WWE Smackdown LIVE Discussion Thread

[Saddlerrad]

Ask requested by the members of this section, a thread dedicated to the Smackdown LIVE Brand ONLY!

 

[Luke]

Well I hope tonight's show is an improvement on last week.

Also reports would suggest Smackdown are getting exclusive tag and women's titles, predictable but makes more sense I guess.

 

[Baz]

I may look back on SD more fondly when it sinks in a bit but yeah...

Pros

American Alpha debut
Ziggler vs Wyatt in the main event
Baron Corbin looking very dangerous
Lesnar bites back
AJ/Cena promo

Cons

Apollo Creed (Thanks Daniel Bryan haha)
Utterly dead crowd
Eva Marie getting injured by dropping down off the middle turnbuckle BEFORE the match starts
No Womens match at all
Predictable booking for IC Title #1 contendership match

 

[Stevencc]

A curious mix of the absolute shite (Cena's promo, the Eva Marie thing - I'm still not sure whether that was a work or not) and the excellent (the main event, Lesnar's appearance) with a wedge of average to good thrown in for good measure.

Oh, and Carmella is the most annoying person ever.

 

[Who Needs Mourinho]

A curious mix of the absolute shite (Cena's promo, the Eva Marie thing - I'm still not sure whether that was a work or not) and the excellent (the main event, Lesnar's appearance) with a wedge of average to good thrown in for good measure.

Oh, and Carmella is the most annoying person ever.

I actually quite liked the Cena promo - mainly for AJ - but Cena was surprisingly tolerable, I think the time away from the main event scene has made him a bit fresher.

The Eva Marie injury was a definite work, she is going to be absolutely despised, which should be fun to watch.

Agree on Carmella, surely she should be a heel with that persona.

 

[Christian Slater]

The Cena segment with AJ was the most generic, plug-in and play promo they could have possibly done. I mean, how many times do people have to see the same old shit before having enough of it? Just because Cena is impassioned doesn't make it good material, it just shows the amount of practice he's had at it. A complete waste of time, I thought they were heading for a "loser leaves WWE" match with how it began, but no, just a match.

I thought they missed an opportunity to have Ziggler lose, even by shenanigans, and start an interesting redemption angle with him. As I said last week, this is rushed and does nobody any favours.

A decent show in all.

 

[Christian Slater]

And the only good thing about the AJ & Cena bit happened on the aftershow:

https://twitter.com/DeathToAllMarks/status/760670046951772160

 

[Baz]

Re AJ/Cena...I expect a gimmick to be added to it before the event, maybe last man standing or winner gets a WWE title shot? Either way AJ is going over and Cena will move on to Corbin.

Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk

 

[Christian Slater]

I'd be shocked if AJ went over, even if Cena has a poor Summerslam record.

 

[Oaf]

Eva Marie getting injured by dropping down off the middle turnbuckle BEFORE the match starts

This was clearly a work and I actually think it's GENIUS.

Look, I hated Eva Marie as much as the next guy. In fact, I genuinely always tell people that one of my favourite parts of being at Wrestlemania this year was experiencing the reaction she got, she got every bit as much hate as Roman Reigns did that night and it was hilarious.

But they're actually making her work. That entrance is fucking hilarious and just works. And now... they're just playing on what everybody has always said about her. "She doesn't really want to be a wrestler, she just wants to be famous"... "you can't wrestle" chants... well, to me, it looks like that's the exact fucking gimmick they're going for. Finally comes out to have a match... oh, she's injured. And she'll keep getting injured. Or whatever. Basically, she'll keep looking as if, yeah, she does want to wrestle... but she's got a convenient excuse not to. She's getting the fame she wants without actually having to wrestle and people will DESPISE her for it.

 

[Baz]

Oh I know they're playing the heat magnet card perfectly and no doubt they'll use all the excuses in the book for her to avoid physical contact. I expect her to take glory in tag team matches too.

Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk

 

[Captain Scumbag]

The most encouraging aspect is that they seem to have dispensed with Lunatic Fringe cartoon crazy man Dean Ambrose, which is an iteration of Ambrose I can't stand. He's a great talker and in interviews (as Jon Good) the guy exudes a "couldn't give less fucks" cool that is perfect for a anti-hero babyface role, so all that loony toons stuff with the weird ticks, exaggerated mugging and talking to potplants was just so stupid and misplaced. The Dean Ambrose we got on Smackdown was a million times better. Hopefully they'll stick to that.

 

[RavenBish]

Agreed. He's still one of the least interesting in-ring performers on the roster though when you consider he's been wrestling for 12 years - post-Shield I'm really struggling to think of one match of his I've enjoyed.

 

[Stevencc]

I've allowed myself to be seduced by Eva Marie.

 

[Luke]

Alexa Bliss

Just spent my evening watching (fast forwarding 75%) of Raw & Smackdown and I have nothing really to say on either, found both boring.

 

[Baz]

SD was slightly better than Raw for me....

 

[Stevencc]

Agreed, RAW was shite this week and though Smackdown wasn't amazing it didn't have to be to top RAW.

 

[Oaf]

I am also fully on the Eva Marie hype wagon. She is going to take the womens division to new heights.

Agreed. He's still one of the least interesting in-ring performers on the roster though when you consider he's been wrestling for 12 years - post-Shield I'm really struggling to think of one match of his I've enjoyed.

I generally agree with that, he doesn't have many great matches... but, his first feud with Rollins after the shield broke up produced some amazing matches. Their lumberjack match at Summerslam (I think?) that year was superb. A SUPERB LUMBERJACK MATCH. I didn't even know that was possible.

 

[iesty wfc]

so you probaby knew that the gold standard Shelton Benjamin was meant to be re-debuting on Smackdown but unfortunately he is suffering from a torn rotator cuff, so will be on the shelf for 6 months at least

 

[Luke]

While it was nothing amazing I didn't mind Smackdown this week and preferred it to Raw, think they did a good job of building up Summerslam (apart from Miz/Crews, the build up to that has been crap).

Naomi's new entrance is a bit different isn't it fuck me, full on rave!

I see Del Rio & Paige have been suspended for 30 days, wonder what has gone on there.

 

[Scott Barton]

We get the hype how great Smackdown live will be yada yada...

and......

it's clearly not delivered anything new yet.

 

[Luke]

Eva Marie is also now suspended for 30 days, that's the Summerslam 6 diva thriller fucked!

 

[Libertine]

She's immersed herself into the gimmick.

Smackdown has been overall piss-poor since it started IMO. Really flat (crowd hasn't helped) and just feels so small time compared to Raw. Especially the title picture. Shame. I'm an Ambrose fan but he's been real bland recent recently, was hoping after Stone Cold challenged him on the podcast he might be a bit fired up to prove him wrong but he seems to have done the opposite. Understand the modern environment is difficult but he can be much better.

 

[Bluebird_Dai]

If you haven't I suggest everyone watch Talking Smack. The Miz quite literally destroys Bryan in one hell of an intense interview. If it doesn't make you love The Miz then nothing will.

 

[Stevencc]

If you haven't I suggest everyone watch Talking Smack. The Miz quite literally destroys Bryan in one hell of an intense interview. If it doesn't make you love The Miz then nothing will.

I'm no Miz fan but that was great.

 

[Bluebird_Dai]

 

[Luke]

Haha that's brilliant.

Thought Smackdown was alright again this week, think I'm preferring smackdown at moment, might be cos it's shorter. I'm even getting used to the different camera angles.

Stage looked decent this week, assume that's the new design?

 

[T.A]

Fair play from the Miz. Not sure why you could ever call the Miz a coward. I find his heel persona a bit boring sometimes but he's alright in the ring and adds something different at least.

 

[RavenBish]

They really need to shift the belt onto Styles at Backlash.

 

[Eamonn]

The Miz promo was fantastic, hopefully they build from it, one of the best characters in WWE. I am not feeling Ambrose as champ as much as a face anyway, he comes across like a dick and needs to be a heel, I hope we get a double turn at Backlash, AJ needs to be a face. I would have Dean get desperate and cheat to win when he is about to lose, Ambrose alluded on Smackdown that Ziggler lacks what it takes and AJ will do anything to win like he would. AJ then wins the title at the next PPV. I like the current Orton but not excited by a feud with Wyatt, who needs to be a face himself, the current character is long stale, shame he got injured when a face turn was incoming. Similarly, I think Ziggler needs to be a heel. So AJ and Wyatt as the top faces, Orton and Cena as the experience and putting over, Ambrose, Ziggler, Miz as the heels, possibly a Corbin push also. I am generally liking Smackdown, good wrestling, some better character development but still work to be done. Also, Slater has been superb lately, he could do well if utilised correctly. I think the draft has been a good move, but when the NXT guys like Nakumua, Joe, Aries, Roode get called up, going to get a lot more interesting.