WWE SmackDown - Best and worst: Masked attackers storm the ring, Big mistake with Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, and Alexa Bliss

WWE SmackDown generally gets a weekly dose of praise from me, and so it's time for the Blue brand to take its share of brickbats as well. WWE SmackDown, this week, wasn't a good show at all, except for maybe the final few minutes.

While WWE SmackDown ended last week's show with perhaps the best segment in recent memory, with The Fiend attacking Alexa Bliss, one has to admit that they couldn't deliver on the build this week. However, what they did sufficiently well is end the show with a major cliffhanger that should get us hyped up and pumped for next week.

As always, you are more than welcome to chime in and let me know your thoughts about the show in the comments, even if they are contrary to mine.

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#1 Best: Retribution finally shows up on WWE SmackDown

Even the most hardened critic of the WWE SmackDown product has to admit that they were intrigued with how the show went off the air this week. Whether or not this momentum carries over to the next week is another story for another day, but for now, WWE SmackDown has gripped us and piqued our interest, and how!

There is a lot of speculation with regard to who the masked attackers on WWE SmackDown could be, and it is pretty clear, at the moment that, at least one of them is female. This element of uncertainty is always a good thing and when people don't necessarily have all the answers, is when the product is at its most compelling.

So, if you had to guess who's in this new mysterious faction that first showed up on RAW and then decided to rear its ugly head on WWE SmackDown, whom would you pick?

#1 Worst: Braun Strowman says that he doesn't care about Alexa Bliss on WWE SmackDown this week

This question from Sportskeeda's own Greg Bush pretty much sums up what the majority of the audience watching WWE SmackDown at home felt about the whole Braun Strowman, Alexa Bliss, and The Fiend angle.

This is a real shame if you consider how much buzz there was around Alexa Bliss and Bray Wyatt last week and how many theories were put forth by fans from across the world on social media regarding how Braun Strowman would return to WWE SmackDown following the swamp fight.

Alexa Bliss seems to have developed a sense of Stockholm Syndrome as well, in a period of a week, as remarked by Brian Thornsburg of Sportskeeda. This storyline could have been so much more but Braun Strowman saying that he doesn't care about Alexa Bliss just makes everything just seem rather...flat?

The only way to salvage this situation could be to repackage Alexa Bliss as Sister Abigail and have her join Bray Wyatt's side.

#2 Best: A brand new alliance between The Miz, John Morrison, and Sonya Deville on WWE SmackDown?

The whole segment that The Miz and John Morrison performed this week on WWE SmackDown featuring Mandy Rose's hair was fantastic. John Morrison's work was great when he was not a part of the WWE SmackDown roster as well when he was in Lucha Underground, and later in Impact Wrestling, but somehow there's an element of magic when he is allied with The Miz. And I really like the fact that Sonya Deville seems to be allied with them, forming almost a loose faction on WWE SmackDown of sorts.

We are clearly heading towards a hair vs. hair fight, likely at SummerSlam and there's a big chance that Sonya Deville will get her head shaved after the encounter with Mandy Rose.

This could be a great new beginning for her, especially if the WWE SmackDown faction were to continue in the manner that it is at the moment. Heavy Machinery and Miz and Morrison could also light it up before entering the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship picture.

#2 Worst: Sheamus vs. Baron Corbin in a heel vs. heel feud on WWE SmackDown

There is no doubt at all that Sheamus and Baron Corbin (or King Corbin if you will) are two of the most exceptionally gifted performers in the WWE SmackDown roster at the moment. However, they are at their best when they are working with babyfaces because there is such a natural sense of heat that they draw from the WWE Universe. As disrespectful as this sounds, the match between Sheamus and Corbin on WWE SmackDown was a snoozefest with neither party especially being a favorite of the audience sitting at home.

There is a joke among the writers at Sportskeeda that WWE cannot do two solid episodes of WWE SmackDown in a row, and that was certainly evident on this week's show, as the heel turn from Shorty G last week turned into a feud that very few will honestly have a legitimate interest in.

I worry about Matt Riddle who is a legitimate star and could be ruined by this current program.

#3 Best/Worst: Stephanie McMahon makes a big return to WWE SmackDown

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the whole Stephanie McMahon and Sasha Banks and Bayley segment on WWE SmackDown this week, and even the battle royal that was announced should be quite a treat to watch for members of the WWE Universe. One has to love the fact that Sasha Banks and Bayley tried to get on their boss' good side by plugging the WWE Network for $9.99.

However, as we have seen in the past, whenever Stephanie McMahon returns to WWE SmackDown or RAW, so does The Authority. It may not be the best idea to go down that route or for Stephanie McMahon to step into the ring again, as is bound to happen whenever she does come back.

All in all, WWE SmackDown was a 5/10 show and one has to hope that everything is back on track again when next week comes around.

Until then, you may choose to leave a comment and ask Tom Colohue a question in the comments section of this video.