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From Drake Maverick successfully pinning R-Truth for the 24/7 Championship he had been chasing for weeks to things escalating one step further between Bayley and Alexa Bliss, this week's edition of WWE SmackDown Live (18th June 2019) featured a lot of contrasting moments.
I felt that last night's show was quite enjoyable from start-to-finish, but the episode had some throwaway moments during the last hour while RAW managed to successfully integrate various plot threads this week, which is a rarity.
As WWE Stomping Grounds takes place this Sunday, here are a few interesting observations you may have missed during this week's edition of SmackDown Live.
#3 'Moment of Bliss' elevated Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss at Stomping Grounds
Things escalated to a new level between SmackDown Live Women's Champion Bayley and Alexa Bliss last night. Both women exchanged some harsh statements against each other before eventually brawling on "A Moment of Bliss".
Before the episode itself, there wasn't a whole lot of excitement behind this feud. But last night's confrontation between the two was necessary to take this Title match on to the next level.
This is because of the potential reasons as to why this feud occurred in the first place are rooted way back during their time in NXT.
Even though it felt manipulative, we saw another side to Alexa Bliss that was jealous of Bayley's success in NXT.
Moreover, it will be interesting to see how Nikki Cross will figure into their matchup at Stomping Grounds this Sunday. There will come a point where Nikki Cross might have to switch sides when she finally realizes Alexa Bliss has been using her just like The Goddess' previous allies.
See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page
#2 Shane McMahon segment and Tag Team Elimination Match eats up potential TV Time for other wrestlers
The Reigns-McMahon segment from this week's RAW was a fitting conclusion for Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns at WWE Stomping Grounds.
That is why some TV Time should have been allocated to other wrestlers instead of another pointless segment featuring Shane McMahon yet again.
On top of that, The Miz-Shane McMahon plot was re-established just for a pointless Tag Team Elimination Match that would branch off into R-Truth's 24/7 Title shenanigans.
Again, even though the conclusion to the 24/7 Title scenario was great this week, there were other ways through which the writing team could have branched into the parking lot segment later on in the night.
Perhaps the biggest reason why featuring Shane McMahon on last night's show felt pointless was because Roman Reigns himself wasn't scheduled to appear on SmackDown Live in the first place, therefore, there was no immediate conflict, to begin with. What do you think?
#1 Drake Maverick and R-Truth could get involved in an interesting program for the 24/7 Championship
One of the best outcomes from SmackDown Live from this week included Drake Maverick becoming the new 24/7 Champion by pinning R-Truth.
Maverick pretended to be Carmella in the parking lot and managed to fool R-Truth in a very comical manner for a quick three count.
The reason why Maverick deserved this win is that apart from R-Truth, Drake Maverick is one of the wrestlers who has put efforts into introducing new elements when it comes to the 24/7 Title saga. Also, we could potentially witness some of the most entertaining segments by combining the comic timing of both of these wrestlers.
After all, Maverick mentioned the fact that he was 'getting married' sometime soon, and if that is any indication for things to come, R-Truth will probably crash the wedding to reclaim the 24/7 Championship.
Thanks for reading this article, please share it to spread the word. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more.
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