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On the heels of a below average Raw, SmackDown tried to pick up the pace for what’s to come for the WWE Universe before the Super ShowDown event.
The Superstars involved during the night made things seem very promising, but it wasn’t so when the night ended. The Creative seemed lost with what to do with all the talent at hand, as WWE has been utilizing the same faces on both Raw and SmackDown thanks to the Wild Card rule.
A lot of surprising bookings were made, which included a segment with the SmackDown Tag Team Champions talking down on the SmackDown Tag Team roster.
Apart from that, there were a few other things that made the entire episode feel worse than it should have. In this article, we will look at the 3 shocking bookings WWE made on this week’s SmackDown Live, and what it could mean for the future of these Superstars.
#3 Elias’ first Championship win
Elias has been a part of WWE since 2014, and he made his main roster debut in 2017. In his five years of wrestling with the company, he hasn’t won a single Championship.
Elias has largely been used as an entertainer and an enhancement talent by WWE, and they made it clear where he stands in the roster this week on SmackDown Live.
During a segment with Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, R-Truth and Drake Maverick made their way out and continued the 24/7 Championship drama. Truth pinned the 205 Live General Manager, only to be attacked and beaten down by Elias and Drew McIntyre.
After receiving a Claymore kick from McIntyre, Elias pinned the veteran to win his first ever Championship with the company.
Surprisingly, his victory was shortlived as he lost the title to R-Truth later in the night, ending his first reign as a Champion.
#2 Kevin Owens’ loss
Kevin Owens kicked off Tuesday's broadcast saying he was going to hold an edition of The KO Show, but the fans in Oklahoma were not worthy. He went on to suggest that after Dolph Ziggler defeats Kofi Kingston at Super Showdown, he can give Owens a shot at the WWE Championship.
What followed was a shocking bit of booking, as Kofi Kingston made his way to the ring to take on The Prizefighter. While Owens looked good throughout the match, he received a Trouble in Paradise from Kofi to lose the match.
This was completely unexpected, as taking a loss at this point completely takes Owens out of the title picture for some time. Instead, WWE could have booked the match to end in a disqualification or a no-contest.
Was this shocking bit of booking a result of Owens' alleged refusal to travel to Saudi Arabia?
#1 Lacey Evans’ loss
This was another shocking piece of booking by the Creative. For months WWE had been booking Lacey Evans as the next big thing on the Women’s roster. Since her arrival, they actually made many fans believe that she would defeat Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship so early on in her career.
Instead, Evans lost her match at Money in the Bank against The Man, and then went on to lose the tag team match which followed the event. Thus, things were not looking good for the Superstar, and the Creative decided to deteriorate her value even more.
This week on SmackDown Live, Evans faced SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, and lost the match to The Hugger.
This makes her seems like a Superstar who does not have the backing of the Creative, and someone who should be dropped to the mid-cards.
