WWE Smackdown Review
October 25, 2016
By: Adam Martin of Wrestleview.com
With only Survivor Series in the sights just a few weeks away, team blue pushed forward with the continuing saga between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose on Tuesday night.
We had a hint earlier in the day that James Ellsworth would most likely be part of the show tonight and I was very glad to see WWE keep him around after a series of great appearances the last few weeks including a very fun main event.
And what a difference a week makes. Smackdown was forced to follow up a very well done return of Bill Goldberg last week. Reality came crashing down with RAW this week in what Mike Tedesco coined Vince McMahon as being “embarrassingly out of touch at this point.”
WWE delivers with another solid main event
I’m always impressed what WWE can accomplish in a two hour time slot building to a main event. RAW seems to really struggle with that kind of pacing these days, but the writing team for Smackdown Live just seems to really get it. The great setup all night of James Ellsworth wanting to repay the favor to Dean Ambrose was great including Ellsworth sulking like a little kid backstage until Ambrose caved. While the collective “we take wrestling seriously, guys” crowd will probably throw another hissy fit this week, I personally love the Ellsworth character and really enjoyed his presence at ringside tonight. The finish was really fun with Styles getting in a nasty looking baseball slide/dropkick to Ellsworth at ringside and then Ellsworth hulking up for some No Chin Music to cost Ambrose his chance at earning another shot at the WWE World Championship.
Orton gets much needed shake up
Last week in my review I noted how bored Randy Orton looked in his promo to open the show. Fast forward a week and we now have some really interesting character development with Orton that was sorely needed at this point in his career. I recall a few years back what a great babyface reaction Orton was getting rebelling against The Authority on RAW only to have another injury sideline those efforts. I’ve openly stated how less than thrilling his feud with Bray Wyatt has been so far including some very corny backstage segments. Despite all that, having Orton’s character seemingly give up and join the antics of the Wyatt’s is interesting and something that has a lot of potential.
Quick Thoughts
* Becky Lynch is getting flat out goofy (not in a good way) with her promo delivery.
* How much longer does The Ascension remain on the main roster at this point?
* Nikki Bella was the right call as Team Captain for Survivor Series.
* I’m still pretty surprised at how much staying power The Spirit Squad has had.
Overall Impression
Another pretty good show from Smackdown this week capped off by a really good main event. I’m certainly seeing the frustration from people tuning into RAW every Monday night and I can’t recommend this show enough if you are deciding to skip out on it. That being said, Smackdown has a trying few weeks including going up against the Presidential election results in two weeks and Survivor Series that is still three weeks away.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you though of Smackdown in the comments below.
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