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SmackDown Live was a fine show once again, but if this is your last show before the pay-per-view to get the audience invested in the program, I don't know if it necessarily delivered. I know that a lot of you wrote in with feedback for my 'Best and Worst' piece that followed RAW and deemed it critical of the show, but I call it as I see it.
Once again, I reiterate that I did not necessarily think that it was a bad show per se. All I thought was that there were certain booking decisions that did not make any sense at all to me.
So, here is my personal take on this week's show, and I invite you to share your views and feedback in the comments section. Even if you disagree with me, I invite every single comment, because it's the difference in opinion that makes the chats in the comments section so very exciting.
If we all perceived sports entertainment in the same manner, the world would be a really boring place.
#1 Best: Rowan throws a fan
Did you spot Sonjay Dutt in the mass of people that pulled Roman Reigns and Rowan apart? Thanks to my colleague Alan John for pointing it out, and I must imagine that I popped big time for it.
What's not to like when two bulls slug it out in a brawl that actually involves one of the men involved 'powerbombing' a fan into a whole crowd of people. It felt real, it felt personal and most importantly it got me interested in a match that I wasn't necessarily interested in until this point.
This is the point of a go-home show, and I do believe that the purpose was served this week.
See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page
#1 Worst: Andrade pinned
So, I get that The Miz needed a fair bit of momentum before heading into his big match at WWE Clash of Champions. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of Andrade, a man that many pegged would win King of the RIng.
I don't necessarily have an issue with him being eliminated from the King of the Ring tournament, because it's been a pretty good tournament nevertheless. My main grouse stems from the fact that he was the man handpicked to take the pin against The Miz.
I suppose someone who's been sitting on the sidelines like EC3 or Eric Young would have been a much better choice in this regard. It does not help that The Miz has been ice cold since he went babyface, and I can't be the only fan of his who's been missing his classic and awesome heel persona.
I hope Andrade gets the push he deserves soon.
#2 Best: Kofi recreates a classic spot
I'm sure we've seen the spot that I'm referring to a million times already. I loved the fact that Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton managed to recreate it during this week's show. I thought that it was a great way to showcase the importance of MSG to the world at large.
Kofi vs. Orton isn't necessarily the featured feud in the show, which is a shame because the WWE Championship should be a bigger deal than it is right now, especially with the imminent move to FOX. That said, you cannot fault these two gentlemen for trying because they're certainly proving they belong at the top of the card with their awesome performances.
I do wonder though if this means that Randy Orton will defeat Kofi Kingston for the Championship at Clash of Champions. Because if Kingston defeats Orton, I don't know any top heels left for him to face.
#2 Worst: The Undertaker's appearance
Remember what I said about Andrade not long ago? Sami Zayn was brought out to cut a promo and eat a chokeslam and he did that to the best of his ability and nobody can fault him for trying.
But my biggest grouse with this week's show was the fact that The Undertaker's appearance was utterly meaningless. There was no attack from The Fiend as many had predicted, but more importantly, there was no point to the whole segment except for a pop from the audience and little more.
I wonder if The Undertaker's value gets diminished to a certain extent every time he makes one of these advertised appearances and nothing happens, because in a way you're training the WWE Universe not to tune in to watch The Phenom. Is it that difficult to write a mini-storyline featuring The Undertaker, one of the greatest in history?
#3 Best: Nakamura speaks in Japanese
There aren't enough heels out there doing heelish things. The point is not to get the crowd to cheer you on, but get them to hate you and Shinsuke Nakamura did something quite brilliant this week.
Shinsuke Nakamura joined the commentary desk and spoke in Japanese whenever he was asked a question, much to the chagrin of fans. We all know that he understands English fluently and can even speak it confidently, to an extent, which made this act even funnier and even more annoying.
I could be wrong but I'm guessing that in a sense this was a shot from WWE at fans who watch Japanese wrestling, even if they cannot necessarily understand the promo work. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but if the G1 did indeed inspire the King of the Ring tournament, this is not too far-fetched a supposition in my estimation.
Anything that helps Nakamura is fine by me, honestly!
#3 Worst: Heavy Machinery turn into The Viking Raiders
There are teams like The Ascension and The Colons who're a part of the roster and haven't had a showcase match in months. It makes a lot more sense to give them a shot against a team that has to get over than random local competitors, in my estimation.
And more importantly, does Heavy Machinery need these clashes against local competitors when a lot of the casual fanbase knows them well already? I mean did they not have a tag team title opportunity at Extreme Rules where they faced off against The New Day and Bryan and Rowan?
WWE does a lot of stuff to kill time. And I don't necessarily think this is a wise ploy ahead of the move to FOX because if you don't treat your show as important, the fans won't either!
It's like The Viking Raiders slipped out of being fed enhancement talent teams every week, for Otis and Tucker to slip in. Not the best booking!
#4 Best/Worst: The main event
I did not have a problem with Shane McMahon in the main event. I thought that Chad Gable needed someone like Shane McMahon to establish him and get the crowd to cheer for him when he goes up against Corbin in the finals. Shane McMahon may be the worst wrestler in the roster right now, but he's a great heel and can get the crowd to react, which is a lost art in the year 2019.
No, my main issue here is the portrayal of Kevin Owens. I don't like how someone like him is falling in line for a fine. If he's being modeled on Stone Cold Steve Austin, he'd tear up the paycheck and deliver a Stunner to Shane McMahon.
Isn't this the main difference between the stars of yesterday and those of today? Stone Cold gets the reaction that he does because he wouldn't allow his character to be portrayed in this manner at all.
Let's end on a high note however, with The Goddess, Alexa Bliss.
