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SmackDown Live has often been accused of being the B-Show, and it did feel very much so, this week, live from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. There was just very little that felt 'special' until the finish.
The build to the Royal Rumble has been rather underwhelming, to say the very least. While there was the whole tease of SmackDown Live attacking RAW and vice versa leading up to Survivor Series, WWE hasn't done enough to build this Big 4 pay-per-view up yet.
Still there were some positives this week, and we shall list them here for your reading pleasure. We hope you have as much fun reading this article, as we did when while we wrote it.
Without further ado, we present the 'Best and Worst of SmackDown Live', our special post-show recap.
#1 Best: The return of Becky Lynch
The Riott Squad defeated the Welcoming Committee quite comprehensively this week. This wasn't a real shocker, as the Riott Squad are the brand new girls on the block and need all the momentum they can get, at the moment.
Shortly after their win, The Riott Squad announced their entry into the Women's Royal Rumble match. Charlotte Flair would interrupt and introduce two of her friends to the WWE Universe. The first was Naomi, and the second, the returning Becky Lynch.
Bear in mind that Lynch was written off TV when she was attacked by The Riott Squad. She'd gone to film the latest installment of the Marine franchise with The Miz and Shawn Michaels, following the kayfabe attack.
Everybody loves The Irish Lash Kicker and we're certain that the landscape of the Women's Division will change with her big return.
#1 Worst: Show about Authority Figures
The most compelling feud on SmackDown Live right now is not between the superstars in the brand. Instead, it's between the two Authority Figures, one of whom is a part time performer and the other, a man who's not even cleared to wrestle yet.
Everyone knows that if given an opportunity, AJ Styles and Sami Zayn could absolutely tear the house down, and how! Because of the ongoing feud between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan however, it eventually became an overbooked mess.
Of course, if this does lead to Daniel Bryan's in-ring return, then we are certainly all for it. If it doesn't, it's all a collosal waste of time, really.
If SmackDown Live moves the spotlight away from Shane McMahon onto the performers, everyone would be better served.
#2 Best: New Day's singles aspirations
Last year, we had a chance to interview The New Day. They admitted that they also wanted to focus their attention on singles titles, considering that much like with the Tag Titles, they'd get to Freebird a singles Championship.
This is what Kofi Kingston had to say, when asked about his singles aspirations:
You never know. The thing about singles titles is when one of us is champion, we are all champions. So it’s in the cards. There’s a lot of championship titles out there that need to be won and we like winning. So, we’ll see. Like I always say, you never know what’s gonna happen.
We wonder if Xavier Woods' victory and participation in the tournament could be a sign of things to come. The New Day have done all that they could have in the Tag Team division. Greener pastures may await them in Singles competition.
#2 Worst: Far too green
The main roster is a very different place, when you compare it to NXT. The Riott Squad seem under-prepared for such a big stage. Whether it was weak spots during the match, or the post-match promo they cut, The Riott Squad did not impress. They could have used a longer run in NXT.
Special mention must be made of Sarah Logan's cartwheel finisher. The execution seemed far from perfect. We hope that she makes a note of it, and works on the same to make it look far more realistic.
#3 Best: Rusev's musical performance
It has been terrific to see that Rusev, whose run as a top heel fizzled out because he was not booked as a brute, is getting himself over as a comedy character. This week, he chose to break out into song, instead of his partner, Aiden English. Everyone in the arena loved it!
There's something extremely likeable about Rusev. The crowd's deafening reaction seems to echo this very sentiment.
#3 Worst: The Bludgeon Brothers saga
If you consider Clash of Champions, this was the third straight week where Harper and Rowan faced Breezango. WWE has already proved their point. The Bludgeon Brothers are invincible. They do not need to hammer it in, so much!
It seems like The Bludgeon Brothers will now move on to The Ascension, and we don't know if that is a more exciting program. Very little has been done in terms of character development for the Ascension, in quite a while.
#4 Best/Worst: The Cliffhanger
In our fantasy booking article about opponents for AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, we had recommended a Triple Threat match between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Instead, we get a handicap match with the same participants.
We're not sure how to feel about this one. There are more questions than answers right now, and that's never a bad thing. We wonder if a singles match with Styles may have been more par for the course, considering he's the best wrestler in the world.
So there you have it. Our recap of SmackDown Live was a real mixed bag of both good and bad.
To conclude, we leave you with the highlight of this week...the returning Becky Lynch!
