WWE Smackdown Review
September 10, 2015
By: Adam Martin of Wrestleview.com
The common opinion I hear about Smackdown as a weekly show is that it just kind of exists. You either watch it every week or catch the spoilers. Quite frankly, WWE doesn’t exactly treat it as must-see programming every week.
Yet I find myself parachuting in from time and time and really enjoying the show. Nothing overly important happens on the show. It’s a very straight forward approach to pro wrestling on television. Storylines keep moving. Recaps happen. It’s fine.
This week featured another good Smackdown main event (a change of pace from the usual tag team match) and kept storylines interesting heading into Night of Champions. It’s not exactly a show you can get angry at watching. It’s around and enjoyable.
Seth Rollins, Ryback and Lumberjacks
We are around two weeks from seeing exactly what the WWE plans on presenting with Seth Rollins vs. Sting at Night of Champions. I could get angry about why Sting is getting a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship so quickly. I could criticize why the segment on RAW this past Monday with the statue wasn’t really all that good. What’s the point? The entire premise of Night of Champions is the odds being stacked against Seth Rollins, including another tease from Sheamus cashing in his briefcase in two weeks. This is perfect for the Rollins character and they kept the train rolling on Thursday night. The main event featuring lumberjacks was a nice change of pace from a tag team main event. Dropping Kevin Owens into the finish made it entertaining. It was a solid way to close the show.
The Wyatt Family presentation remains strong
The internet crowd isn’t a fan of Bray Wyatt promos apparently. Does the actual content of your average Wyatt promo maybe need some work? Maybe. The delivery remains solid and the addition of Braun Strowman has really taken The Wyatt Family presentation to another level of great. Tossing in Jimmy Uso this week at the reluctance of Roman Reigns added another solid element on Thursday night. For an act that was really starting to grow stale, WWE has found a way to revitalize The Wyatt Family in 2015 in a great way.
The Divas have a solid night in Wilkes-Barre
I’m not sure what happened, but the presentation of Paige and Sasha Banks was just off the charts great this week. Someone finally told Paige to calm down and she came off great in front of the live audience in Wilkes-Barre, including her backstage pre-match promo. Sasha Banks just exudes charisma and overshadows both Naomi and Tamina greatly at this point. I don’t even know how you will be able to convince wrestling fans why Team B.A.D. should remain a thing with how great Banks would be on her own.
Quick Thoughts
* It’s really nice to see Cesaro finally connecting with the WWE audience.
* Big E dancing, Kofi slapping his hands and Xavier Woods’ trombone are just great.
* The Ascension might finally be catching on with the addition of Stardust to the fold.
* Charlotte is clearly getting more comfortable talking and showing some great potential.
Overall Impression
Another good episode of Smackdown. It certainly wasn’t a good sign to see the viewership dip below two million viewers last week. With only a few months remaining of the show on Syfy before the big move to the USA Network in 2016, it will be interesting to see what we will get out of this show going forward. It’s clearly not RAW and maybe that’s a good thing.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you thought of Smackdown in the comments below.
Follow me on Twitter: @adamwrestleview