WWE Smackdown Review
July 17, 2015
By: Dustin Holland of Wrestleview.com
Hello and welcome to this week’s review of WWE Smackdown. This week was the go home show leading up to Battleground this Sunday in my hometown, St Louis, Missouri. This show lacked any real push towards the PPV which is outside of the norm lately. The last few Smackdown go home shows really provided something towards closure before an event upcoming for that weekend. Aside from a final push for Reigns vs Wyatt and a decent match between Cesaro and Rusev, this week’s episode was missing everything needed for an entertaining show. I think the only thing that would have made people watch was the hope that there was some news on the possible “Returns” of either Sting or Undertaker upcoming.
Bulgarian Crushed
The match between Cesaro and Rusev was obviously the most entertaining match of the night. This match carried over from RAW and ended with Rusev’s first loss on Smackdown. Rusev being back will provide a lot of guys opportunities to be put over if they face him. Cesaro is obviously gifted in the ring but I just don’t see this going anywhere. Triple H has had so many project guys that have just faded away i.e. Damien Sandow and Shelton Benjamin. This guy Cesaro is way more talented than either of these two and I would like to see him get the opportunity at Main Event Status. Time will tell.
Main Event?
This non main event did nothing but provide a push for the Wyatt vs Reigns match at Battleground. This would have been a middle of RAW type match and would have probably had a low match rating from my colleague Mike Tedesco. They tried to make it somewhat about Sheamus and Orton but to no avail. This was just a loose end to tie up before Battleground and these were the Best Superstars Available for a Smackdown taping. Ambrose isn’t even in a match at Battleground. I guess the best hope for him is to see if Reigns needs help during his match. Ambrose is another guy being wasted right now.
Quick Thoughts
* The Lucha Dragons are the most entertaining Tag Team in the ring today but are always second fiddle to the New Day or Prime Time Players. The New Day did what they came to do and built up hype for the championship match this Sunday.
* Jack Swagger is a whipping boy and if he didn’t quit already, which is the rumor going around, I would. The poor guy (sarcastic laugh) works hard but will never get anywhere. He has a history of being sloppy in the ring and last night was no different. There were multiple snafus and the match was boring. R truth made that segment pop or it would have been really bad.
* Neville continued to impress me in the match with Stardust. Stardust is primed for his feud with heroes and Neville just provided some fire for Stardust to get it going again. It was good to see Stardust back in action.
Favorite Moment: I’m sorry, but I find R-Truth very funny. Maybe it’s the child in me, but I find his shtick to be hilarious. My Favorite moment is seeing the water come out of his “scepter” (plunger) as he swung his arms around declaring himself king.
Least Favorite Moment: The main event was very disappointing and left me wanting something more to close out the show.
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Let’s get some predictions for Sunday’s Battleground PPV in the discussion area. What will happen? Will there be a Return of Taker or Sting? I will be there live and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us.
Thanks for Reading. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you thought of the show. Have a great weekend!
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