We did not mind Monday Night Raw this week, but we totally loved SmackDown from the time the opening package played. The pacing, the emotions, the vibe, everything is superior in this show! The crowd seems invested in the matches as opposed to the silence that greets performers on Raw every single week.
Sure, Raw may score higher in terms of ratings more often than not, but it’s quite obvious what the better show is, qualitatively. Let’s go straight to Baton Rouge, LA for our Best and Worst recap article.
#1 Worst: AJ corrects Mauro’s botch
Sometimes, the best way to deal with a botch is just to let it be. Our WWE Champion chooses to disagree. During the John Cena vs. Baron Corbin main event, Ranallo mistakenly called a ‘sidewalk slam’ a deep six, Corbin's signature manoeuvre.
AJ would correct Ranallo and point out his mistake, live, on air. Obviously irritated, Ranallo called a Tornado DDT and asked AJ if he got that move right! Yikes, just let things be as they are, champ.
Of course, botch queen extraordinaire Dasha Fuentes was back at it again following the Nikki Bella vs. Nattie segment, during which she said ‘Tension seems to be boiling out here on Smackdown Live which... please welcome Dolph Ziggler.’ We are intrigued, Dasha. Please finish your thought! How else can one honestly sleep at night in peace?
We don’t know if this counts as a botch or not, but Dean Ambrose said that he’s the first member of Smackdown Live to enter the Royal Rumble match. Baron Corbin had announced himself as an entrant long before. However, Ambrose corrected himself and said he’s the first ‘champion’ to do so.
#1 Best: Maryse The Alligator
Whoever’s scripting Raw needs to watch this segment. Every line bites deep and is coated with sarcastic genius. Maryse, the alligator head was a great way for Ambrose to get his revenge against Maryse, without laying his hands on a woman who’s been slapping him almost every week.
It was great to see Ambrose bring back the participation certificate and bring this whole angle full circle one more time. Compare this to the performance review angle on Raw, between Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley or Titus O’Neil and The New Day with a Booty-Juice barrel. The difference is night and day.
#2 Worst: Wrong guys taking pinfalls
Dolph Ziggler has never felt as relevant as he does right now, after going heel. However, he lost his first match after this attitude adjustment to a man who’s far lower down the card than he is. We understand that this was done merely to show him losing his cool and go berserk with a chair, but doesn't it make the man look a little weak?
Especially if this was a filler match prior to Ziggler’s actual program with Apollo Crews, coming up soon.
Similarly, even in the tag team championship contest, it was Randy Orton who finally took the pinfall. One needs to remember that he's a multiple time World Champion and former Wrestlemania main eventer, who’s honestly quite far from done.
Having Seth Rollins lose every single time against Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho has made him look like a watered down performer. SmackDown needs to be careful that their talent isn’t adversely affected by such booking.
#2 Best: Crowd reaction
The difference in crowd reaction between Raw and Smackdown is staggering.
The existing full-time roster gets a bigger response on SmackDown Live than even Shawn Michaels got on Raw. The atmosphere for the John Cena-Baron Corbin match was truly electric. This makes it exciting even for us, watching the action from our television sets.
Almost everyone in the SmackDown Roster feels over, in some way, shape or form. Yes, even James Ellsworth.
#3 Best: Limited appearances by GM
Daniel Bryan may just be the most over non-performing babyface in WWE right now. Heck, he may even be more over than the full-time performers. However, the man comes out only when he needs to, and lets the talent steal the show.
The only time we saw him this week was in a backstage segment with Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss. Compare this to Raw, which was pretty much the Stephanie McMahon-Mick Foley show. As a result, the talent doesn't get over, but the authority figures become the centre of attention. Less is always more, in sports entertainment.
#4 Best: Historic announcement
Congratulations to two women who will make history next week. They have been overlooked in the Sasha-Charlotte revolution, as Raw made wrestling history. Can these two outshine them?
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