I think it's safe to say that RAW had a pretty bad show this week and with that, you would think that Smackdown would at least put on a half-decent show and be able to beat RAW quite easily, unfortunately from my side I just wasn't feeling it this week. I felt like everything with the exception of one segment (we will get there) was given minimal effort. The matches weren't all that strong and overall I just have quite a negative feeling to it. Considering how much I'm giving away in just the intro, I think you can see how bad it was in my eyes. So let's just Smack the bottom Down and see why this show was the way it was.
Hide-and-seek segments
This title is basically how I saw the segments between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. It started with me feeling ok with the beginning promo, and I thought there was something there with the backstage stuff, but otherwise the segments weren't really all that great. The worst part is that we should actually be invested in this rivalry because these two really are great, unfortunately they have been subjected to poor story writing and quite honestly each segment was just a rehash of a segment that has happened before. The whole going to find Bray Wyatt backstage has been done before by a few superstars, the first coming to mind being Roman Reigns last year. The part where Randy comes behind Bray in a sheep mask and attacks him has also been done before by John Cena. Now I'm not saying that the match between these two will be bad, quite the contrary actually, but quite frankly they have been mistreated in the storytelling aspect resulting in the build-up feeling weak and getting very few people invested.
Rating: 7
American Alpha & Heath Slater & Rhyno VS the USOs & the Ascension
First off, how whack was the entrance order for this match? So the Ascension were already in the ring along with American Alpha and Slater and Rhyno, but Slater and Rhyno's music had been playing meaning they had just come out. Then you see the USOs do their entrance. So I understand you want to show the USOs with their new music (we will get to that) but come on! You should have had the Ascension's music playing as they came back from commercial. Anyway, speaking of the USOs, since their heel turn, each week we have seen something new from the USOs. First it was the way they performed in the ring along with them no longer wearing face paint and colourful clothing. Then there was the change in their titantron movie and now there is a change in their theme song - it's really great and I have truly enjoyed seeing their heel run so far. Now unfortunately Smackdown made the same mistake that RAW did the other day by putting a bunch of guys in a multi-team tag team match just for the sake of featuring them and having a match. This match was a real bust and was difficult to get behind. Probably the most significant part of this match had to be the USOs winning the match, thus keeping their momentum going forward.
Winner: the USOs
Rating: 7
Nikki Bella & Naomi VS Carmella & Natalya
From one tag team match to another, this one was at least slightly better, but only slightly. It felt like WWE were just trying to make up for the way this match turned out last week (lasting less than 30 seconds) and I personally feel like they should rather have not had these women on the show last week. I understand how people would react if they weren't on the show, but you have to understand that Smackdown literally only has 7 women and by having all of them featured each week is really overexposing them. I also think it helps a lot if there is a clear story being developed like the one between Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss. There is supposed to be a story between Carmella and Nikki, and it is sort of there, but by adding Naomi and Natalya to the mix they're basically just adding them there for the sake of them being there. I want to touch on Carmella in this match quick though. I don't know what it was, but something didn't feel right about the way she was executing her moves and the way she was performing. She is very talented in the ring and so it was strange to watch - I hope we see better performance in the future.
Winner: Carmella & Natalya
Rating: 7.5
The Miz's homecoming
This by far was the best part of the night as the Miz continues on his road of excellence! Miz came out to celebrate his homecoming, but completely denounced the crowed and basically called all of them idiots except his parents who were front row. The Miz delivered a great and passionate promo before Dolph Ziggler came out (keep in mind it's his hometown too) and delivered an even more passionate promo. Miz said that there are no more chances for Ziggler at his Intercontinental Title because Ziggler had nothing to offer him and said Ziggler would have to offer his career if he wanted another shot. Ziggler then kept the passion up by saying how much wrestling means to him and how he has been doing it forever and he is nothing without it, and so he accepted to put up his career for the title. The Miz then clarified that it meant that there is no going to another show like RAW and it truly meant the end of Ziggler's career, Ziggler would not be able to compete again. The match was then set for Smackdown's next PPV, No Mercy. Now I have read online that Ziggler actually has a multi-year contract with WWE since last year, so there are high doubts that this will be the end, but could we actually still see Ziggler lose? Because WWE could look to use him in a backstage scene, or create a story revolving around his "retirement", basically I'm saying it's not necessarily obvious that Ziggler will win the title at the PPV, but it seems there is a very high chance of it. Regardless, based on their last two matches, this match is bound to be another spectacular one.
Rating: 9.5
Becky Lynch attacked
The Smackdown announced that the next match would involve Becky Lynch, but did not say who her opponent would be, but considering the other women were already involved earlier in the night, it seems pretty obvious it had to have been meant to be against Alexa Bliss. Regardless, a match did not happen as we would see Alexa attack Becky from behind during her entrance. Now it seems like attacks before matches have become the norm on Smackdown, and for some it might be a bit much, but I personally feel it is a great way to tell a story. I have really been enjoying the story told between these two women and hopefully we will see a great match out of them at No Mercy.
Rating: 8
AJ Styles (C) VS Dean Ambrose (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
Announcing a match like this a week prior really allows for WWE to get more viewers for a show and it likely did (I'm actually unsure if it did), but I felt like this match wasn't worth the promotion. Very much like the match Dean had with John Cena a week or two ago, this match was ok at best and I really hate to say that because AJ Styles is really really good in the ring. Maybe it just had to do with the mood I was in while watching it, but I didn't feel anything for the match and there was nothing that made me jump out of my seat saying "Oh my Goodness!". While being given 20 minutes, it just felt like another match to me. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they should go all out and beat the absolute crap out of each other and do all these silly spots, but even from just a wrestling point of view it was very average for me. That's just me though and I know a whole lot of others will likely have a completely different view on this.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: 7.5
Overall Show Rating: 7.5
So it turns out that Smackdown only just beat RAW in my ratings this week, but there's no denying that this is just because of Smackdown's saving segment in Miz and Ziggler - these two have been going above and beyond the last few weeks and quite honestly deserve the main event slot of No Mercy. While I understand it might devalue the world title, I actually believe that the "minor" titles should be given opportunities at the main event too, especially considering the stipulation we now have in Ziggler and Miz's match. I do hope that Smackdown will produce better content over the next few weeks, but especially leading into No Mercy.
No comments:
Post a Comment