This week, the Red brand did something remarkable to bounce back in the ratings war. It called upon one of the most famous names in the history of wrestling- Bill Goldberg, allowing Raw to hit the 3 million viewership mark after weeks of languishing with low ratings.
But like Daniel Bryan told Renee Young on Talking Smack, Smackdown doesn’t need big names from the Attitude Era. It can make use of its limited roster far, far better and still put on an entertaining show.
While this show won’t create the same level of buzz that Raw did with the return of Goldberg, we have few things to complain about with regard to the actual show. Let’s go straight to it then, guys! Here’s the best and worst of the blue brand.
#1 Best: Somehow, the main event worked
We were cringing about this segment, after the debacle last week. James Ellsworth almost messed up how he took the Styles Clash, and killed himself. But somehow, with the aid of Dean Ambrose, and loads of smoke and mirrors, James Ellsworth and A.J. Styles main evented an episode of Smackdown Live.
Truth be told, the actual match was entertaining in its own weird way. Of course, the kind of worker that A.J. Styles is contributed to that, as he made the whole world believe that he’d been beaten thanks to the ‘No Chin Music’ that Ellsworth delivered to him. He kicked out at 2.999999.
But ultimately, this segment served a greater purpose. It established the fact that Dean Ambrose would do anything to regain his title from the current world champion.
#1 Worst: Same ol’ stale feuds
There are several weeks to kill before Survivor Series happens in November. While Raw has a chance to reboot storylines after Hell in a Cell, it looks like Smackdown will continue with the same feuds until then.
While everyone in the roster is gifted enough to make this work, one wonders if it wouldn’t have been a better idea if things were mixed up a bit. Except for the Curt Hawkins segment and possibly the Ellsworth match, ever other storyline is growing stale and sour.
With several weeks to go, we hope it doesn't really become tiresome to watch Smackdown Live.
#2 Best: The dominance of Baron Corbin
One may argue that A.J. Styles and Dolph Ziggler have benefited the most from the brand split. But Baron Corbin is right up there. After his explosive debut at the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 32, he was booked in a 50-50 feud against Dolph Ziggler which helped neither performer.
If anything, it served to make them ‘meh’ in the eyes of the audience. In today’s episode Baron Corbin did what he should have done at No Mercy...he obliterated Jack Swagger in under 2 minutes. Now, he’s a serious contender in the Smackdown roster and asked Daniel Bryan for an opportunity.
We hope it leads to a serious feud.
#2 Worst: Curt Hawkins’ baffling segment
We were anxious to see Curt Hawkins debut on Smackdown Live, after his repeated no shows on both Pay-Per-View and the actual show. Today, it actually happened. Well, almost. Hawkins arrived at the ring with a voiceover playing in the background, that reminded us instantly of Eva Marie’s no-show gimmick.
And that’s not all, he retreated as soon as the first punch was thrown by Apollo Crews. We wonder what Hawkins’ deal is. And we also wonder, when it pans out, will anyone care about the same? Doesn’t Apollo Crews deserve better than this segment?
#3 Best/Worst: Carmella’s Promo on Nikki Bella
This is the first time that we’ve called a segment both good and bad simultaneously. While Carmella delivered her lines with conviction and is really beginning to shine as a heel, the content that she said aloud was nothing new.
Everyone knows that Nikki Bella is John Cena’s girlfriend, and hence, it wasn’t a shocking revelation. Thankfully, the crowd was hot enough to make it work. We hope Carmella gets better lines to work with so that she can create far more heat for herself.
#4 Undecided: Magic in wrestling
Look, we have no complaints as such about the match overall. What we did have a problem with, was the use of magic during the match. Kane appearing magically from within a casket that Bray brought to the ring. Bray and Luke Harper disappearing when the lights went out. We cannot decide if the supernatural belongs to wrestling anymore.
IN CONCLUSION, hot damn!
