Smackdown "Less Than" Lively
by Zac Vanderley (Thunder Z)
Smackdown live has not lived up to the expectations put in place by its brother Raw. Although in reality it is not fair to compare the two, it still happens. This Smackdown live showed more action of R-Truth than many other superstars and was filled with rivalry fillers. A Smackdown that was way "less than lively," one might put it.
Smackdown kicked off the show with Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella "yessing" their way to the ring, to the delight of all the fans in the building. It gave the WWE Universe to partake in their favorite pastime, stupid hand motions and even more obnoxious chants. Bryan even made an embarrassing comment about how, Renee Young showing footage of the Miz beating Bryan up, ruined the chants he was receiving. The sole interesting part of this bit was the footage of Miz and Maryse arriving before the show began and calling Bryan and Bella out. Naturally Bella and Bryan were not at the arena early so the Miz and Maryse gloated and claimed that Bryan and Bella wanted nothing of them. Eventually Bryan called out the Miz, but received Andrade "Cien" Almas instead. Cien said something that could not be comprehended and was drowned out by the fans loud chant of "What?" Apparently Almas wanted a match with Bryan and he received that. I was slightly surprised by the improvement of the in ring ability by Almas. Bryan and Almas showed some strong connection in the ring and Almas highlighted the match with a dropkick to a flying Bryan off the apron, and then later a moonsault where Almas landed and continued into a splash, even though Bryan rolled out of the first landing. Bryan did deliver the finishing flying GOAT knee, but Almas proved he is capable of wrestling with smaller superstars like Daniel Bryan. Miz and Maryse came on the Jumbo Tron and announced they were at Scarfonis on a date. This led to Bryan and Bella running out of the arena explaining they were on their way to Scarfonis, and the wild goose chase began. Nothing too eye opening or special about the interaction between the Miz and Bryan. Almas had his best match of his career, but it is hard to know exactly where he fits on Smackdown Live. This was basically all filler on the eve of Hell in a Cell, and sadly rivalry filler has become the theme of many shows before a PPV. I was hoping that the Bryan and Miz rivalry would improve a bit and add another dimension to it, but it stayed about the same. Don't get me wrong it is a phenomenal rivalry, but it would have been interesting to see something different than the same routine of Bryan calling Miz a coward and Miz avoiding Bryan. One thing to think about is how Maryse will wrestle at Hell in a Cell. Her last mixed tag match came against John Cena and Nikki Bella, where she failed to even attempt a single wrestling move. I would not be surprised if Hell in a Cell is different. I would predict that this mixed tag match at Hell in a Cell might be a repeat of the Cena and Miz mixed tag match. Miz and Bryan will have some good moments, but when the ladies get tagged in, Maryse will get decimated by Bella and not really wrestle.
Smackdown then transitioned to a classic side by side interview between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. Flair appeared to get more frustrated with Lynch than she has in the past and Lynch said pretty much the same thing she has been saying ever since she turned heel. Lynch's heel turn has been ruined by the WWE Universe's inability to stop cheering for her and by Lynch's lack of depth in her character. This story has been repeated multiple times this year in the WWE where someone turns on their best friend. Lynch has potential to become a strong heel but first she has to change her walk in music as it is to upbeat and happy for a heel, the WWE Universe has to get over themselves and Lynch has to add something to her character that makes her unique from other heels, whatever that may be. Maybe she can add some new moves to her wrestling persona or develop an intensity that does not include her yelling "straight fire" and landing a forearm to her opponent propped against the turnbuckle. This will be a phenomenal match but Charlotte makes a much better heel than Becky Lynch and this weird and repeated storyline is taking away from the in ring wrestling.
If anyone can believe it the repetition did not stop there. Naomi fought one of the Iconics for the third straight week. She faced off against Peyton Royce and this time proved victorious by way of the, oh so spectacular, rollup. The Iconics proceeded then to beat up Naomi until Asuka ran out and came to Naomi's aid. This is honestly an insult to Asuka. She is one of the best wrestlers on Smackdown Live period and should not be forced as a sidekick to Naomi. Asuka has had the equivalent of falling off a cliff after losing her undefeated streak to Charlotte at Wrestlemania. The WWE let her be humiliated by Carmella and Elsworth, and just when you think a superstar cannot get any lower they are forced into defending Naomi. How sad. I do not see the point of this rivalry and have already spent too much time analyzing it.
Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton each had their Hell in a Cell promos via mixtapes of their past. There's nothing new here but I am fascinated with this heel turn of Orton. It will only work and continue to grow if Orton brutally maims Hardy at Hell in a Cell, and then moves on to other fan favorites. These two veterans should put on a strong match at Hell in a Cell but the theme of PPV filler continued and left everyone wondering how Smackdown is going to put on another show before Hell in a Cell.
Samoa Joe then broke his promise to the Styles and showed up on Smackdown. Joe made an all to similar promo to all of the ones he has made ever since their last title match. To Joe's surprise but not everyone else's, Aj Styles ran down to the ring and engaged in a brawl with Joe. Styles landed a Phenomenal Forearm off the steel steps and later landed a cross body of the top rope onto the outside of the ring where Joe stood. This is a good rivalry, but when a rivalry begins with such personal attacks, there is nowhere left to go. Sadly this is a prime example of a rushed rivalry. Both of these wrestlers will put on a show at Hell in a Cell, but there rivalry has nowhere left to go.
The most interesting and entertaining match of the night involved 3 tag teams vouching for a spot in next week's match against the bar for the #1 contender opportunity. Before the match began I was left thinking how "Rusev Day" was still a popular gimmick. It was funny for a while and it doesn't take away from Rusev's in ring prowess, but still we have to take a big step back and look at how easily entertained we can be. The tag match included the teams of Rusev Day, Sanity and the Usos. It was a strong match with rapid tags in and out. The match appeared to be over multiple times, but Aiden English was able to break up pin falls and cause enough chaos to allow Rusev to land the Machka kick and win the match for Rusev Day. Next week's match should be a strong one. English does not get enough credit for his ability as a wrestler and is more than capable of hanging with the likes of the Usos, Bar and even Rusev. Next week could go either way and this match was the sole match where I did not know who would win or if there would be interference.
Miz and Maryse made an unexpected return back to the arena where Paige told Miz he had to wrestle someone. R-Truth then came into the picture. R-Truth has been trying to get a match with Carmella as of late and I thought the WWE was overdoing it. I was wrong. R-Truth calling Maryse "Carmella" and then continuing to call her the "other Carmella" was actually quite entertaining. His banter with the Miz was also hilarious and I cannot help but wonder what low taste in comedy I have. R-Truth found himself in the main event with the Miz, but the match was in the shadow of the fact that everyone knew the yes man and Brie mode were finally going to end the wild goose chase. The Miz was setting up the Skull Crushing Finale when Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella showed up. This enabled R-Truth to win on a rollup and the beatdown of Miz and Maryse ensued, until Almas and Vega came out. The Miz and Maryse were able to escape further harm, but Almas and Vega were put into yes locks by Bryan and Bella. It is hard to contemplate that R-Truth went from nothing to the main event in a week, but that was how this show went. It was an all to classic pre-PPV show that left me with the thought, "how are they going to do a show next week?" Besides the match between the Bar and Rusev Day and more Miz, don't expect next week to be to entertaining or lively.
Now some ratings:
Matches: C-, The tag team match and the match between Bryan and Almas were better than average weekly show matches but it was hard to watch R-Truth wrestle and the Naomi match was a joke.
Unpredictability: D-, If you weren't able to predict this rating than there is something wrong. Only surprise was Rusev Day winning. One of the more predictable shows in the last couple of months.
Storylines: D, Not a single storyline progressed from last week. Beck Lynch didn't add depth to her new heel character and even the Miz and Bryan were not able to do anything different in their rivalry. The only storyline that became more interesting was who will face the New Day at Hell in a Cell.
Comedy: B-, The sole bright spot of Smackdown was its comedic value. The Miz always is due for some stellar roasts and R-Truth and Carmella was not too bad either. Everyone also has to love whenever Almas speaks and is met with enormous "Whats."
Promos: D+, The only somewhat interesting promos were Orton's and Hardy's and that was only because we saw some flashbacks to when they were younger. Charlotte showed a more fiery side while Lynch continued her petulant complaining in their promo. Joe almost redid his promo from the last couple of weeks and Bryan and Bella had nothing new to say. Too much repetition.
Overall show rating: D, I don't think this is surprising. It is about as surprising as the show was. Hopefully next week will be better, but my expectations are not high.
Closing Remark: Where is Shinsuke Nakamura and the US title? They were both absent for the second week in a row.
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