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Smackdown Live has for long stayed light years ahead of Monday Night Raw. The Superstar Shakeup last year saw the likes of Samoa Joe, The Bar, Andrade and Miz joining the blue brand along with the returning Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio, Smackdown Live became a must-watch television show every week.
However, ever since Daniel Bryan became champion, the quality has soared to immense heights and has remained consistent for almost four months now! There is a tremendous gap when it comes to quality between the red brand and the blue, and it is pretty apparent at this point.
This week's Smackdown Live episode, the fall-out show of Fastlane, made tremendous progress in the storylines, saw some of the best promos in recent memory, and produced entertaining in-ring action.
We look at five reasons behind the spectacular two-hour journey on Smackdown Live this week.
#5 Shane McMahon's terrifying promo
Shane McMahon winning the Best in the World trophy should have been the impetus for his heel turn. However, WWE stalled his heel turn until Fastlane, and it resulted in a golden storyline between him and The Miz.
Not all heels are able to extract anger and resentment from the crowds today. However, Shane McMahon did exactly that and laid the stage for what should be an entertaining match at WrestleMania. Imagine being such a good heel that you get people to cheer The Miz instead of you!
Shane McMahon nailed his promo on Smackdown Live and his antics with Greg Hamilton helped him establish his persona and assert his dominance. Shane has eased into a heel persona with relative ease, and it only gets interesting from this point onward.
#4 The showcasing of talent
Almost every top superstar of Smackdown Live featured in the show this week. There are few weeks where fans complained about a particular superstar being off the show. However, there were no such complaints this week.
Apart from The Miz, who is presumably out due to the beat-down given to him by Shane, all other talents were present on the packed two-hour show. More people on the show make it much faster flowing and allows the viewers to watch a variety of talented performers in the ring.
#3 Interweaving of storylines
Shows get much more interesting when there are storylines interwoven with each other. This week's Smackdown Live was a prime example of the same. The Bar and New Day are not only contesting in the tag-team division but are involved in the WWE Championship picture too.
New Day coming out during the eight-man tag match was a great decision, and WWE slowly making New Day turn away from the comedic role is a wonderful move.
#2 Randy Orton and AJ Styles spit fire
Randy Orton and AJ Styles have stayed on Smackdown Live for almost three years now, but have never been involved in any feud till date. However, both these competitors have finally confronted each other, and what a start it has been!
AJ Styles and Randy Orton verbally assaulted each other on the mic, delivering their best promos in recent memory. A feud without any title or any implication is difficult to get behind, but they made sure that the WWE Universe is invested in the story line from the word go.
Randy Orton dropping the son of a b*tch line was an unexpected move and resounded throughout the WWE Universe. Both these superstars are going to steal the show at WrestleMania, and their rivalry has gotten off to a magical start.
#1 The New Day and Vince McMahon interaction
The final segment of the show saw New Day confront the chairman of WWE, Mr. McMahon. Big E proved why he is one of the most charismatic personalities in WWE today, by getting in the face of the boss and delivering an exceptional promo.
Kofi Kingston's heartfelt outburst felt genuine and elevated him even further as a top babyface. Kingston's story has been organic and not forced, which makes the whole ordeal a welcome sight.
Vince McMahon, even this late in his career, still knows how to run a business. He made some wonderful points in his promo as well, and his announcement of Gauntlet Match for next week only increased the intrigue around the storyline.
The evil Boss-sympathetic employee story has been dragged on for way too long. However, New Day and Vince made sure no one had a single complaint about this storyline.
