of these picks are huge picks regardless of what the situation is with all of them.
Rating: 8.5

Zack Ryder & Darren Young w/Bob Backlund VS Rusev w/Lana & the Miz w/Maryse 
A pretty decent match in my opinion. While it wasn't anything special, I felt like I got to see more from Darren Young in this match than I did on RAW. I thought it was a bit odd to see Young use the Crossface Chickenwing finisher on Smackdown instead of at the PPV, however it could very well mean that we could see him get an unfortunate loss at the PPV. We will have to wait and see.
Winner: Zack Ryder & Darren Young
Rating: 6.5

Bray Wyatt w/the Wyatts VS Xavier Woods w/the New Day
This was quite a disappointing match. I was really hoping that they would show quite a bit of offence from Woods and that WWE would give him the opportunity to breakout like Daniel Bryan did, alas it was not to be. Bray pretty much got all the offence and it wasn't a very long match.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rating: 6

Kevin Owens-Sami Zayn fight
What was originally meant to be a match between Kevin Owens and Kane turned into an all-out brawl between Owens and Zayn. This ended with a double chokeslam from Kane to both superstars. It was just really cool to see Owens and Zayn fight some more which is why I am even mentioning it.
Rating: 7.5

Round 3 Drafts
1) Sami Zayn (RAW) - So I was expecting this superstar to be drafted to Smackdown if I am absolutely honest, but am fine with him being on RAW - I think he could do very well on this show.
2) Bray Wyatt (Smackdown) - I would be lying if I said that I wasn't expecting Kevin Owens to be the next pick. I mean, surely that would make the most sense? Not only is Kevin Owens a fantastic competitor, but it would surely be a great way to shove it in Stephanie's face by taking away more future great rivalries. But anyway, this pick is also good. It's good to see Bray on the blue brand.
3) Sasha Banks (RAW) - The top two women on the main roster are property of the RAW Brand. I would have thought you would have had one on each show to each be the leader of the brand from a Women's Division, especially considering you later see that the women are split onto two shows.
4) Becky Lynch (Smackdown) - The first indication that the women's division are being split onto the two shows. Now I highly doubt that whoever is Women's Champion will go between shows especially because Stephanie said she wants to build the women's division on RAW. I don't remember how they did the women's matches on Smackdown ten years ago when they had the Women's Championship on RAW as well, but I do remember it wasn't viewed as highly back then. Unlike now where the women's division is viewed very highly and people want to see something big happen between all the women. So what I am hoping will happen is they have another women's title on the blue brand. I know that it seems like quite a lot, but unfortunately I see it as being the only way things will succeed on Smackdown with that division. The women on Smackdown can't just have rivalries on the show. Although they will have great rivalries and great matches, it is for this reason that they would need to find a way to reward the women - by giving them a championship.
5) Chris Jericho (RAW) - No surprise here, although I suppose I wasn't quite expecting him to be chosen at this spot. A well-deserved pick and the right brand to be.
Rating: 8

Sasha Banks VS Charlotte & Dana Brooke (2-on-1 Handicapp Match)
I think this match was to further show that Sasha does not have a tag team partner as of yet as well as to keep Sasha's tag partner a surprise until Battleground. My biggest fear in regards to whom Sasha's partner might be is that people could be very underwhelmed by who is actually is. For example, I know a lot of people are expecting it to be Bayley, but I feel like it could very possibly be someone like Paige, to which she could possibly be booed like Roman Reigns. Just a thought, and advice as to not get your hopes up too much. As for this match, I have to give massive props to Dana Brooke. The way I felt is that she seems to have improved a lot in the last week. I don't know what it was, but her match just felt completely different to what I've seen beforehand. Really looking forward to seeing her in action more in the future.
Winner: Charlotte & Dana Brooke
Rating: 8

Round 4 Drafts
1) United States Champion Rusev w/Lana (RAW) - I was actually expecting the United States Championship to go to Smackdown, which it still could based on later drafts. I would just like to say something quick though: RAW now has the US, Women's, Tag Team and Cruiserweight Championships on the show. There is a high chance that the WWE Championship will also be a part of the brand after Battleground which means that RAW will have a total of five championships! I honestly can't imagine how RAW will be able to manage it, but I'm willing to give them a chance to prove themselves.
2) Intercontinental Champion the Miz w/Maryse (Smackdown) - Considering the previous pick, there was no surprise that this was the next pick. Smackdown had to pick the competing championship. Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, I think RAW will end up with the WWE Championship which means that the only title on the show will be the IC Championship. This will force Smackdown to have to create a new World Championship and Tag Team Championship as well as (as mentioned previously) a new Women's Championship.
3) Kevin Owens (RAW) - This, in my opinion, was a bad choice. Note I said choice and not pick. Because Owens is a fantastic pick and I'm surprised he wasn't picked earlier, but I do not agree with Owens being on the same brand as Sami Zayn. Their rivalry should end at Battleground, at least until perhaps Wrestlemania next year which would be able to heat up again from the Royal Rumble. That's my opinion, but there's nothing I can do about it.
4) Baron Corbin (Smackdown) - the fact that my guy was picked on the live show hopefully means that WWE have some big plans for him after Battleground. I am really excited to see where he goes.
5) Enzo & Big Cass (RAW) - With the New Day being drafted to RAW and being such a big tag team, I was expecting the other big tag team to be drafted to the opposite brand. Unfortunately it seems not to be. However, this could possibly mean we see new tag team champions come Summerslam.
A lot of surprising picks, at least in the respect of where they went, but it made it that more interesting.
Rating: 8.5

Chris Jericho VS Cesaro

Y2J VS the Swiss Superman - what a great match! As mentioned in my RAW review this week, I give huge credit to Jericho for being able to work with the younger talent no matter who they are. Now that combined with Cesaro's amazing in-ring work, you can expect a really great match, which is exactly what we got! I love both of these guys and hope to see more of them together. I also have to add what an amazing codebreaker that was by Jericho!
Winner: Chris Jericho
Rating: 8.5

Women's Brawl
When the show came back from ad break, it immediately showed Becky Lynch and Natalya brawling with each other. I'm not sure who Natalya was meant to face, but I really enjoyed seeing the brawl. It heated up their rivalry and makes you really want to see what happens in their match at the PPV. I have said this countless of times before, but I will say it again: I've never been a massive fan of Natalya's matches, but I believe this could be a really great one.
Rating: 8.5

Round 5 Drafts
1) Gallows & Anderson (RAW) - This indicates that the Club is broken up, but this is actually what I wanted to see. I want to see Anderson and Gallows work on their own as a team. There is a lot of speculation that Finn Balor could ultimately take over and officially form the Balor Club with them, but I honestly don't know if I would want to see this. It would be interesting to see Balor as a heel, but I don't quite know if I want to see him align with these two - although perhaps if they time it correctly I will be more accepting. Only time will tell.
2) American Alpha (Smackdown) - this was only the second pick to feature someone from NXT and I think having this team on the blue brand should hopefully indicate a new tag team championship being made for the show. American Alpha was probably the best team ever on NXT and I really look forward to seeing more of their work on the main roster.
3) Big Show (RAW) - With Big Show being a veteran in the company and often making younger talent look good, it was inevitable for him to be drafted on the live show itself.
4) Dolph Ziggler (Smackdown) - For me this was a very underwhelming pick mainly because I was expecting Cesaro. As I mentioned in my RAW review, Dolph Ziggler is the least promising superstar apart of this draft, at least in my eyes. He has barely been going anywhere over the last year and a half and I just don't feel motivated to get behind him. I would not have chosen Ziggler before Cesaro.
5) Nia Jax (RAW) - the third pick drafted from NXT. There is no doubt that Nia deserves to be on the main roster, she has tremendous talent for a woman her size. My biggest fear is that she will be mistreated and misused on the main roster. Vince doesn't have a tendency to treat big women correctly. Look at the likes of Chyna, Beth Phoenix, Kharma and Tamina. All four had great potential, but tended to be used on the males level instead of being put on the same level as the women. She is another women who I will have to wait and see if she is used the right way. I would love to see her go against Tamina to be honest.
Rating: 8.5

Round 6 Drafts
1) Neville (RAW) - With the Cruiserweight Division being a part of the RAW brand, it would make sense to make one of the more athletic superstars on the roster in Neville a part of this show to be able to lead it up. This is the first time Neville has been mentioned since his injury a few months back.
2) Natalya (Smackdown) - I was actually getting really worried before this point as I almost thought Becky would be the only woman on the roster. This was not to be at this pick was made - you have to wonder if the rivalry between her and Becky will continue after Battleground.
3) Cesaro (RAW) - finally! A pick for Cesaro! In my opinion, he more than deserved a higher pick than this, and it actually should have been on Smackdown. I don't know what it is, but I feel like Smackdown is the brand for him as I almost feel like he would do better here.
4) Alberto del Rio (Smackdown) - I will admit that this would not have been my final Smackdown pick. Nothing against del Rio, he is a tremendous athlete, I just haven't been able to see that side of him since his return to WWE.
5) Sheamus (RAW) - So the very last pick for the drafts is...Sheamus? Much like the previous pick, absolutely nothing against him, he is a great talent that has been underused, but he would not have been my final pick. A bit underwhelming in my opinion.
Rating: 7.5

Dean Ambrose (C) VS Seth Rollins (WWE Championship)
I will admit that when I first saw this match advertised, the very next night after they last fought for the title, I was quite worried that this match would be too much and would be disappointing. I am very happy to say that they proved me wrong. There match here was almost as good as the night before and they did an incredible job keeping us excited. I will admit that I was very surprised to see Ambrose get the win, but that could be because I was expecting him to lose. The way he executed his finish was really great too. Unfortunately this will be the last time we see these two compete one-on-one for a long time as they are now on separate brands. Will be interesting to see how the triple threat match plays out at Battleground.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: 8.5

Drafts after the show
1) Golden Truth (RAW) - I honestly thought that if the Golden Truth were going anywhere it would be Smackdown, so I'm really interested to see what role they play on the RAW brand.
2) The Usos (Smackdown) - Sigh. Was really hoping these two would be split up and get a fresh start, but oh well. Let's hope that American Alpha make the Usos up their game.
3) Titus o Neil (RAW) - I don't know. I just either want proof that Vince has gotten over this stupid situation with Titus or I want to see Titus leave the company. I know that Titus won't leave until his contract expires though because he's that kind of guy.
4) Kane (Smackdown) - makes sense really. With Big Show on RAW, you need another older guy on the opposite brand to make the younger talent look good.
5) Paige (RAW) - They really seem to be filling up this roster with the top women. I hope that with Becky being on Smackdown that they will create a new title and Becky will be the top star on that show.
6) Darren Young w/Bob Backlund (RAW) - So this is a strange one because Young is fighting against Miz for the IC title at Battleground, but the Miz is on Smackdown. Perhaps Young will win and bring the belt to the RAW brand?
7) Kalisto (Smackdown) - Really good choice, I'm glad to see him a part of the blue brand. It hopefully means that WWE have big plans for him considering he is a great highflier and would have done well in the cruiserweight division.
8) Sin Cara (RAW) - YES YES YES! This pick means that finally both Sin Cara and Kalisto most definitely will be going their separate ways and competing as singles competitors, although I see Sin Cara being a big part of the cruiserweight division.
9) Naomi (Smackdown) - good to finally see another woman on the blue brand. It seems like the women who were underused previously are being put on this brand. Let's hope that this means something big for the women's division on Smackdown.
10) Jack Swagger (RAW) - very, very curious as to how Jack will be used on the RAW brand.
11) The Ascension (Smackdown) - This makes the third tag team to be drafted to the blue brand. Keep in mind that there is also the possibility of more teams being formed on the show. But this could mean we finally see some major development with this particular team. Am excited to see how the tag division develops, as long as it isn't going to be that the Tag Champions can go between brands. Each brand needs their own tag division.
12) The Dudley Boyz (RAW) - Since their return, this team has just become glorified jobbers. I'm interested to see what develops for them on this brand.
13) Zack Ryder (Smackdown) - As mentioned previously with Darren Young, we could very well be seeing the same for Zack. We could very well see two titles change brands in one night as Zack could win the US championship from Rusev who is on RAW.
14) Summer Rae (RAW) - I was really surprised to see Summer drafted to RAW, but this will hopefully mean some great rivalries for her.
15) Apollo Crews (Smackdown) - Someone I was quite surprised not to see drafted on the live show. Has WWE perhaps given up on him? We will have to wait and see I suppose.
16) Mark Henry (RAW) - I will be blatantly honest by saying I didn't even realise Henry was still eligible for the draft. I honestly thought he was just about getting to hang up the boots, but maybe WWE have some small plans for him.
17) Alexa Bliss (Smackdown) - the fourth person from NXT to be drafted. I will admit that this was a bit of a surprise, but I am happy to see her on the main roster as well as the blue brand - very well deserved!
18) Braun Strowman (RAW) - Now this was a big surprise for me. Not only is Strowman drafted to the opposite brand of Wyatt, but we find out later he's also drafted to the opposite brand of Eric Rowan. You have to wonder if this means WWE are going to entrust him with a big singles run. While I mentioned on RAW how much weight he has lost, something I didn't mention was how much he seems to have improved in the ring. WWE must be happy with his in-ring performance and are ready to give him a good run.
19) Breezango (Smackdown) - While I did want these two to break up, I hope that if they create new tag team titles (which I really hope they do) that these two will be recognised as a formidable tag team in the division.
20) Bo Dallas (RAW) - If I am correct, this is the only time a team has been eligible to be drafted and has been drafted individually. This is cool to see and am interested to see where this goes.
21) Eva Marie (Smackdown) - I know that a lot of people absolutely hate Eva Marie, but I honestly think she could really do something on Smackdown. Also, I don't know what it is, but there's something about her that I just really like.
22) the Shining Stars (RAW) - Does this mean this team will stop with all those damn vignettes? I sure as hell hope so!
23) the Vaudevillians (Smackdown) - Much like the other teams on this brand (besides American Alpha) I hope this team is taken seriously and shown in a better light as a new tag division is hopefully created.
24) Alicia Fox (RAW) - I personally would have much rather seen her on Smackdown, but let's see what happens.
25) Erick Rowan (Smackdown) - Does the separation of Braun and Eric mean a possible Luke Harper return? While Luke harper is great on his own, I would like to see Harper and Rowan back together.
26) Dana Brooke (RAW) - While I understand that WWE want to keep Dana and Charlotte together for the time being, I honestly feel it would have been so much better to have her on Smackdown on her own where she would be able to feud with the likes of Becky Lynch and Naomi.
27) Mojo Rawley (Smackdown) - the fifth pick from NXT. I really do wonder if Zack will lose at Battleground and form a team with Mojo again, or if perhaps Zack will win the title and then Mojo will attack Zack thus turning heel and feuding with him. Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing him compete on the main roster.
28) Curtis Axel (RAW) - We were so close to possibly seeing Bo Dallas go it alone on the Red brand, but alas it was not to be. It looks like two members of the Social Outcasts are reunited.
29) Carmella (Smackdown) - great, great choice for Smackdown! I'm looking forward to seeing what she brings to the table on this show.
30) Heath Slater (Undrafted) - So they ended with Heath not getting drafted anywhere. You have to assume he is on RAW though with his other two Social Outcast members.

And that's it! Wow that was a long one to do, so let's hope I don't have to do one like that again! I will have to admit that the show on a whole just felt like a normal show that we have seen before. However, I'm not going to be so quick to judge it just yet. It won't be great again overnight. I honestly reckon we will start getting a sort of good feel about it once the brands get to do their own PPVs again. Some of the picks the shows made I don't fully agree on, but I am interested to see where they go with it then. One thing I do not want to see from either brand is champions being able to compete on either brand. For example as I've mentioned already, I do not want to see the tag team or women's champions being able to compete on either show. I don't think it will be able to build proper storylines and personally feel it would defeat the purpose of having separate brands. Each show should have their own division and their own championships. Despite this being a long one, I really hope you have enjoyed it. Keep an eye out for more posts in the future.

This is Stuverro signing out. PEACE!

SMACKDOWN 14/07/2016 - The final show

"Black and Blue I crawl along, the Smackdown that has come and gone, Time to watch it on another day - it goes Live and Live and Live and Live..." After bitching and moaning about how terrible RAW mostly was, I can happily say this show outshone it by a mile. The good far outweighed the bad in this show and am happy to say it was a good way to end Smackdown before it goes live on Tuesday Nights. With that being said, let's take a look at what exactly made it so good.

Sasha Banks VS Dana Brooke w/Charlotte

I would like to start by saying it was really refreshing to see a women's match start the show for a change, however I kind of wish they had been given more time. While this was really just a rematch from RAW, it still would have been nice to see a bit more time given to these women. Also, I understand that we are wanting to give Sasha a big push and make her look strong, but (and I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this) I honestly think they should have given the win to Dana Brooke, especially because later on we would find out that their will be a tag team match at Battleground with Charlotte and Dana VS Sasha and a partner of her choice. That's just me though, feel free to disagree if you like. As for who Sasha's partner could be, I know a lot of people think it could be Bayley, and don't get me wrong there is a chance it could be, however I feel like they will save Bayley for Summerslam season if not just after Summerslam. That will leave Bayley time to have a rematch for the NXT Women's championship at Takeover: Back to Brooklyn and then debut on RAW the night after Summerslam.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Rating: 7

Rusev w/Lana VS Dolph Ziggler
Remember that time when Dolph Ziggler was a champion? No? I don't really blame you considering that it was more than a year and a half ago and he hasn't been put into any good storylines since. Unless you count his amazing story with Rusev and Lana and Summer Rae last year, which I hope you don't because I was being completely sarcastic and think it was the worst storyline ever - shame on you if you thought I was being serious. But onto this matchup, all I can say is that it wasn't bad. It was nothing special, but it was well put-together. While I did expect Zack to interfere, I thought it was only going to be after the match, but hey I guess WWE can surprise you from time to time even if it was only a little bit.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: 7

New Day fight at the Compound
Now this was the exact same clip shown on RAW, however I enjoyed it so much that I didn't mind watching it again. For anyone who knows me or has been reading my previous RAW or Smackdown posts, you will know I absolutely despise highlights. This is one of the very few exceptions. What can I say, I really enjoyed watching it and am still interested to see if either team shows up before Battleground and what will happen.
Rating: 9

Enzo & Big Cass VS AJ Styles & Karl Anderson w/Luke Gallows (The Club)

Two teams I always enjoy seeing in the ring. I can't really fault them on anything here, I thought they did a really good job here. I know a lot of you are probably upset that Enzo had to tap out, but I think this is a really good move. It doesn't make Enzo look weak, it just gives the Club a lot of momentum heading into the drafts as well as the Battleground PPV. I still believe that the Club should win at the PPV so they can look like a team to be reckoned with.
Winner: The Club
Rating: 8.5

Tyler Breeze w/Fandango VS Kalisto w/Sin Cara
First off, it was good to see these two in singles matches again, although I will admit I did not pay much attention because I just didn't feel like it would be that great. It's not a shot at any of the guys in the ring or at ringside, it's just the way they have been booked. Even when they first had a match together, you still couldn't help but feel like you're not going to get invested in it because of how shit all of these guys have been booked in the past. It didn't feel so great to me, but a friend of mine disagrees and I will take his word for it as, like I said, I didn't really pay much attention to it and I do know how talented they are.
Winner: Kalisto
Rating: 7.5

Miz TV feat. Darren Young w/Bob Backlund

So remember how much grief I was giving the win of Darren Young on RAW? And remember how I said I wasn't really feeling it and said I would be willing to give him a chance to prove himself? All I have to say is...WELL DONE DARREN YOUNG! Darren took a gimmick that I had little to no faith in and he convinced me that this is going to work. I really don't know if WWE will allow him to capture the Intercontinental Championship at Battleground, but damn Darren made a believer out of me. Darren has shown that he has a completely new gimmick and completely new attitude. He is actually reminding me of how he used to be in NXT Redemption, the worst NXT ever done! Back then he did great work and had great matches with Titus o Neil. I see that Darren Young again and truly hope he goes somewhere.
Rating: 9

Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins VS Dean Ambrose & Sami Zayn
I know a lot of people were quite disappointed by this as we were originally expecting a great one-on-one match between Owens and Ambrose before the match was thrown out in less than a minute because of interference by Zayn and Rollins. I will admit that I was slightly disappointed too, but I can't deny that these guys did a really good job together, and I'm not surprised that they did. All four of these guys are top guys and rarely have bad matches. I suppose that technically this is the first time since his return that Rollins didn't quite get a clean victory, but it sort of was a clean victory in a way as Owens was just helping his partner out. Regardless, I was not disappointed by the outcome as well as the match. I would like to add that it is very rare for a heel team to close the show with a win, so good job to WWE for that. It's a real sign that things are going to change come the Draft.
Winner: Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins
Rating: 8.5

And that's that for this week's Smackdown! I would like to remind you again that this is the last Smackdown that is being taped beforehand and from Tuesday all shows will be broadcast Live (obviously only dependant on your location). I am looking forward to the live Smackdowns as well as seeing a separate roster and seeing where they all go. Hope you've enjoyed this review and I will see you soon.

This is Stuverro signing out. PEACE!

SMACKDOWN 07/07/2016 - Too many highlights!

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.........wow! These wows are in no way a good thing. Right off the bat, I'm going to say that this show had way, way, WAY too many highlights from RAW! Seriously, this does not need to happen! And it is because of this that I am even more excited for the upcoming Brand Split. Now you might say "Oh, but Stu, what about new viewers? What about those who don't know what's happening in the story" to which I will respond by calling you a stupid idiot and will likely kick your ass - because it's ass not arse you stupid idiot morons in WWE! Now you have to understand that these constant highlights are not a reflection of the actual show, in fact, the matches and segments on the show were actually very good and I really enjoyed them. Let me break the walls down on what happened on this week's Smackdown.

Seth Rollins VS Jey Uso

First off, great announcing by Dean Ambrose who kind of just made himself guest ring announcer, because I guess he can do whatever the hell he wants to as WWE Champion. I would also like to point out that the last few matches had by the Uso brothers have been single matches which makes you wonder if WWE are possibly thinking of putting each Uso on a different brand. If so, I think this could be quite refreshing for them and prove themselves as singles competitors. As a tag team they have been quite stale for the last few years, so this could be a good change if it does happen. This much was actually pretty well-done. These two really took it to each other and Jey proved, to me at least, that he can go it on his own. Dean Ambrose would constantly interrupt the match by announcing something random such as t-shirt sales which, at first, was funny, but I felt it got just a little bit boring after a while. Seth, once again, got a clean victory, and I don't know why, but it's always quite surprising when I see it. I think it's great and all and he deserves to get clean victories, but it seems to move away from what WWE usually does. Maybe we will see a face turn in the near future?
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: 8

Zack Ryder VS Sheamus
Before we get into the juice of the actual match, I'm just curious if this means that Sheamus has moved on from Apollo Crews? Both guys are at one win apiece against each other so surely there should be a blowoff match? Not that I really want it, but it's unusual for WWE to just suddenly drop a storyline out of nowhere for no reason...oh wait, never mind! But onto the match, after a big win on Independence Day on RAW, I thought WWE would give him the same treatment as before and just make him take a downward spiral of losses. This was not the case as, after a decent match, he won the match. Not only did he win, but he won using the "Elbrow Drop" which I don't have a problem with. I think it's really cool and the way he delivers it is completely different to the way anyone else before him has delivered it. After the match, Tom Phillips came out asking him what was next and he would go on to say that he is after the United States Championship again. This will mean a rivalry between him and Rusev. Could this mean we will finally see Zack get the momentum that he has always deserved and beat Rusev? In which case, does it mean he will finally get an awesome run with the title? I really hope so and am interested to see how this rivalry develops.
Winner: Zack Ryder
Rating: 7.5

Natalya gets the jump on Becky Lynch
What was originally meant to be a match between Becky Lynch and Vacant turned out to be a blindsided attack from Natalya. She would beat up Becky a bit before executing the Sharpshooter. This was great to watch and really builds up the excitement of the rivalry between Becky and Natalya. What's even better is that neither have had a chance to go against each other whether one-on-one or in tag team action and I truly hope this stays the case until their match at Battleground because it will make their match that more special. There is great work being done here. Keep it up WWE!
Rating: 8

Xavier Woods Interview
A replay of the Wyatts-New Day Segment was shown on RAW before they cut to an interview with Xavier Woods. He said that he doesn't know what is waiting at the Wyatts house (being referred to as the Compound). He doesn't know if there will be buzzards, or alligators, or how big the Wyatts are, he doesn't know what to expect. He would then say that while he doesn't know what to expect, he will be at the compound with his "brothers" (Big E and Kofi Kingston). So it looks like this is going to go to head, however it is unknown if it will happen on an episode on RAW which will then lead to a match at Battleground, or if this "compound fight" will be shown at Battleground itself. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what exactly happens - I've got goosebumps I'm so excited!
Rating: 8.5

Enzo & Cass and the Club own the mic
You have Enzo Amore and Big Cass in the ring with a microphone...and shortly the Club on the ramp with a microphone. Tell me, where in the hell can you go wrong with this? Answer: You can't! And if you think there was something wrong with this, then there's only one word to describe you, and I'm gonna spell it out for yeh...and then beat up John Cena! Seriously though, these guys did a spectacular job together and there was nothing I could fault them on. Please WWE, more of this!
Rating: 9

Enzo Amore VS AJ Styles
During the previous promo, Enzo challenged Styles to a match which he accepted. I have much love for both these guys. It's great to see Enzo in singles action and quite honestly, if Enzo and Cass were to split up, both guys could do tremendously well as singles competitors. Although, a word of advice to Enzo, I would practice doing that flip over the rope more often, you almost killed yourself doing it in this match. I enjoyed this a lot, it was a good match to see and Styles, much like Rollins, got another clean victory which is good to see. All five of these guys could easily get the audience invested in the rivalry heading into Battleground. This should be a good one!
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: 8

Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho Backstage
You might ask what could be better than Enzo and Cass and the Club on the mic, well let me tell you, this most certainly is up there with them! Whether on the mic or in backstage together, these two can make pure gold! They are always hilarious and I honestly think these two must make their stuff up together instead of being scripted to say those things. Regardless, they make it work and I could watch them just talk together for hours it's that great! Ion you haven't seen it yourself, I would seriously recommend it!
Rating: 9

The Miz w/Maryse VS Kalisto
Two really good wrestlers who haven't always been treated the way they deserve. Kalisto was hugely misused when he won the US Championship, but that was only because Creative had no idea how to work with him while he was still a part of the Lucha Dragons and obviously didn't know how to break them up. I hope that the Lucha Dragons will be split up during the draft so that we can see a great singles run from Kalisto. These two put on a really decent match. It wasn't anything too amazing, but it was still good to watch. The Miz was another heel who got a clean victory - is this the night of the clean victories or something? Good, golly gosh there has been a lot! Not really complaining though, as I feel it makes these superstars more legit.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: 7.5

Sami Zayn VS Chris Jericho with Kevin Owens on commentary
Another two really great athletes, these two did not disappoint. These two put on a great performance together, with both selling the way they should, and with a good few spots to boot. I don't think there is anything to complain about with this match. Sami got a win by rollup pin which was followed by an aftermatch Codebreaker by Jericho which then followed with a pop-up powerbomb by Kevin Owens. With the rivalry between Owens and Zayn moving further along, it is interesting to see what will happen next and who will make the next move.
Winner: Sami Zayn
Rating: 8.5

So as can be seen, despite all of the highlights, the content of the show was really well done. I did not have anything bad to say about any of the segments or matches and thought everyone did a really good job. Hope you have enjoyed this, if you have don't forget to share it along like a good little fan. Keep your eye out for more.

This is Stuverro signing out. PEACE!

SMACKDOWN 30/06/2016 - Were questions answered?

RAW on Monday night left a ton of questions desired to be answered in regards with rivalries, booking and the upcoming drafts. Much like an investigation scene, you really had to dig a little and poke the bear to know if you got the desired answer on this week's Smackdown. Did it deliver? Did it outdo the previous week's show? Did it answer all those questions we have been desiring to know the answer to? Let's dive straight into it shall we?

Alberto del Rio VS Cesaro VS Sheamus VS Apollo Crews (no.1 contender match for US title)

Sheamus probably felt that one later. Ouch!

So along with the number of questions we already had before the show, we were faced with another question straight off the bat with this match. What in the hell happened to the Rusev VS Titus o Neil feud for the United States Championship? This would be answered a little  bit later, but onto this for now. These four had an absolute horrible match on RAW in a tag team match and now had a chance to redeem themselves in a fatal four way. I will give them credit, they did just that. While it wasn't really anything spectacular, there's no denying it was a good one. Unfortunately with Rusev being such a big heel, you knew the winner of this match would be either Cesaro or Crews, but it was pretty well done.
Winner: Cesaro
Rating: 7.5

Rusev VS Cesaro (United States Championship)
After the fatal four way match, del Rio would proceed to attack Cesaro out of anger and do his stupid corner finisher onto the floor (please WWE, GET RID OF IT!) Rusev would then pick this as an opportune moment and say that if Cesaro was a real man, he would challenge him right then. Cesaro would not take this lying down and would proceed with the match despite having "injured ribs". This match was really well done with quite a few moments that had you thinking Cesaro could come back and win it. Unfortunately, once Rusev hit the Accolade it was over quicker than a rabbit makes babies. Now I know a lot of people would be furious with the fact that Cesaro tapped out so quickly, but in actual fact it is the right way to do it. If you think about it, he is supposed to have really injured ribs and let's face it, ribs hurt like a bugger when injured. It was realistic and very well done. No longer than five minutes after this match it was announced that Rusev would defend his title against Titus o Neil on the upcoming RAW show - boy WWE makes decisions fast don't they?
Winner: Rusev
Rating: 8

Dana Brooke VS Billie Kay
A match that I didn't think would go too well when first looking at it. Dana Brooke is still quite green in the ring and Billie Kay hadn't had that many matches on TV in NXT. Both actually did a pretty decent job. They didn't get a lot of time, and Billie Kay didn't get a lot of offence, but you could already tell that she has tremendous potential. I, for one, hope to see her on the main roster full time in the near future. As for now, it is important to note that despite making her debut on the main roster, she hasn't been officially listed on wwe.com's superstar list yet. This could mean that she might make sporadic appearances on the main roster to job to one of the other women until she is ready to come up full time, or it might be a one-off for now and she might rise in NXT first before being called up officially, or it could have even been a trial match to see how she does on the main roster and how people react to her before making a final decision. Only time will tell, but as of right now she isn't officially on the main roster.
Winner: Dana Brooke
Rating: 7.5

Miz TV featuring Dean Ambrose
While this segment was entertaining to watch, there was no real purpose to it except to setup a match for later that night (and I hear for the upcoming RAW too). There's not really much to say about it to be honest. There was no story development and nothing really happened. That sandwich got chowed down fast though - Dean must have really been hungry.
Rating: 5

The Wyatts VS enhancement talent
Just to start off, if I don't remember or am not sure who a superstar(s) is, and they have just been in a squash match, I will just call them enhancement talent. As is indicated by me even having to call them enhancement talent, this was a mortified squash match. I doubt the match even lasted two minutes. This was followed up by the New Day showing up on the titantron and mocking the Wyatts again. It would then show a closeup once again of Xavier Woods looking uncomfortable at what they were doing. Bray Wyatt addressed this and I don't know if Woods was actually meant to look scared or angry in this one, but he did look angry a bit this time around. It could be an indication that he is going to break out and give a beating to Bray Wyatt much like Daniel Bryan did. Overall it wasn't too bad, it felt a little bit of the same with, as mentioned above, something a little different that could further the story.
Winner: The Wyatts
Rating: 6.5

Sasha Banks VS Summer Rae
So you know all those rubbish storylines Summer has been involved in throughout last year? Hopefully not because those were some of the worst storylines imaginable and were massively painful to watch. Summer Rae proved that she deserves to be in a good storyline and deserves to be in the Women's championship picture. Not taking anything away from Sasha Banks, of course, but Summer is one of the most overlooked and underrated women on the main roster right now. It has been because of terrible booking and storylines that she has not come anywhere near the women's (previously divas) championship. I really hope to see more of Summer in the future. Both of these women did a really good job together and proved they deserve to be where they are.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Rating: 8

Dean Ambrose VS The Miz (Champion VS Champion)

While Miz TV didn't add that much value to the show, there's no denying this match did. It was a really enjoyable match and I'm glad to have seen it. Neither guy looked bad except for when Miz hit his finisher and Dean kicked out (there was a small part of me that thought it would actually be over), this was a big mistake because while kicking out of finishers have become the norm, I do think it should not be done unless it works. It did not work in this case and should not have been done. Otherwise, I had no real complaints about this match, each guy reacted and sold well and did really well together.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: 8

So with Smackdown now being over, were some of the questions we had answered? Firstly, were rivalries developed? Yes they were. We saw a definite rivalry develop between del Rio and Cesaro as it wouldn't make sense if Cesaro decided to just move on after he got attacked like that. We know that Titus o Neil and Rusev's rivalry could be coming to an end on RAW as they go at it once again on RAW for the United States championship. The fact that it's happening on RAW should be an indication that this match will be the final one. Nothing against Titus, but I just feel like these two have gone at it too many times already and haven't really done anything special together. You have to wonder who will be next to fight him though. Secondly, did this week's Smackdown top last week's? I think it is very close, however last week seemed more memorable than this one so have to give that question a thumbs down. Third and lastly, is there any indication as to who is going to get drafted? Not really, although with some rivalries happening on either RAW or Smackdown, it's almost an indication that these rivals could very well be split onto separate brands. Did you enjoy this week's Smackdown? What about my review of it? Don't forget to share this along and keep an eye out on more posts in the near future.

This is Stuverro signing out. PEACE!