WWE SmackDown: 3 questions from the episode before Clash of Champions (September 10, 2019)

WWE has been doing a decent job in recent months of building their two main brands, and the last pay-per-view, SummerSlam, was a big success in terms of the rivalries that unfolded at the event.

Carrying on the momentum, WWE has been trying to do a lot to build towards their next pay-per-view, but has been giving us far too many average segments and matches in the process. Apart from the matches that will take place at Clash of Champions, many other Superstars and teams have also been suffering from a lack of focused booking from the company.

From a questionable segment involving the female wrestlers to the return of a legend, there were many things that made little sense on this week's episode of SmackDown Live. In this article, we will look at some of these moments.

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#1 Has Ember Moon been Eclipsed again?

Ember Moon was thought to be one of the hottest prospects when she moved from NXT to the main roster and sent waves across the WWE Universe with her wrestling skills.

However, much like Asuka, Ember Moon too has fallen down the ranks in recent months to the amazement of the fans. Only a few weeks ago, Bayley had handpicked her to challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. However, WWE gave her character villainous traits in the weeks preceding SummerSlam, only for her to lose convincingly. After that, she returned to mid-card action.

This week on SmackDown, WWE brought Moon back to take on Bayley in a non-title match which did little to nothing for the former NXT Women’s Champion.

Bayley defeated Moon once again, and it seems like she will be floundering in her role as a mid-carder while the four horsewomen take the top spot in the WWE.

I Feel so Bad for Ember Moon She Deserves so much then just being Squashed by Bayley #Smackdown pic.twitter.com/HxDZuzQpA2

— PatrickBallantine95 (@PBallantine95) September 11, 2019

#2 Why was there no build-up for the Tag Team Championship?

The only tag team action of the night saw Heavy Machinery murder local competitors

The SmackDown Tag Team Championships will be defended at WWE Clash of Champions as The New Day will defend the titles against The Revival. Currently, it seems like the biggest tag team clash on the main roster possible without The Usos actively performing, and the match should live up to the hype.

At a time when RAW is still busy throwing the championship from one thrown-together tag team to another, SmackDown should value its title and tag teams more.

Instead, there was no build for the tag titles once again, and The Revival was nowhere to be seen on this episode of the blue brand. Yes, we understand that the New Day is kayfabe injured after the attacks by The Revival and Randy Orton, but WWE should have done something or the other to keep the rivalry in the fans’ minds. Even a match between The Revival and Heavy Machinery would have done a lot of good heading into Sunday, but the absence of the champions and the challengers makes one wonder how important the tag teams are to the company at the moment. It remains to be seen how well the two teams fare in the match itself after their absence from television this week.

#3 What was the point of The Undertaker's return to MSG

The Critic of Critics messed with the wrong legend

Has Sami Zayn not be paying attention to what has been going on in WWE in the past few months? Did he not watch what happened at SummerSlam?

Dolph Ziggler mocked Goldberg for taking the spotlight away from newer and younger superstars and returning whenever he liked. He got served by Goldberg at SummerSlam for using those words against him and the rest is history.

Similarly, WWE used Sami Zayn to interrupt The Undertaker on SmackDown Live in the middle of the latter's return to address the Madison Square Garden crowd. He asked Undertaker to leave the ring and let him take the reins. As comeuppance for verbally disrespecting The Phenom, one of the greatest Superstars of all time, Zayn got hit by a Chokeslam to the mat, closing out a relatively weak segment.

Whatever WWE wanted to do with The Undertaker, other than helping with ticket sales, did not materialize. The segment did not provide any indication regarding The Undertaker's future, did not give any momentum to Zayn's character, and the speculation of The Fiend coming after The Deadman is still just speculation.

Honestly a bit disappointed The Fiend didn't come after the Undertaker. Sami Zayn coming out was good but not really meaning much. At least Shinsuke Nakamura didn't get chokeslammed along with Sami. #SDLive

— Blood Girl❌Raven (@RAVENSBlood5220) September 11, 2019