Yet another week of WWE programming has ended and this week we were up to our throats in content from Vince McMahon and co. The first Smackdown Live exclusive pay-per-view after Wrestlemania 33, WWE Backlash 2017 got us up and running before we had our usual dose of Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live.
It should have been a glorious week for the WWE with the debut of Shinsuke Nakamura and the opportunity to build up to both Extreme Rules as well as Money in the Bank but they didn’t quite live up to expectations. Don’t get me wrong, they did a lot of things right but we didn’t get all that we were hoping for.
Leaving aside the shock of seeing Jinder Mahal as the WWE Champion, there were some things we really wanted to see on WWE programming this week and it’s time to see which of those things the WWE provided us with.
So, without any further ado, here is a list of 5 things we wanted from the WWE this week and what they delivered for the week of 23rd May 2017:
#5 What we wanted: Improvement in the Women’s divisions of both brands; What we got: Minute improvement on Smackdown Live
The Women’s Divisions on both shows need some rapid improvement in order to stay relevant. The Welcoming Committee storyline has all but killed off any excitement on Smackdown Live while the kendo stick business, as well as the feud between Alicia Fox and Sasha Banks, is destroying Monday Night Raw’s Women’s Division.
Things looked bleak for the blue brand when Natalya picked up the win for her team against Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Naomi at Backlash. Things looked worse when Becky and Charlotte went up against Carmella and Natalya two nights later on Smackdown Live.
Luckily things got better as the faces picked up the win and there was some noticeable tension as all the women – faces and heels – made a case to be named Number 1 Contender to the Smackdown Live Women’s Championship which has been largely relegated to the role of spectator.
Raw, on the other hand, showed no signs of improvement as we got more kendo stick garbage and more Alicia Fox vs Sasha Banks nonsense. Make it stop, WWE. Please.
#4 What we wanted: Shinsuke Nakamura winning; What we got: Nakamura winning unconvincingly
The WWE doesn’t seem to know how to book Shinsuke Nakamura on the main roster. The only thing they seem to know is that he’s a fan favourite but they’re out of their depth on how to exploit that. Just look at his matches in NXT!
While The King of Strong Style won both his debut matches on pay per view – at Backlash – as well as on Smackdown Live, he just didn’t get enough offence in. He looked weak and took too much punishment for two straight matches.
We didn’t get to see enough of his Strong Style weaponry that have made him one of the most lethal superstars to ever step foot inside the squared circle. The only silver lining here is that he’s racking up the wins, at least.
#3 What we wanted: Smackdown to set up Money in the Bank; What we got: Money in the Bank set up
I’m glad that Smackdown Live addressed this issue straight away and took care of it. Shane McMahon opened the show by announcing the match as well as all the participants and what a great lineup we have this time around. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin – stacked is an understatement.
There were also some really good segments to build up the existing rivalries between these six men as well as hyping up the pay-per-view which is four weeks away, as well. They even set up the WWE Championship rematch between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal.
The only negative I would say is that there is still no sign of Rusev and the company seems to have abandoned their plans for pushing The Bulgarian Brute into the WWE Championship picture.
#2 What we wanted: The WWE to get behind Jinder Mahal as WWE Champion; What we got: Exactly that
There were some fears after Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship that he would be treated as a joke or end up losing the belt on the following episode of Smackdown Live, completely undermining his reign at the top.
Luckily, that wasn’t the case as the company got fully behind the Indo-Canadian superstar as the man with the biggest prize in sports entertainment in his possession.
It would have been nice to see Randy Orton attempt to get some kind of retribution.
#1 What we wanted: Building the hype for Extreme Rules; What we got: The perfect hype building for Extreme Rules
Monday Night Raw expertly handled building the hype up for Extreme Rules. The banter between all the five men in the fatal five-way was great but what really built up the PPV’s main event was Paul Heyman making a surprise appearance to hype up Finn Balor.
He talked a great game and single-handedly put Finn over as a genuine threat to Brock Lesnar’s reign as Universal Champion.
Also read: Real reason why Paul Heyman confronted Finn Balor on RAW
The other great thing was the main event pitting the team of Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. The match played out perfectly as it underlined the “Every man for himself” feel of the fatal five-way.
Great stuff all around.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
