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I don't know if it's the fact that it's an hour short. I don't know if it's because the brand has become WWE's focus after the FOX deal. SmackDown Live has just been a better show than RAW over the past few weeks. This week was really no different.
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When I have to review SmackDown Live, it does not feel like work at all. Instead, I'm engaged from start to finish, invested in the men and women on screen. I wish I could say the same about Bobby Lashley vs Sami Zayn on RAW.
That being said, SmackDown Live was not without its fair share of faults. I will separate the good from the bad in this particular article.
As always, leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this week's show right below.
#1 Best: The main event
It's easy to forget just how good The New Day are as wrestlers. Behind the pancake and the cereal are three gifted athletes. All of them shone in the main event of the evening. It was really a sight to behold.
Kofi Kingston, in particular, deserves a round of applause for just how athletic he is at 36. Kingston can fly around like a man that's ten years younger than he is. Just how visually incredible was this move?
Samoa Joe, Rusev and The Miz held their own, during the match. They allowed The New Day to shine and take centre-stage, giving them the spotlight during the match.
#1 Worst: No storyline advancements
Ratings haven't really been the best in recent times. This can be attributed to the fact that while the shows have been fun, they really haven't been must-see action like they once used to be. Everything was set in stone for Money in the Bank prior to this week's episode. One could have skipped this episode and not missed anything.
Maybe the qualifiers for Money in the Bank could have been spaced out over the weeks. That would have added some stakes to the matches this week, which were great but rather meaningless.
#2 Best: Massive upset
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair squared off this week. The two women have great chemistry and as one would expect, they put on a fairly decent match. They wrestled like two women who knew each other well. There was a counter for every move.
And then, much to the shock of the WWE Universe, Charlotte Flair tapped. Becky Lynch picked up her biggest win in forever. While the match had no stakes, it was great to see Becky being positioned at Charlotte Flair's level.
Sadly, it's back to business as usual for these two women again. I would have loved to see some kind of a rift between these gifted athletes.
#2 Worst: Big Cass vs Daniel Bryan
Ever since WrestleMania 34, where Daniel Bryan made his triumphant return, he has been locked in a feud with Big Cass. Somehow, this is a program that just has seemed to go on for far too long. The same can be said for Styles vs. Nakamura, but both men are gifted performers and their matches hardly ever disappoint.
There is a wealth of talent that Bryan can feud with. This week on SmackDown Live, Big Cass repeated the same insults that he has hurled at Bryan for weeks. Is anyone really looking forward to their rematch after Bryan made short work of Cass during their very first encounter?
#3 Best: Carmella on the microphone
I was very apprehensive about Carmella opening the show this week. Not only did she cut a commendable promo at the top of the show, she was great on commentary too.
I loved how she put Byron Saxton down, ignoring him completely and answering the same questions when Corey Graves asked her. Carmella has just become a very confident performer recently.
Just compare her appearance on commentary to how mechanical Ronda Rousey was on RAW. It remains to be seen if she can step it up in the ring as well, going into her big match with Asuka at Money in the Bank.
#3 Worst: Lana
Lana has a great look. Thanks to the success of Rusev Day, she has a great gimmick. Sadly, she's just a step behind the rest of the women's division in the ring. This GIF pretty much proves just how much she needs to improve.
At a time when the women of WWE are changing the game in the ring, Lana just reminds me of the 'divas'. The good news is that she's improved from her dreadful initial outing so she's probably aware of her drawbacks.
#4 Best/worst: The contract signing
WWE tried a lot of new things this week. Big Cass was interviewed by Renee Young up on the ramp like in the days of old-school WWE. The Nakamura-Styles contract signing took place backstage. I did like how they changed things up.
It's really difficult to understand Nakamura's motivations. I get that he's trying to get Styles riled up with the 'pen' but he bore the brunt in this segment. All it did was fire up Styles before his Last Man Standing Match.
I'm curious to see where they go from here. Will Shinsuke Nakamura win the big one at Money in the Bank?
Let's mull over this over some tea!
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