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I know you're all supremely pleased by how the recent episode of SmackDown Live ended. As great as that was, it does not eliminate the fact that this week's episode was a mixed bag. In fact, I daresay, it was a step down in quality from the shows we're accustomed to seeing. It could have been because top stars like AJ Styles and Carmella were not on the show.
It's time to list the good and separate it from the bad from this week's episode. Here's my assessment of the show. I'll be glad to know your views as always.
Feel free to sound off in the comments section. Did you think this week's episode measured up in terms of usual SmackDown Live quality?
Also what was your favourite segment of the night?
#1 Best: Team Hell No reunion
Last year, I had a chance to interact with Kane during an international teleconference. When I asked him about his alliance with Daniel Bryan- Team Hell No, he had this to say:
I had a lot of fun with Team Hell No. It was a great time. It was a departure from what I'd done before, in WWE. Daniel Bryan and we would complement each other's performance, and it was actually the most fun thing I've ever got to do.
It was great to see Kane make his return to WWE. Like him or not at this stage of the game, it is impossible to deny that he is one of the all time greats. The crowd was ecstatic when Daniel Bryan and Kane hugged it out in the ring.
Maybe the reason this reunion happened is to keep Daniel Bryan and The Miz apart until SummerSlam comes around in August. WWE may not want the two men to meet as early as Extreme Rules.
#1 Worst: The GLOW-Naomi-Lana segment
I'm a big fan of Alison Brie and GLOW, the Netflix series. It was only natural to assume that there would be some kind of crossover with WWE because of the nature of the show. However, somehow this segment just did not work for me. Unfortunately, it could stem from Naomi's mechanical promo skills.
It did not help that the women discussed the dance-off from a few weeks ago. If anything, now I'm not as excited to watch GLOW as I once was.
#2 Best: Becky Lynch and Corey Graves
I am glad to see that Becky Lynch is on a winning streak at last. She's picked up a few wins in the recent past, even though she came up short at Money in the Bank. This week's win just felt a little more special. And this was because of Corey Graves.
Graves was very dismissive of Lynch across the course of Lynch's contest against Sonya Deville. She ran her down so much, that the audience at home began to root for her. It just made her win seem important.
Will Becky Lynch get another run with the title in due time? It'll be difficult to dispute that she deserves it!
#2 Worst: SAnitY loses debut match?
Jeff Hardy was supposed to face Shinsuke Nakamura in a US Title match this week. Because of unforeseen circumstances, he was replaced by Eric Young. Young and Hardy never got to finish their match, because of interference from The Usos.
As one would predict, it became a 6-man match at that point. One that the babyfaces won. I just thought that SAnitY should not have lost in their debut outing.
Bear in mind that their match last week never even got underway at all. This is not an auspicious beginning for the worshippers of chaos at all!
#3 Best: Momentum for Rusev ahead of AJ Styles
I thought Rusev making Xavier Woods submit was a great way to build him up for AJ Styles. Woods is almost the same size as the WWE Champion and works a similar fast paced style. He's also enough of an established name to have the win seem meaningful. This was a pretty impressive performance overall.
Will Rusev become the next WWE Champion? That remains to be seen but this was a good start.
#3 Worst: Featured match cancelled
I hate to say it. But if Team Hell No had not reunited on this show, it would have been a complete bust. Most of us were only tuning in to catch the exciting contest between Nakamura and Jeff Hardy, right? It was a shame that the match did not happen.
Best wishes to Shinsuke Nakamura and I hope he recovers very soon.
#4 Best/worst: Ellsworth vs. Asuka
I'm all for inter-gender matches. In fact, it can be argued that nobody has done as much for inter-gender matches in recent times than James Ellsworth. Somehow, the WWE version of these matches fail to deliver. Becky Lynch vs. Ellsworth was a joke.
I would be all for Asuka and Ellsworth if they were allowed to tear it up. Somehow, I imagine it won't be a 5-star classic. Asuka will, most likely, drop Ellsworth with a mere kick.
I wonder why Ellsworth was let go only to be brought back a mere six months later. Some things in life make no sense at all.
Which is why one should admire God's Greatest Creations.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
