Hello! Yep, there's Reviews on back-to-back days again. Hopefully you didn't die of the withdrawal symptoms after the two week gap. I'll say right off the bat, this is probably the closest week that RAW and Smackdown's had in-terms of judging which show was better. For the simple reason that you could rank either as the better show and you wouldn't be wrong in doing so. RAW had the big angle with Triple H and Owens winning the Title, as well as a few other things like Bayley and New Day- but on the whole the show wasn't all that without the main event angle. On the other hand, Smackdown was a really solid show throughout as has become the norm- but it didn't really have that one big moment that RAW did. As I said, you can really just take your pick. As I've already said it was a really solid show throughout, I might as well just get into the Review.
The Miz & Dolph Ziggler Opening Segment
I wasn't really sure how they would, and really how they could follow up on that Miz promo on Talking Smack last week. The simple fact is, Miz is too good of a heel to turn babyface- even in an "anti-hero" type way. Also, having Daniel Bryan involved in a feud would be directly contradictory to what they said Smackdown would be about in-terms of it not being about the authority figures. So in short, they couldn't really do much beyond acknowledging Miz's promo and moving on.
The Ziggler/Miz angle is an interesting one, for the simple fact that both have got a bit of an edge to their characters back in recent times. I actually have reasonably high hopes for the Miz/Ziggler feud despite the fact we've seen it a few times already because of that fact. The segment itself was pretty good. I would've preferred to just let Miz "go" on his own, especially after the promo on Talking Smack- but the simple fact is that Backlash is just over a week away and they needed to give the IC Title match some sort of build.
The Hype Bros v The Vaudevillains
The thing I took from this segment is the fact that Aiden English is 6'3. That genuinely surprised me. The match wasn't really much, The Hype Bros won to the surprise of nobody- and we swiftly moved on.
AJ Styles & Apollo Crews Backstage Segment
It could just be wishful thinking, but I can see a scenario where Apollo Crews uses this "my name is" type gimmick he's ended up with after Bryan's Apollo Creed botch and turn heel with it. I can already picture Crews just violently attacking someone either demanding that they say his name or spelling his name out with each punch. The point basically, is that there's a lot of potential in the immediate term with Apollo if they just go for it.
AJ's so great in the role he's playing now that it seems just stupid that they had AJ as a Babyface for as long as they did, and this segment wasn't an exception.
AJ Styles v Apollo Crews
In case you've all forgotten my almost standard review for these types of matches, this was a good match- but did anyone really expect anything else? The one thing I wish we'd have gotten is AJ going "full Cena". He's doing the "Never Give Up" headband gimmick, but I want him to take it further, doing the 5 Moves of Doom, he could even do the Attitude Adjustment. In general I liked this match, Crews looked alright in defeat and AJ obviously got the win he was going to get given the fact he's challenging for the WWE Title in less than 2 weeks time.
Renee Young "Meets the Slaters"
This was a weird segment to me. I personally didn't laugh at it. It's not that I didn't like the segment, and it got a few smiles out of me- especially when Rhyno did the sad face on the cracker thing. I just didn't find it overly funny, and while I understand it to an extent some of the times where there was supposedly an "awkward silence" just fell flat to me and made it feel as though they were unnecessarily dragging the segment out.
It does have to be said that these sort of segments are exactly why a lot of people prefer Smackdown, and why when the Draft happened I said it was too early to say either side had "won" the Draft. Smackdown primarily has done a great job building up Heath Slater of all people, which means it's a good time to quote what I said in my Draft Review;
"I've seen a lot of people talking about the Rosters and whether RAW or Smackdown "won" the Draft, which to be honest I don't really understand. It's Wrestling, if it was an actual competitive sport fair enough- but in Wrestling it doesn't really matter who got the "better deal" because it's now the job of the brand that supposedly "lost" the Draft to put all of their efforts into building their supposed "lesser talent"."
So without wanting to say I was right, all of the people who were saying Smackdown got the raw end of the deal in the Draft that are now preferring Smackdown were wrong weren't they? Especially headed into September and the return of the NFL/Monday Night Football and I believe one of the Presidential Debates is on a Monday, Smackdown could potentially end up beating RAW while putting on better shows as well.
Bray Wyatt's "sermon for the serpent"
This is the sort of segment where people who claim to be unbiased reviewers show their bias. Personally, I prefer a build where nobody is shouting and going really OTT- which is why I really liked this segment and really just like Bray Wyatt in general. I really liked this segment, and I really like this feud. The one thing I will say is I'm not really sure about who will "win" this feud- or even if it'll be a proper feud and not a one-off match.
I say that because my theory on Brock is that he's going to work the "big four" PPV's with the extra emphasis on them now, and Survivor Series is going to creep up on us pretty quickly. As a result Brock needs a feud, and given how close they came to doing it at Mania supposedly- Bray/Brock could very well be the feud they go with and they could use the Randy/Brock rematch to set it up if they end up putting it on the Network (although I don't think they are at this moment in time).
Alexa Bliss & Natalya v Becky Lynch & Naomi
Firstly, I hope Naomi going away from the body-suit she's been wearing is a one off- because that was so much better for her entrance than what she wore last night. I'm not usually one to critique wardrobe choices, especially after my pleas for Summer Rae to get fluffy boots while she was with Breeze fell on deaf ears. However, this one is something that needs to said.
The match was a pretty standard women's tag, which I think says a lot in-terms about the match when considering the bar set for said matches. Nikki on commentary wasn't "mute my TV" bad, the Heels got the win after Carmella attacked Nikki and that's all that can really be said about it. I will say I'm dreading Nikki's seemingly inevitable run as the first Smackdown Women's Champion. I say inevitable because with Total Bellas on the horizon it's a certainty in my mind that she wins, which is a shame because I'd say about 99% of people would rather Becky. There's a chance that the Nikki/Carmella thing costs Nikki the Title at Backlash and that branches off into the secondary women's feud on Smackdown- but I just can't see it.
Rhyno & Heath Slater v The Headbangers
Imagine saying this match would happen even a few weeks ago. The notable thing is obviously the fact that Rhyno somehow ended up in a situation where he needed 8 stitches, and I've got literally no idea how he done it. The match was pretty standard, and Rhyno and Heath won as expected. This is my first review since the Tournament was announced so I couldn't predict the opening round, but I think all of the outcomes were pretty safe bets.
For the rest of the Tournament I'll predict;
American Alpha beat The Usos
Rhyno & Slater beat The Hype Bros
Rhyno & Slater beat American Alpha with interference and a heel turn from The Usos
Kane attacks Gary "The Milkman" Millman
This almost seemed like a parody of all of the squash matches that RAW's been doing. It was just absolutely ridiculous, but I did like it. Seeing as it got scrolled on Talking Smack, I can only assume WWE's Social Media guy agrees with me- I was expecting a debut in this spot.
With Alberto Del Rio being off, Smackdown has a roster spot free. The Dudleys left and Bayley came in to replace them- and I'm expecting a similar exchange with Del Rio. So in short, I was expecting someone like Samoa Joe to show up and just destroy The Milkman. As I said in the tweet that got scrolled "... but nope, just Kane".
Baron Corbin v Dean Ambrose
The fact that they felt the need to protect Baron Corbin from taking a pin against Dean Ambrose says a lot for their plans for Corbin. Maybe not in the immediate term with the tease of the Kane feud, but don't be surprised to see Corbin rocket up the card before we reach 2017.
The match was pretty good, and I thought Ambrose worked quite well against Corbin. My main criticism of the Ambrose/Ziggler match was the dynamics just seemed off, and it pretty much killed the crowd as a result. The problem with the dynamic was that Ambrose works best in his current position when he's playing the "underdog" which didn't really fit with the story they were telling. So in this respect, Ambrose was back in his comfort zone with wrestling Corbin given the obvious size difference.
I'm not sure what to make of the show ending with AJ crotching the top rope, just because it was played off as comedy when the feud's for a WWE Title match which is just over a week away. People who regularly read these Reviews will know I've not got a problem with some wacky comedy, but it just seemed out of place in this scenario. You've just got AJ Styles who's beaten John Cena clean at Summerslam and they're doing comedy with him to build up a Title match.
As I said right at the start of this review, your preference whether it be RAW or Smackdown this week is entirely right regardless of which one you pick. Personally I preferred Smackdown, just because I value the show as a whole as opposed to having a few good moments mixed in with some bad and a lot of "meh".
Thanks for reading as always. The Reviews are back now, so hopefully you'll keep coming back after their absence in the last few weeks. There will of course be Backlash Predictions and the subsequent Review coming next week so keep an eye out for those as well. Thanks again for reading, hopefully you have a good rest of your week and may your above ground pools be filled without problem by your local fire department.
No comments:
Post a Comment