WWE Smackdown Review
June 26, 2015
By: Dustin Holland of Wrestleview.com
This week’s episode of Smackdown was a better than average show compared to recent week’s attempts. There were no real “filler” matches this week as every match had a rhyme and reason to it leading to WWE Battleground. Even the promos were good with a few LOL moments instead of head shaking ones. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely wasn’t must see TV, but compared to the efforts as of late, it was watchable for sure.
I don’t know what the future holds for Smackdown when it moves to USA next year, but the quality of the show is going to have to continue to improve when the broader audience has access to it. I am looking forward to seeing the evolution of Smackdown going forward. The rumor of Smackdown becoming a live show also could provide a more entertaining version of the show. With the quality of RAW declining and Smackdown rising, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a “Heyman” style jump back to the “A show” status that Smackdown used to hold.
Family Ties
Seth Rollins schmoozed his way back into the good graces of his family, The Authority, this past Monday on RAW and carried the love fest over to Thursday’s Smackdown. I love this angle as they portray Seth Rollins as being scared of Brock Lesnar. Seth Rollins, who needed nobody to beat Dean Ambrose, suddenly needs his former security blanket to wrap up in as he faces The Beast Incarnate. This angle of Rollins fearing Brock is going to define this summer’s flow of events. Will Brock maintain his face status and settle in once again as champ or will he turn into this summer’s biggest heel turn and join up with The Authority taking over for Rollins as “What is Best for Business”?
The setup for Rollins and Lesnar is going perfectly in my eyes so far. It can end up going so many ways which is what’s truly “Best for Business” as it keeps us, the fan on our toes. The promo cut by Rollins on Smackdown was well timed and well spoke with the hype for Battleground intensifying.
Then this happened…
The Big Show and Ryback experiment is already faded out and Kane made it worse by calling out The Big Guy on Thursday night. The Big Show’s “not here” gimmick was not sold as you could tell what was going to happen later during their match. Kane is being used as a crash test dummy for everyone else’s matches here lately and I could help but to wonder why Miz is not getting involved in this storyline more. When the Big Show attacked Ryback you could really see how limited Show is on what he can do now. He used the same series of moves to beat down Ryback for what seemed like an eternity to me. The Big Show is done as a competitor in the ring and I would like to see him move on to greener pastures. Kane is a close second to Show as far as lack of in ring ability is concerned but I am still under the impression that he will get one final push here before he hangs it up. I know that I may be the only one hoping for a Big Red Machine run here this summer, but nostalgia is a part of being a fan and I miss the Masked Kane.
PPV Quality Match, but Why?
Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus brought Pay Per View to Smackdown this week when they went head to head. This match had all the pieces for a great title match. The only problem is that neither competitor carries a title.
Sheamus does carry the stigma of the Money in the Bank briefcase though which would lead me to believe that his title run is coming sooner rather than later. Every Money in the Bank winner has become World Champion after obtaining the briefcase so his time is coming. Could Sheamus and Ziggler be setting themselves up for a feud this summer?
Currently Ziggler is being pushed toward a possible feud with Rusev which would do nothing for him as far as being pushed for a title run. I don’t see Rusev becoming involved in Heavyweight Title contention so it would seem that right now Ziggler is being held back once again. The way Ziggler has been used on television recently is disappointing to me as it seems he is ready to be a major title holder again.
Sheamus currently has no real storyline push, which is good for him because it leaves his options open for SummerSlam where he will most likely cash in his MITB contract. If he maintains this course of putting on quality matches while maintaining heel status, it should set him up as a fighting champion instead of a one and done type.
New Day Striking Gold?
The New Day has continued to impress me as a group of heels that we love to hate. I am ready to see the evolution of the tag team division as NXT stars begin to arrive on the main roster. The New Day will get the titles back as I think the brass at WWE realize that they almost killed a cash cow by giving the titles to PTP.
I believe that New Day will continue their run of promoting false positivity until they explode and become a powerful faction in the WWE. I can see a scenario where New Day becomes a driving force in the WWE’s resurrection of tag team wrestling and factions.
Xavier Woods is golden on the mic and as a hype man. I just would hate to see him break away from the New Day as he could play a pivotal role in the tag team explosion that is coming. The way he cuts promos while a match is going on is fantastic. He can be mid move and talk smack on an opponent. I love what he is providing for the New Day right now.
They lost the match on Thursday, but I believe they will ultimately win the battle as the best tag team in the WWE and as its biggest heels.
Quick Thoughts
* I don’t know why, but I love Bo Dallas’ character right now. He is going to fit in really nice if the New Day faction actually becomes a “thing”. He is a great in ring competitor as well which helps him as well.
* Rusev will be back from his injury soon and hopefully wraps up this Lana nonsense. It is played out and ready to be swept under the rug. Ziggler will never get a run with Rusev shadowing him like this.
* I am sort of done with the Divas division right now. I will recap the matches, but as far as my opinion goes, right now it is not worth my time. Maybe when the NXT Women get to the main roster it will be worth it. But right now it just Bellas vs Paige and that’s it.
* Roman Reigns needs to embrace this Bray Wyatt/daughter storyline right now if he expects to keep being pushed like he was before Lesnar came back. This might be the best he can get for a while until Rollins is ousted as Champion. (Yes it is coming, it is inevitable)
* The main event was another chapter in the Ambrose and Rollins book. It may have been the final chapter as it would seem that Rollins will now focus on Lesnar which I guess would mean Ambrose gets stuck with Kane (Poor Guy). That doesn’t look good for Ambrose as it seems that Kane makes people disappear if you know what I mean.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment below. Have a great weekend.
Follow me on Twitter: @DustinHolland84