• home icon
  • WWE
  • WWE SmackDown 2024
  • Best and Worst of WWE SmackDown- Top Stars missing, Champion used as enhancement talent

Best and Worst of WWE SmackDown- Top Stars missing, Champion used as enhancement talent

By Riju Dasgupta
Modified Oct 21, 2019 14:07 IST
There was some good and some bad on WWE SmackDown
There was some good and some bad on WWE SmackDown

A lot of us assumed that there would be a major change in WWE's presentation once SmackDown moved to the FOX Network. That is not the case at all, as we saw a very regular episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

If there was a major dip from Week 1 to Week 2, with big names present, I fully expect there to be a bigger dip in Week 3. I do hope that I am wrong, but there's no way that this week's episode was any more eventful than last week's show.

And that is the central issue with a lot of WWE's programming. It does not feel like a show that you have to catch when it airs live, like say The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones, and you'd be content to catch it at your own convenience.

That said, there was an equal dose of good and bad on this week's show!

#1 Best: Nikki Cross vs. Bayley

One could argue that Nikki Cross is no longer the cool character that she used to be in NXT, with her whole unhinged persona and her alliance with the SAnitY faction. But now, she's even stepped out of the shadow of Alexa Bliss and is the Number 1 contender who's slated to face Bayley for the SmackDown Women's Championship.

I wonder if Alexa Bliss will be content to play sidekick or if indeed, she will have a problem with Nikki Cross stealing her spotlight. One thing that is for sure is that we are in for some great sports entertainment action over the next few weeks.

Bayley vs. Cross feels like a fresh feud and should give us many memorable moments. I wonder how far up Nikki Cross' ceiling is!

#1 Worst: No Lesnar, Velasquez or Fury

The perils of Brock Lesnar as the face of your brand are many, and one of them is that he will not show up every single week. While it is commendable that WWE is going for a 'real sports' approach, it is also disappointing that Velasquez and Fury did not show up this week.

Neither did The Fiend and one wonders who the next opponent for him will be on the blue brand, or if indeed he'll keep feuding with Rollins. It is just awkward to have both men on two different brands when they have to hype up their next big match.

As good as the roster is, if your biggest star is not a part of the brand, it just feels very watered down. If your biggest star chooses to not show up every week, why should the audience tune in?

I wonder if Lesnar will choose to stay away for weeks on end after Crown Jewel.

#2 Best: Bryan advances in the Intercontinental Championship picture

I loved how the main event match was laid out, with Roman Reigns doing the big spot. This would have him and Corbin lay outside the ring, while Nakamura and Bryan did battle inside the ring.

Bryan would pick up the big win by pinning the Intercontinental Champion and this essentially means that he's next in line for a shot at the title. I love the way that babyface Daniel Bryan wrestles. Just the way he moves in the ring with such grace and poise reminds us why he's one of the best in the world.

Cole and Graves kept mentioning that SmackDown has the superior roster and one will find it difficult to argue with this logic, considering the fact that Bryan, Nakamura, Reigns, Gable, Ali, etc. are all a part of the blue brand. Bryan vs. Nakamura should be a great feud!

#2 Worst: Drew Gulak used as enhancement talent

Drew Gulak is not your regular enhancement talent. I'm sure you guys know this already, from watching 205 Live and NXT. He is a former Cruiserweight Champion who was used simply as a jobber on this week's SmackDown episode.

You can make the argument that a lot more people saw this week's SmackDown episode than they do 205 Live and NXT, but I still think that the way that he was used this week does a lot more damage to his character than if he'd never shown up. I really do hope that this was just a one-off appearance and not an indication of where Drew Gulak's career will be heading.

I know that Curtis Axel was used in the same manner and he's a wealth of talent as well, but at the same time, he's not in the same league that Gulak is currently. Or at least, he hasn't been, in quite some time.

#3 Best: Bayley cuts her best promo yet

Trust The Miz to bring out the best in a WWE Superstar like Bayley. While she did show us a new attitude last week, this week she really came into her own as she told us why she was a heel, and why she deflated the Bayley buddies.

I never thought that Sasha Banks would work as a sidekick, but somehow, she does. We all know that she's going to turn on Bayley down the line, but for the time being, this is a dynamic that suits everyone involved here.

I also dig the new music for Bayley, which is a vast improvement over the old theme she had. Had we known that there was this Bayley hidden beneath the old one, fans would have wanted her to emerge a long time ago!

Her feud with Cross should be a pretty good one!

#3 Worst: Sami Zayn as a hype man

Sami Zayn is one of the best wrestlers in the world. It is just a shame to see him being used as a manager when he could be in the ring, putting on some great matches.

I do realize that Shinsuke Nakamura needs a mouthpiece and this is a great role for Sami Zayn because he's knocking it out of the park. But I can't help but feel that he would have been ideal for the main event, instead of Corbin, just to tease the idea of a tag team in the future between Champion and manager.

The main event was a solid affair, and Zayn played his part to perfection as well. I just want him to get into the ring once in a while as well, to remind us just how good he is.

Is he nursing an undisclosed injury we don't know about? Because otherwise just keeping him as a manager makes no sense.

#4 Best/Worst: Shorty G

Honestly speaking, I'm not sure what to make of Shorty G. It's a new gimmick and it means that Gable will be in the spotlight, so I'm all in for that aspect. But I don't know if the whole idea of using one's shortcoming (no pun intended) as a weapon, is a topic that can be handled by WWE Creative with the care it needs.

I would go so far as to say that Gable has benefited from the King of the Ring tournament a lot more than Baron Corbin has. Shorty G was never someone who got a fair shot in the singles division until recently. Now is his time, and I'm sure he's going to grab the bull by the horns.

I just wonder if Gable's real-life accomplishments should be highlighted ahead of the nickname. Shorty G is just such a strange gimmick.

But then strange gimmicks have worked in the past.

What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.