WWE Smackdown Review
June 12, 2015
By: Dustin Holland of Wrestleview.com
Thursday night’s show was the “go home” show leading up to this Sunday’s Money in the Bank PPV. The show should have been a big hype type show leading into the event but instead it turned into what felt like watching a house show with a lot of advertisements for Money in the Bank.
I think that because this is the third WWE PPV type event in such a short span, the creative process has been overloaded. Money in the Bank is a PPV that usually defines future events as the winner gets to cash in that contract whenever he wishes. It just lacks any real meaning for me this year and Smackdown being the bridge show for PPV events should have provided us with that “I can’t wait” feeling leaving us wondering what will happen.
Ambrose Riding the Wave
I enjoyed the opening segment Thursday night. Ambrose is really taking advantage his time right now as a main eventer. I think he knows his time is running out and he is leaving it all out there every night. He is very good on the mic and draws the audience in when he cuts a promo. His use of quick speaking and well timed jokes makes listening to him interesting unlike others who come out and grandstand for a twenty minute promo while providing no real storyline push. Ambrose makes storylines relevant and fresh every time he is out there leaving me wanting to know what he will do next.
Seth Rollins has done a 180 for me and he has two guys to thank for that. Ambrose and Reigns have taken him from being a stooge to a man on a mission, looking to retain his championship this Sunday. Rollins “breaking away” from The Authority is a great way for him to regain some fan support heading into the summer as we know his time as champion may be fading. The stolen belt storyline has really changed his whole demeanor as it seems like he really does care that he is the champ and he knows how quickly he could lose that title. I don’t know what the summer has in store for the WWE but I would love to see Ambrose get a push throughout. He is a good draw and by far the most entertaining superstar at the moment.
Does it Matter?
The main event of Smackdown did nothing for me as far as wanting to see who will win the MITB Ladder match this Sunday. It felt like just another main event of a WWE show and left nothing open for this Sunday to carry over. The match highlighted nearly every superstar as they all hit their finishers in a 30 second period giving no real favorite for the match this Sunday. The barrage of finishers is pretty pointless being that the match on Sunday is a Ladder match and you can’t win with it. Now I know you could hit a finisher and climb the ladder to win but how often does that really happen? Usually some unknown circumstance leads to an opening for the winner to climb up and take the briefcase down.
The fact that Neville is the one holding the briefcase at the end of the night is interesting though. Don’t get me wrong, technically speaking, he is the most likely type of superstar to win a ladder match but I just don’t see it happening. Ziggler is another guy who should win but probably won’t. Neville holding the briefcase up would probably signify that he will give us plenty of “wow” moments during the match Sunday but won’t be the winner.
Quick Thoughts
* Ryback is getting the fan support and I am happy that he is having fun as the Intercontinental Champion. The match between him and Miz was just a filler match and nothing much to say.
* Paige is on her quest to change the world. Her match with Alicia Fox showed us how intense Paige can get and left me wondering if she can rid the WWE of the Bellas reign on top. Maybe it is time for a change in the Diva’s division.
* I liked the Prime Time Players promo. Darren Young being able to poke fun at himself is a good sign and they are growing on me as a tag team. I am looking forward to seeing what the creative team can do with them going forward.
* The Rusev and Lana storyline is played out and I hope it ends soon. The only way that I see this storyline improving is if it turns into a sham where Lana is just playing Dolph Ziggler and ends up back with Rusev leading to a Ziggler vs Rusev summer feud.
* The hype for Cena and Owens rematch was well done. I am a sucker for a good montage. I am looking forward to seeing how this match is handled on Sunday.
* R-Truth is really entertaining me lately. He had a run with the Little Jimmy stuff and now he is back, providing comic relief to a sometimes dry WWE product. He was very good with the commentary team and did a better job hyping a pre-show match than the show in a whole hyped the main card for MITB.
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment and tell me what you thought of the show. Also hit the comments with predictions for this Sunday. Have a great weekend!
Follow me on Twitter: @DustinHolland84