'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Just like Monday Night Raw, SmackDown also attempted to play off the success of the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and establish as many storylines as possible.
With the Super ShowDown event on the horizon, the creative team stepped up the work to set up matches for the event so that they could get at least a couple of weeks of build up to make things more exciting. In doing so, they ended up committing a few major mistakes just like they did a night earlier on Raw.
Even though there was a surprise return on SmackDown last night, coupled with the prospect of the 24/7 championship changing hands on the brand, things did not look up too much for the blue brand.
In this article, we will look at the four major mistakes that the creatives committed on this week’s episode, and what they could mean for the future of the two brands.
#4 Too many heels
The curious case of too many heels has hit WWE once again. At one point, WWE was filled with babyfaces who were competing for the top titles held by heels like Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, Charlotte Flair, Bobby Lashley, and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Now the tables have been flipped and all the championships other than the tag team titles are held by faces in the company. This has given rise to too many top heels as compared to top babyfaces in the roster.
With men like Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, the returning Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, Lashley, Baron Corbin and many other all playing heels, the roster seems to be at a deficit of top-level babyfaces.
Whether its WWE’s plan to make the babyfaces look tougher against more challengers or just a miscalculated move, it seems like a major mistake which could haunt them sooner rather than later.
If WWE had returned Dolph Ziggler as a top babyface and had him team up with someone like The Miz, things could have been more interesting.
#3 Tension between the Champions
On Sunday night, Bayley surprised the WWE Universe by first winning the Money in the Bank briefcase and then later cashing it in minutes later on the newly crowned SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
Last night, Bayley teamed up with Becky Lynch to take on Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans in a tag team match. While the match was decent and we saw good offense from both the sides, it was The Hugger who caught The Queen with an inside cradle for three.
It wasn’t the match that was a mistake, but rather the tension between the two babyface partners that was concerning. Becky and Bayley showed some tension backstage before their match, talking about how much they would both like to be the champion of both brands.
Bayley has recently won the SmackDown Championship, while Becky really hasn’t lost much at all in terms of her status in the company.
WWE should have waited a while and let these two work together just like they are doing for Kofi and Seth Rollins before teasing tensions between the two women.
The next mixed pay-per-view is over a month away, and WWE can wait and focus on building new opponents for both the women rather than make them go after each other so soon.
#2 Storylines for Shane McMahon
WWE is currently packed with young and upcoming talent who can really use some veterans to give them a push and help them get over. We have seen men like the Big Show, John Cena, and Chris Jericho work tirelessly to put over some new talent, and we expect the same from the current list of former champions in WWE.
However, it’s sad to see how the product is now centered around just a handful of elite superstars who have now received even more screentime thanks to the new Wild Card Rule. This could be the reason the 24/7 Championship was announced - so that the mid-card and lower card could be given 5-10 minutes of television time twice a week.
Shane McMahon is one man who could have done a lot for the new talent, but it seems like he has no plans to step back as he has continued to get himself in top storylines since the past year.
Shane has had a burning rivalry with The Miz and is also engaged in a rivalry with Roman Reigns, keeping both the top superstars engaged with himself while using a talent like Elias to take the fall and build heat around his character. WWE should seriously rectify this mistake and give the newer talent a chance to get over in such situations.
#1 Announced Dolph Ziggler as Kofi’s opponent
After winning the Money in the Bank briefcase on Sunday and shocking the entire WWE Universe, the interest in Brock Lesnar had once again been reignited by the creative team.
This received a significant push on Monday, as Lesnar made a rare appearance on Raw along with Paul Heyman and teased matches between both the top champions of the company. Heyman talking down both the champions and making it seem as though the champions were begging for a match against The Beast rather than him coming after either man.
While WWE could have waited for another week and built on the same storyline, they made a huge mistake this week by announcing Dolph Ziggler as Kofi’s next challenger.
Even though that does not change much, it just fizzles down the tensions a bit as the Universal Champion is now more open to a threat than Kofi, who already has a challenger for the next big event. Lesnar does not show up too much, and therefore it can be assumed that WWE will book a match for The Beast for his cashing in rather than let him use the element of surprise just for the sake of ratings.
Will Brock Lesnar show up next week on Raw to make an announced cash-in against Seth Rollins for Super ShowDown? It seems all the more likely now.
