5 things that should’ve happened on SmackDown Live this week 

Ever since WWE created the Fastlane pay-per-view it has been met with mixed reactions, to say the least. From the onset, the WWE Universe perceived Fastlane as a B-grade PPV on the road to WrestleMania. However, WWE has been working tirelessly to change that opinion over the last few years. That change saw Brock Lesnar wrestle on the show, Charlotte Flair’s PPV streak end and Goldberg win a World Title in record time.

However, by judging Smackdown Live’s match card for the show, Fastlane has once again been downgraded into an uninteresting affair.

On this week's Smackdown Live, the blue brand’s creative team dished out another disappointing broadcast that left wrestling aficionados uninspired, uninterested and most of all unexcited. But the main question that needs an answer is: why is the blue brand struggling to stay relevant if they have key elements that can ensure its success?

The answer is simple, WWE is either wasting those key elements in the wrong narrative, underutilising their talents or overlooking their star power which has resulted in tons of lost credibility.

This episode of Smackdown Live was no different as WWE is building towards a PPV that is sure to disappoint fans.

However, if the company made the obvious choice of presenting an episode of Smackdown Live that veered of the generic road like Monday Night Raw did the night earlier, the blue brand wouldn’t have been bogged down with Shane McMahon’s and Daniel Bryan’s authority issues, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s predictable shenanigans and the common trend of presenting overdone matches that set up further overdone matches.

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#1 The King of Strong Style gains momentum

Nakamura vs Styles is the bigger picture and WWE needs to start building towards that

When Shinsuke Nakamura hurled Roman Reigns over the top rope at the 2018 Royal Rumble PPV and won the 30-man battle royale, many were expecting WWE to build towards the much-anticipated dream match, and to WWE’s credit, they did just that, initially. As Styles is looking more than certain to walk out of Fastlane as the WWE Champion, Styles vs Nakamura is all set for WrestleMania.

However, it is one thing to start building a World Title match by announcing it and on the other hand it is important to build up the two competitors as credible opponents. By judging WWE’s handling of Nakamura in 2017, the company needs to focus on his journey to The Show Of Shows every week on Smackdown Live.

From poorly booked narratives to highlighting his weaknesses, WWE made every mistake in the book when handling Nakamura’s 2017 main roster run. Therefore, Nakamura is in desperate need of a major character overhaul, and the blue brand’s creative team should be working every week to ensure that “The King of Strong Style” regains parts of his lost mystic.

And by utilising a short video package to sell the credibility of Nakamura on the road to WrestleMania and having him wrestle a dark match after Smackdown Live went off the air, is bad decision making on WWE’s part in hyping up one of the most important stars in the company right now. Therefore, this week on Smackdown Live fans should’ve seen Nakamura being used in a much better way.

Whether it would’ve been opening the show against the likes of Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, and even Sami Zayn, or seeing Nakamura even make an appearance to put added pressure on Styles on whether he could make it to Wrestlemania as the WWE Champion would’ve still been a better use of “the king of strong style “this week on Smackdown live. Nakamura needed a moment to leave a lasting impression in a buzz-worthy week in WWE and while WWE’s focus was completely towards the fatal five-way match at Fastlane, they shouldn’t forget that match is merely a subplot in the overall narrative of Styles vs Nakamura.

#2 Protection for The Lone Wolf and The ShowOff

Ziggler and Corbin have the least credibility at this point than their opponents at Fastlane

When Baron Corbin burst onto the main roster his debut rivalry was against none other than Dolph Ziggler. While Corbin was considered a hot prospect in the eyes of WWE and Ziggler a cooling down one, it is interesting to note how far down the ladder they have come in a similar fashion, as both their careers have taken a disappointing turn ever since their first encounter.

Corbin won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but has failed to win at Royal Rumble; he also won the Money in the Bank ladder match but failed to successfully cash in his title opportunity, while he won the United States title, he failed to make an impact with it.

Ziggler, on the other end, has faced similar ups and downs that would compile into a top 10 list of its own. However, in both men’s cases, WWE failed to give them that one last final push into megastar status. That is why when both these superstars were surprisingly given an opportunity to challenge for the WWE title at Fastlane 2018 it was quite a shocker.

But the WWE Universe decided to be patient with WWE’s new booking strategies and decided to play along with it, which resulted in both Corbin and Ziggler getting huge wins last week on Smackdown Live. But as most predicted WWE would once again contradict themselves by having Corbin and Ziggler lose clean and lose the momentum they raked up.

While one would argue in WWE’s defence, they had Ziggler get distracted by Zayn allowing him to lose to Owens and Corbin losing to the World Champion and destroying both Owens and Zayn afterwards, which would allow them to keep their credibility.

However, how can the company expect fans to buy Corbin and Ziggler as legitimate threats to Styles' reign if they are now starting to lose cleanly on a weekly basis in the build-up to Fastlane?

Instead, this week on Smackdown Live, WWE should have used Corbin’s and Ziggler’s great matches with AJ Styles and Kevin Owens to give the underutilised challengers a boost of credibility.

#3 Randy Orton vs Bobby Roode starts off with a bang

Roode vs Orton is a WrestleMania worthy caliber feud and deserves a WrestleMania worthy caliber build

When Bobby Roode finally debuted on SmackDown Live, many wrestling fans were excited to finally see him bring his strong heelwork to Tuesday nights. Even though being oddly booked as a face, the prospect of Roode’s plethora of dream feuds awaiting him on the blue brand was exciting enough to main event any Smackdown Live exclusive pay-per-view.

Feuds such as AJ Styles vs Bobby Roode could interest a lot of fans, while a revisit to the Nakamura vs Roode feud would have resulted in a classic encounter, and a programme with John Cena could make Roode an instant main eventer.

And now WWE is giving fans one of the rivalries not mentioned above: a United States Championship match between Roode and Randy Orton at Fastlane. Although their match will result in some solid work from both competitors, the set up to the fresh encounter was extremely underwhelming. What is most baffling about the match between Orton and Roode is the fact that it was based on one sole factor - the Smackdown top 10 list.

While WWE’s idea for igniting feuds using the list is commendable, the execution of the angle was utterly poor. This needed to go from a mid-card placeholder rivalry to the blockbuster main event potential it truly has

That could’ve been accomplished if WWE took the time to start building this feud on a weekly basis, and this week they should’ve focused on the main reason why rivalries exist, character motivation. As both Roode and Orton are babyfaces, one of them should’ve established themselves as the heel in the narrative and that Superstar needed to be Orton.

Orton is one of the last veterans on the WWE roster and the only problem facing Orton is that his babyface persona has become stale and uninteresting over time.

Orton is at his peak when portraying himself as a heel -- the same gimmick that launched his career into the stratosphere. The reasoning for a Randy Orton heel turn is staring WWE in the face.

As Randy’s career winds down, logic dictates that he would want to go out as one of the greatest of all time and the US Title is that last pitstop in his 18-year career. Orton being a desperate but calculating heel opposing a somewhat convincing babyface in Roode would instantly elevate the US Title, Roode’s star power, and most importantly, it will give Orton a solid direction after wallowing in the mid-card for years now.

That would’ve been a better way to build towards Orton vs Roode rather than have Jinder Mahal ignite this rivalry with a meaningless list.

#4 WWE adds depth to the Smackdown Live women’s division

Talented wrestlers like Becky are shockingly overlooked

Since greenlighting the women’s revolution, WWE has done a commendable job of having two separate divisions on two different brands that allowed every woman wrestler to get a chance to shine; allowing women to main event PPV’s and have them participate in the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match, Money in the Bank match and now the upcoming Elimination Chamber match.

However, within that glory, fame, and adulation, the company has made many central mistakes when handling the women’s division and one of their biggest mistakes booking an endless stream of multi-women matches.

The brand that is hit hardest by that decision is Smackdown Live. The Smackdown Live women's division is being defined by the multi-women matches, as many of the women matches on the brand and pay-per-view championship matches have featured every wrestler in the blue brand’s division.

While having every woman wrestler given an equal amount of screen time is a step in the right direction, it means that storylines, matches, and ultimately the wrestlers themselves are going to be left directionless after this multi wrestler fiasco has concluded.

That was no more evident than this week on Smackdown Live, as The Riott Squad defeated Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Naomi. While this set up Charlotte vs Ruby Riott at Fastlane, the rest of the division is left sitting on the sidelines.

That is why it is essential that WWE builds up individual feuds within the division to keep things fresh. Feuds such as Becky Lynch vs Carmella and Naomi vs the rest of the Riott Squad should’ve been established this week on the blue brand, instead of the generic tag match which wasted these opportunities.

WWE needs to start giving extremely talented wrestlers a more prominent role in the division, as with all that breathtaking in-ring action captivating storytelling is essential.

While Charlotte is having her main event feud, the contenders in the division need to build momentum towards a world title opportunity as WrestleMania is approaching.

#5 WWE implement the Smackdown Top 10 list

The Smackdown Live top 10 list has the power to change the landscape of Tuesday nights

Smackdown Live is often is often criticised for underutilising many elements of their roster. As the mid-card, women’s tag team division can be used much better on a weekly basis than it is at the moment. And that fact remains true as the Smackdown Live creative team is ignoring white hot Superstars, budding main eventers and breakout talent.

That is why the creation of the Smackdown Live top 10 list gives fans the perception that Smackdown Live was going to become a show that focused on producing fresh matches, rivalries and chances which would’ve perfectly suited its nickname of the “land of opportunity”.

However, in true WWE fashion, they managed to mess up another fresh out of the box idea that had hit the shores of Smackdown Lives in months, as the top 10 list included only babyfaces. The irony is that heels such as Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Ruby Riott are challenging for championships at Fastlane. While Superstars who made this list, such as Tye Dillinger, Shinsuke Nakamura and The Usos, were not even featured on the show this week.

That is why to sort out this confusion, WWE needed to start implementing this list in a huge way this week on Smackdown Live and they should’ve presented a unique broadcast that saw new matches and fresh pairings.

New matches that would’ve given the blue brand a unique feel, matches such as a potential dream match of Shelton Benjamin vs AJ Styles, a young up and comer in Chad Gable vs a legend in Randy Orton, Rusev taking on Shinsuke Nakamura, in what would’ve promised to be an electric bout and the unusual pairing of Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin teaming up to take on the best friend duo of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

WWE wasted a huge opportunity this week by delaying the implementation of the Smackdown Top 10 list, as it could’ve been the perfect answer to Raw’s electric opener, if brand warfare matters when it’s not Survivor Series season.