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There was a lot of hype around WWE SmackDown this week, especially if you consider that this was the first time that an episode of WWE SmackDown was aired from the ThunderDome. It was amply clear during the course of the action that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard decided to focus more on the sizzle instead of the steak this week, possibly leaving the storytelling for WWE SummerSlam 2020.
That said, it wasn't necessarily a bad show because there was certainly a lot of good on this week's episode of WWE SmackDown. It just wasn't the perfect episode of WWE SmackDown we expected after Tweets such as these, from industry insiders.
So, with that said, Sportskeeda presents the best and worst of WWE SmackDown this week, live from the ThunderDome for your reading pleasure and invites you to chime in, in the comments section below.
#1 Best: Sonya Deville cuts the best promo of her career on WWE SmackDown
Sonya Deville has had quite the week and that is putting it mildly if you've followed all the developments with the intruder who broke into her home. It was a strange decision to include the incident on WWE SmackDown, considering that Mandy Rose, her real-life best friend was at home with her when the intruder broke in, and Dana Brooke only spoke to Sonya Deville about it, but a degree of kayfabe must be maintained to tell the story in the right manner.
One wonders if the new stipulation where someone has to leave WWE after SummerSlam is to ensure that Sonya Deville has some time to recover after her scarring incident, or whether she is going to focus on acting opportunities as she has stated in the past in interviews.
That said, what a promo that was from Sonya Deville. If nothing else, she may have a career behind the commentary desk, if she ever decides to follow that route.
#1 Worst: A wasted appearance by Vince McMahon on WWE SmackDown
Even though Vince McMahon has been one of the most prominent heels of the Attitude Era, he hasn't been a constant fixture on WWE television in recent times, because, let's face it, he is not a young man anymore. So, when an appearance from Vince McMahon was announced on this week's episode of WWE SmackDown, most people had the highest expectations from the segment and they were seriously let down.
The fact that Vince McMahon, at the top of WWE SmackDown, did not seem intimidated by The Fiend and that he just showed up for seemingly no reason at all, did almost nothing for him, the fans, or the Fiend character. The opening of WWE SmackDown this week just seemed like a total jumbled mess all around, truth be told.
And because of this, the segment at the end of WWE SmackDown with The Fiend and Braun Strowman seemed a little underwhelming, as we'd seen both characters earlier during the show.
Not the best booking, WWE!
#2 Best: Jeff Hardy captures the Intercontinental Championship on WWE SmackDown against AJ Styles
Jeff Hardy's run on WWE SmackDown has been interesting, but not everyone was a fan of his feud with Sheamus where his personal demons were brought to the forefront resulting in uncomfortable segments. It just seems that that was the crux of almost every feud that he was booked in, and it was time for WWE SmackDown fans, who had followed Hardy's journey of humiliation and subsequent determination to overcome his demons, to get a reward of some sort. This week, on WWE SmackDown, Jeff Hardy managed to defeat AJ Styles and become the brand new WWE Intercontinental Champion.
The fact that Jeff Hardy teased an injury through the course of SmackDown and that it played into the finish also made a lot of sense.
Jeff Hardy can elevate a lot of performers in the WWE SmackDown roster, moving forward, by having highly competitive matches against them, especially heels such as Shorty G and even Miz and Morrison, truth be told.
#2 Worst: The usage of Retribution on WWE SmackDown this week
Sometimes, it just seems like WWE has put in a lot of thought into the anonymous group known as Retribution and the way that they are booked on WWE SmackDown and RAW, and well, on other weeks, it does seem like WWE just phones it in when it comes to the group. This week's episode of WWE SmackDown just saw some lazy booking as far as Retribution was confirmed, because they just appeared at the top of the show and assaulted Braun Strowman until the locker room cleared up to make the save. And yet, Strowman did not seem to care about this assault for the rest of the episode, as he sought The Fiend and The Fiend alone.
There is much potential with regard to Retribution but they need to be booked strongly and prominently.
There needs to be a sense of purpose to everything that Retribution does and there certainly wasn't one this week on WWE SmackDown, in the opinion of this reporter.
#3 Best/Worst: 2 teams on WWE SmackDown tease major splits this week
Sasha Banks and Bayley have been teasing a split on WWE SmackDown and RAW, and it almost seemed like the pieces have been put into place for a rift between the WWE Women's Champions at SummerSlam. Even though they played their parts perfectly, and Naomi did a great job too, this is a twist that everyone saw coming, so no surprises there.
Much like Sasha Banks and Bayley, the Lucha House Party too teased a major split this week but it just turns out that very few people care. There isn't even a .gif on the official channel of the drama that unfolded between the three men on WWE SmackDown this week and why should the fans care, if the company itself doesn't?
So this was our WWE SmackDown review. What did you think of the ThunderDome concept, dearest ladies, and gentlemen?
Sportskeeda caught up with Randy Orton ahead of his big match at SummerSlam, and if you want his take on The Fiend, be sure to check it out in the link above.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
