WWE Smackdown Review (Layin’ The Smarkdown!)
February 5, 2016
By: Alex Kahrs of Wrestleview.com
OH WRESTLEVIEWNIVERSE, DON’T YOU DARE BE SOUR! CLAP FOR YOUR LOCALLY WORLD FAMOUS SMACKDOWN REVIEW, AND FEEL THE POWWWWAAAAAH!
Welcome to another fun edition of Layin’ The Smarkdown, where yours truly talks about the great and less than great things about this week’s episode of Smackdown! Since they didn’t mess around long before starting the show, let’s do the same shall we?
Reigns/Rusev: Good opening match, it was interesting to have things kick off with a match instead of a promo. Good action from both guys leading up to the finish, and setting the tone for later in the night. Nice touch with the post-match, especially the accident of Dean hitting Roman.
Ambrose Interview: Great follow up to what happened in the opening contest, focusing on that one spot and asking if that is a sign of things to come. Ambrose with a great response, basically saying there’s a time and place for everything and that was neither. Again, good building toward the tag match later tonight.
Kalisto/Owens: Loved the clash of styles between Kalisto and Owens here, and the finish was unique. Good stuff to build the feud between Owens and Ziggler, as well.
Miz Interview: Miz being as much of a jerk as usual is nice, and I quite liked the way this bridged the gap between Miz TV on RAW and their singles match on Smackdown.
Ryback/Rowan: Interesting change of attire for Ryback, and a good match overall between him and Erick Rowan. Was a little surprising to see Rowan lose here, but overall this was fun to watch.
Lynch/Banks Interview: Great interactions between Sasha and Becky, and I do like the idea of them reluctantly agreeing to deal with Team BAD while also acknowledging their desire to be the Divas Champion. Stuff like THIS is what a Divas Revolution should’ve looked like, but at least we’re getting it now.
Miz/Styles: This match was fun! Some great action as you could expect from Styles, and Miz was surprisingly good as well. Interesting to see the Styles Clash still teased after getting it last week, but getting the Calf Crusher makes me think they’re trying to help show off all that Styles is capable of. Side note: I can just picture the Creative meeting now…
“Okay, what kind of moves does this AJ Styles guy have?”
“Styles Clash, Pele Kick, Calf Killer…”
“Calf Killer? Oh no, the sponsors won’t have that!”
“Calf Crusher?”
“Much better.”
Post-match between Jericho and Styles was great as well. Can’t wait for the rematch next week on Smackdown!
Reigns Interview: Again, great follow up on the beginning of the show and a great setting up for the main event. Continuity like this within the show is what I really enjoy in anything I watch, wrestling or otherwise.
New Day vs. Social Outcasts: This match was better than it had any right to be. Say what you want about Social Outcasts, I’m mostly just happy Creative found SOMETHING for them to do. The pre-match antics from both groups was hilarious, and I really enjoyed the match itself. Good win for New Day, good effort from Social Outcasts, and I’m all the better for having watched this.
Divas Match: Good match from both women. Not a whole lot to go on, but what was there was good. Fox with the Northern Lights Suplex is one of my favorite minor things about the Divas division.
R-Truth/Goldust: It was hard to cover all the details of the segment itself, but I enjoy what they’re doing here and look forward to where they go from there!
Main Event: A great main event playing off all the pieces laid out in the segments before it. Great action from all four guys, but it’s the brief recall to the beginning of the night that was amazing.
That’s it for this week! What did you think of Smackdown? Are you excited for AJ vs Y2J Part 2 next week? What’s your take on New Day facing off against Social Outcasts? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @Power2TheSmarks! Until next time, this is Alex Kahrs reminding you to be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!