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SmackDown Live was a good show, but then the Blue Brand often is. I thought enough significant developments happened during the show for it to qualify as a must-watch program.
But then again, it wasn't without its share of faults, and in this article, I will list the good as well as the bad in equal measure. Be sure to let me know your thoughts, views, and comments in the section below, dear reader.
Of course, the show would center around the Roman Reigns storyline and the King of the Ring tournament. So, it was a noteworthy affair from the word go, and therefore, there were stakes through the show.
But then, I wouldn't want to give away everything at the start, and hence would like to implore you to read on as follows...
#1 Best: Charlotte vs. Bayley is the next feud
Alexa Bliss brought out Charlotte Flair as her special guest during 'A Moment of Bliss', and it is clear that the next program for the SmackDown Women's Championship will be contested between Bayley and her. Not only is this a program that Charlotte Flair needs to get back into the title hunt once more, but it is also one Bayley needs as well.
And the reason for the same is that she can compete with the likes of Ember Moon for all eternity and produce some great matches, but the SmackDown Women's Championship picture will always feel like the secondary title unless Bayley faces a star. There's nobody bigger in the division than Charlotte Flair and anything that she's part of gets people watching at once.
Bayley and Charlotte could have a great clash at Clash of Champions and embark on a feud that stretches for many months, I believe. What do you guys think about this feud?
See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page
#1 Worst: Kevin Owens is out of King of the Ring
I don't like the way that Kevin Owens is being portrayed on screen. I get that he is a family man, but if you're the second coming of Stone Cold Steve Austin, you shouldn't be so bothered about a fine, especially after cutting your vicious promo.
But I especially don't like the fact that he's out of the King of the Ring tournament unless he finds a way to come back and win the whole thing. Once again, Owens is someone who is following the path laid out by Stone Cold, and every good thing happened to Austin once he won the tournament.
Did Elias really need to advance in the tournament considering that he's the 24/7 Champion as well? I know Owens did not lose clean, but it's a loss nevertheless and it hurts his character badly.
WWE cannot book babyfaces.
#2 Best: The Buddy Murphy push
Last week, Roman Reigns and Buddy Murphy had a thrilling match. He must have earned the favor of someone backstage because even this week, he had a chance to showcase just how good he was. He took on Daniel Bryan and in a shocking turn of events, actually won!
Daniel Bryan is not someone who refrains from giving the rub to younger Superstars like Ali, helping them establish themselves in the roster. I'm certain that he must have asked for the opportunity to face off against Buddy Murphy to just put him over after a great match that turned him babyface.
Yes, this is also a testament to Bryan's genius because he worked a holds based style with a scowl on his face, that made the audience exasperated enough to root for his opponent. We don't appreciate just how gifted and brilliant Bryan is!
#2 Worst: Kofi chases away a new heel alliance
When the nWo was formed, they caused so much chaos and destruction, that people had no choice but to take them seriously. Just imagine what would have happened, had The Shield not been booked as strongly as they had. Nobody would have remembered them as fondly as they do, to this very day, right?
Someone needs to inform Eric Bischoff, the man who created the nWo, that this is not how you book a newly formed faction, like Orton and The Revival. After all, Kofi Kingston was able to chase away all three men. It took away any kind of momentum that the faction had to begin with.
Now, even if they enter into a feud with The New Day, will we be able to take them seriously to any degree? After all, one man chased three away quite easily!
#3 Best: Sami Zayn becomes Shinsuke Nakamura's mouthpiece
Shinsuke Nakamura's first outing in WWE was also his best one by a pretty fair margin against Sami Zayn. I think it's fair to say that the two men put on one of the best NXT matches in the brand's history.
Nakamura would move on to the main roster where he's held gold in the past and still does so but has suffered because of his inability to speak the English language fluently. But now, with Sami Zayn by his side, the duo can become quite an entertaining pair.
Sami Zayn has been languishing in the lower mid-card and was even eliminated from the first round of the King of the Ring tournament on RAW this week. This could be a new beginning for both individuals concerned as they claw their way back to the top again.
Maybe Zayn turns on Nakamura down the line and elevates the Intercontinental Championship in the process.
#3 Worst: Relaxing the 24/7 Championship rules almost every night
I'm going to go on record and say this. Elias is the most boring 24/7 Champion in the belt's short and not-so-illustrious history and he really needs to pass the title over to someone with a better storyline going for him, at once.
Week after week, the rules have to be suspended because Elias is part of some other program on the same night. None of these programs require the 24/7 Championship to make them special, and we could have had so many exciting segments had the title been treated like it initially was.
There are so many individuals who're doing nothing right now, and someone like EC3 would have really benefited from the 24/7 Championship. Unfortunately, it just seems like this is not going to be the case at all with the way things are going.
Elias needs to lose the belt!
#4 Best/Worst: The unmasking of the culprit
I love the fact that WWE is actually attempting to tell the story through the course of a show. This is something that they haven't done on a lot of previous occasions, and this can sometimes take an audience member out of the mix almost at once. I'm glad to see that Eric Bischoff and whoever else is involved in creating this storyline are treating it as the most important part of the show every single week.
However, I'm not necessarily sold on the idea of an Erick Rowan lookalike being unmasked as the perpetrator because everything is extremely obvious now. This was a ruse from Daniel Bryan all along. Everyone knows this except for Roman Reigns who had a baffled look on his face when the segment concluded.
In any case, you can read my further thoughts on the segment in this article. And be sure to tune in next week for more 'Best and Worst' as well.
Maybe The Goddess watch over you lovely mortals.
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