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SmackDown Live does not get the numbers that WWE RAW does. It gets lower numbers in terms of television viewership and also YouTube views, every week. Heck, it even gets lower views on the site as compared to the RAW articles that we write. But it is impossible to deny that it is the better show.
It's very hard to pick more than a handful of bad things from SmackDown Live every week. The stories are logical, the feuds are magical and the matches are exemplary. I honestly think that this is the show that I look forward to the most, every single week.
This week was no different and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the show. The worsts that I will mention from the broadcast are not really 'worsts', per se.
They were underwhelming moments from an otherwise good episode.
#1 Best: The Orton vs. AJ Styles banter
There are few things in sports entertainment as good as a solid back and forth segment, in my opinion. And when this back and forth includes two veterans of the industry, the segment is guaranteed to be good. Randy Orton, the corporate star, and AJ Styles, the independent megastar, had quite the verbal battle this week.
It's amazing to see just how far AJ Styles has come since the time that he first arrived in WWE. He is now a natural on the microphone and can hang with the likes of Orton. Orton claimed that he was creating WWE records, back when Styles was wrestling for just twenty people.
TNA was referenced and I think that this is a very good thing. AJ Styles was the man who helped build TNA and this aspect of his life was thankfully showcased.
This is awesome!
#1 Worst: Struggling with the apron
So, I get the fact that WWE wants Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to split up for now. Or maybe, the two of them tease dissension initially and then they unite as an even stronger team. Whatever the case may be WWE has a plan. And I'm okay with it, despite the fact that I believe that there's more value in them staying together and competing.
But then, what I do not really like is the basis of their dissent from the very beginning. Sonya Deville struggled with the apron at Fastlane in an attempt to help Mandy Rose out. Similarly, Mandy Rose struggled with the apron skirt this week on SmackDown Live, to help out her partner.
There are many other ways to tease a split than this silly spot. If anything, it takes me away from the action.
This is certainly not awesome.
#2 Best: The grand finale
So many heels have made their mark in WWE over the years. And yet when Mr. McMahon steps out to address the WWE Universe, he proves, time and again, why he's the greatest heel in the history of the sports entertainment business. As he degraded and derided Kofi Kingston on SmackDown Live this week, the audience hung on to every word he said.
Kofi Kingston hit out and cut a passionate promo that resonated with the WWE Universe this week. It was a star-making promo, of a man who had always excelled but had been sidelined time and again, for no real fault of his. The audience is more invested than ever in this feud, maybe even more than Ronda vs. Becky vs. Charlotte.
And then Vince McMahon announced his masterstroke. Kofi Kingston will be facing five men next week for a chance to qualify for a title shot at WrestleMania. This segment was just perfect.
#2 Worst: Becky vs. Charlotte again
I think Becky Lynch is a lot more entertaining on Twitter than she is on the microphone these days. The lines that are fed to her do not often do her character justice. She is a lot more creative and charismatic than the WWE Creative team, and on Twitter, she roasts all her opponents like a boss.
There was nothing wrong with the Charlotte vs. Becky exchange on SmackDown Live this week. The only reason this makes it to the 'worst' column is because it just feels like we've seen this before, a few too many times actually. The program actually has a lot less steam right now than it did when the match first happened.
That said, it was a segment that was put together to kill time and kill time it did. Do you guys still think this match should main event WrestleMania this year
#3 Best: New Day gets serious
The New Day is a trio of really gifted sports entertainers, each of whom has the potential to hold Championship gold. But their fun-loving attitude and their love for pancakes, cereal and ice cream pops make it difficult for a lot of us to ever take them seriously.
Having been wronged by the likes of Vince McMahon at Fastlane, the New Day showed newfound aggression on SmackDown Live this week. They interfered in a match that also featured Rusev, Nakamura and The Bar, four heelish men who've been at odds with the trio in recent times.
I've wanted The New Day to be a more serious unit for a very long time now and it was great to see how easily they could shed their old skin, during the segment. They should be like this until Kofi Kingston eventually goes on to win the WWE Championship someday.
#3 Worst: The champ gets pinned
Okay, so I understand the fact that Samoa Joe had to be pinned so that a match with Rey Mysterio could potentially take place somewhere down the line for the US Championship. I just don't like the fact that he got pinned so soon after becoming the Champion.
More than a lot of other cases on SmackDown Live, Samoa Joe's situation is the direst in my opinion. This is because while he was portrayed as a monster when he first got called up to the main roster, the booking since then has not made him seem dominant at all.
In all probability, he will get pinned again next week in the big gauntlet match. And that will mean that the US Championship will lose some more of its sheen.
Why can't a man who looks and behaves like Samoa Joe be booked like a dominant champion?
#4 Best/worst: Shane McMahon
There were quite a few things that I enjoyed about Shane McMahon this week. I loved the fact that he threatened the ring announcer. He came across as a very unlikeable person and in my opinion, that was awesome. But there was something about his explanation about why he went heel that did not sit well with me.
Moreover, I wonder how well The Miz will do as a babyface. This will be the first time in his career in quite some time, that WWE will entrust him with such a massive role. I also wonder why he would not come out to avenge the fact that Shane McMahon hurt his father, in kayfabe.
It will be interesting to see how this storyline takes us to WrestleMania and beyond. And if Shane McMahon will do well as a heel character.
Oh, what are your thoughts about the WrestleMania host?
