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This week was the first time we dealt with the fallout of the recent Superstar Shake-Up. RAW was a mixed bag of both ups and downs. SmackDown Live was a far better show, in our opinion. At the same time, there was room for improvement.
Welcome to yet another edition of 'Best and Worst'. If you are new to the series, we separate the good from the bad and the ugly in this series. And as always, we invite you to leave a comment.
The most wonderful thing about wrestling is how all of us have different opinions and none of them are right or wrong. Therefore, we ask you to chime in, even if your own opinions are different from our own.
Moreover, we ask you to rate this WWE show on a scale of 1 to 5!
#1 Best: A brand new Big Cass
While the world expected The Miz and Daniel Bryan to finally come face-to-face to kick off this week's episode, it was Big Cass who made his grand appearance instead. In doing so, we felt like he stole the show and how! Gone was the guy misspelling the word 'soft'. In his place was a sharp, charismatic and immensely dangerous man.
Cass gave a very rational explanation of why he chose to go after Daniel Bryan. He spoke about how his own return was overshadowed by Daniel Bryan's and we can absolutely buy into that. The man proved that he is a good promo and can hang with The Miz.
The first segment is often half the battle. Just like Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar killed our excitement on RAW, The Miz and Big Cass enhanced our viewing experience.
#1 Worst: Delaying the inevitable
We saw how long WWE held off Sasha and Bayley from coming to blows. We saw how the WWE Universe lost interest as a result of the very same. Could the same thing happen with The Miz and Daniel Bryan too? The feud is only some two years old, right now.
Let's hope that this feud fares better than how WWE has booked the two women. The Miz and Daniel Bryan deserve to have a match at SummerSlam, in our opinion.
#2 Best: The Club returns
Styles, Gallows and Anderson are just too sweet. They were great when they 'beat up John Cena', and they were great this week when they teamed up to take on Nakamura, Rusev and Aiden English. It's funny to see a babyface stable really, but somehow these three men make it work. It's a huge step up especially for Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
Could we see the dream feud we've always wanted between The Club and The New Day down the line? Maybe one with SAnitY as well? The possibilities are indeed very many.
#2 Worst: Nakamura's theme
Nakamura had perhaps the best theme in all of sports entertainment. And WWE took his fantastic theme and added vocals on top of it. We were dismayed by just how much the song lost its initial charm. We get that WWE perhaps doesn't want Nakamura to get cheered, but this was quite criminal.
You don't take a great piece of art and ruin it, whatever the circumstances may really be. It's like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa.
#3 Best: Nakamura's mind games
Shinsuke Nakamura has reinvented himself since WrestleMania. Gone is the charismatic babyface and in his place is a cowardly heel. We loved how Nakamura hit the low blow on Styles yet again when Styles least expected it. We also loved how Nakamura took out his friends in front of him.
While the match at WrestleMania 34 may have been billed as a 'dream rematch', we're far more excited at the idea of Styles and Nakamura competing in the future. There is a lot more heat between the two men right now.
#3 Worst: Naomi comes out dancing
We have to make peace with the fact that Naomi is a sideshow in the Usos-Bludgeon Brothers storyline and not a central character in the SmackDown Women's division. As surprising as this booking decision is, her actions were even more shocking. When she saw her husband getting destroyed by Erick Rowan, she came out dancing. Honestly, who does that?
Let's hope that this storyline comes to an end soon. Let's also hope that a talented woman like Naomi gets to wrestle again.
#4 Best/worst: Everybody is ready for Asuka?
Look, there's no denying that the Iiconics needed a win. After all, they are the new girls on the block right now. However, Asuka has consistently been on the losing end after her long winning streak. We realize that she didn't take a pin, but a loss is a loss all said and done.
Also, Becky Lynch has lost most of her charm already. She hardly ever wins and it was clear she was in the match to take the pin from the start. How far has she fallen, since she was the first SmackDown Live Women's Champion?!
In any case, those were our thoughts. Let us know yours in the comments.
Here Becky Lynch to cheer you guys up!
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