5 Interesting things we learned from WWE Smackville: Finn Balor's status, Samoa Joe's position

WWE Smackville actually hinted at a lot of interesting stuff
WWE Smackville actually hinted at a lot of interesting stuff

In case you missed the show, WWE Smackville was a Network special that aired last night, with three matches. Well, two of them were advertised a, d the third was an impromptu match from WWE.

Fans seem to be divided over whether or not there was a Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair match advertised for the show or not. Some have stated that it was advertised (it certainly was on Wikipedia), while others have stated that WWE never officially mentioned it.

Well, that aside, there were a lot of things that we learned from WWE through this Network special. I will run down a few of these points in this list and you can tell me what you thought of the show too!

I'd love to hear your thoughts, views, and opinions on the show.


#5 WWE does not want to give us any indication about Finn Balor's status

There are various rumors doing the rounds about Finn Balor's injury. The fact of the matter is that because WWE is not shedding any light on the same, I believe that they want to be extra careful with regard to disclosing the particulars about Finn Balor's situation. There are a multitude of rumors flying about, and from the looks of it, it's not a very serious case, if the rumors are indeed accurate, that is.

But one thing that this leads us to believe is that there is an element of doubt with regard to Balor's match against Bray Wyatt which will be coming our way at SummerSlam. It would be really unfortunate for both men if Balor were to back out of the said match because this has happened in the past as well. Remember their clash at TLC 2016 (or the fact that it was canceled when Bray Wyatt fell sick before the match)?

#4 Ali vs. Nakamura may not be the SummerSlam match

So, we spoke about Finn Balor being injured on the previous page. In this point, let me discuss the man who replaced him and put on a great showing against Nakamura. This man was Ali, a man who had a backstage staredown with Nakamura not long ago.

A lot of people speculated shortly after the staredown that the SummerSlam match would be a singles contest between Ali and Shinsuke Nakamura for the prestigious Intercontinental Championship. I have a feeling from the way that things turned out that this may not really be the case. After all, Nakamura did pin him clean during the match.

I have a feeling that it could be a multi-man affair involving others like Apollo Crews in the mix as well, making things interesting. It does not make sense to show the same match that fans already saw at Smackville, at SummerSlam once again!

#3 Fans see Samoa Joe in a different light than McMahon does

Those who have followed Samoa Joe's journey from TNA remember the way that he was presented there. He was portrayed as an intimidating and unstoppable monster, in a lot of ways like Braun Strowman is presented in WWE.

Like it or not, WWE does not see him in the same light as a lot of hardcore Samoa Joe fans do, because he was the man who took the pin in the triple threat main event match at Smackville. A lot of people had assumed that Ziggler was in the match to take the fall.

I suppose Vince McMahon sees Samoa Joe as someone who's a solid hand, and can have a good main event match without going over in the same. Maybe in the same light as someone like Ziggler!

But then he took the pin and not Ziggler, in this case, which speaks volumes about his position!

#2 Elias is going to be a comedy mid-carder unless things change

There are very few people in the current roster that can command an audience as Elias does. He can hold the WWE Universe by the palm of his hand, playing them like a fiddle or indeed a Fender guitar. Unfortunately, this has proved to be both a blessing and a curse for the talented minstrel.

As we saw from his interaction with Kevin Owens, his abundance of talent has meant that he's relegated to the mid-card, setting the stage for a babyface to run in and shut him up. This has been the case with him for a really long time. Hasn't it been quite some time since he was in a real storyline (being Shane McMahon's lackey does not count!)?

Elias may be doomed in this position. As entertaining as he is, this gimmick will get stale someday.

#1 WWE's Network Specials will always be shows of no consequence

I know that there was a lot of speculation about a title change at WWE Smackville, leading up to the event. That was probably what compelled many of us to tune in and watch the show, to see what kind of impact it has on the SummerSlam card.

Nothing of consequence happened during the show, which does not only refer to no titles changing hands. No storyline development happened at all, which means that shows like Smackville will only be special content aimed at getting new eyes on the Network and little more.

Personally, I'd say that if you need to retain your audience, you need to do something interesting or important. Even booking a face-off or interesting talking point from the show does the trick.

But then again, Vince McMahon is a billionaire and unless I get a massive hike in pay very soon, I am not.

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