This week was the true start of the "New Era" according to the WWE, and it certainly seemed like it after Monday Night. Tuesday brought us the first Smackdown Live after the brand split. The "Blue Brand" had a lot to live up to, which was a truly impossible task.
I will get this out of the way... Smackdown was nowhere near the quality of RAW this week. But to be fair, next week's RAW probably won't be anywhere near that high bar either. Smackdown has a much smaller roster, with very little depth in the mid card (as of now) and they have two divisions with nothing to fight for in the tag teams and women. That being said this show had some highlight moments and has some things to look forward to. They also did some questionable things too. Before we do that let's talk about the new look and feel for the show.
Much like the other show, Smackdown got a new intro with a new song to boot. They had a new set and had a lot of blue everywhere, including the ropes. The Smackdown announce team is located at ringside, not the stage area like RAW. The show didn't feel as fresh as RAW as the camera work was more traditional WWE. There were a few new camera angles, but nothing as eye-catching or creative as what we saw on Monday.
The Good
Well let's start with the opening and announcing a big main event with all the top guys. They had a match to look forward to at the end of the program, which was smart. They also had added value to the opening match by having the winner of the battle royal enter the Six Pack Challenge for the #1 Contendership for the WWE Heavyweight Championship.
This leads us to the second good part. Pushing a young, newer talent. Apollo Crews won the opening battle royal. I am all for having a younger guy winning this matchup. They could have had either Del Rio or Kane win, but that would have been boring. Having Apollo win adds depth to your roster, which it so desperately needs.
Shelton Benjamin is coming back! This is going to add much needed depth and a recognizable name to the roster. I don't think he should be high up on the roster, but a strong mid card could be built with guys like Shelton and the other returning star, Rhyno.
The vignette for American Alpha was well done and showcased their accomplishments and their characters. It also gave us something to look forward to next week, although I don't think we should be waiting... but we will get back to that later.
The biggest hit is the main event, and particularly the result. This match was a lot of fun, even with the commercial breaks. The closing stretch was compelling and everyone had a moment to shine in this matchup. The shocking part is Dolph Ziggler getting the big win that puts him in a major match at Summerslam. They are clearly rehabbing Dolph, and I hope that in the next month we see a true evolution of his character. The dude is super talented, but has been completely lost for well over a year now. This also helps Smackdown's depth issues as Cena and Styles can be away from the title while Bray Wyatt builds up his resume to hopefully main event down the line.
The Bad
Well... Obviously they weren't going to top Monday's show, as WWE may not top that for months, but I did feel this show under-delivered. There were a few things they could have done to make this show feel fast paced, fresh and exciting, however they went for a slow, dull approach in many cases. This two hour program felt as long as RAW to me which was just over 3 hours. Let's start with glaring issue #1...
I cannot say enough how much I disliked the Randy Orton and Miz segments tonight. I thought the Miz TV segment was lame and the match was both boring and harmful. The Intercontinental Champion... the only other champion on your friggin show, the Miz, should not be losing in a non title match to Randy Orton. Randy Orton isnt' competing for the Intercontinental Championship, this was a warm up for Brock Lesnar. Why? You could have had him face anybody, why the Miz? This stunk, and the crowd wasn't even that into it. RAW did a good job of utilizing most of their talents last night (outsided of Curtis Axel) and this show felt flat for several people who were being highlighted.
Overall Thoughts
This show honestly wasn't terrible. It just wasn't as good as it could have been. We do have something to look forward to next week in the debut of American Alpha. We also don't know when Shelton is coming back, so that's intriguing. I am really hoping we start to get an idea of where they are going with their mid card very quickly. I am hoping Daniel Bryan or Shane announce new championships since it looks like they are taking this brand split seriously for the time being.
This brand split can work. They have the talent to get there. They just need to show faith in the talent they have and give them the right opportunities to shine. They also can call guys up from NXT or bring ex-WWE guys in to boost the roster a tad. For the time being, RAW is the better show moving forward. That was what WWE wanted, as it is still the flagship. They didn't completely screw Smackdown though. They have a very good selection of main event talent, and if Dolph is being elevated there, it makes for a much more diverse main event scene.
Ultimately, WWE seems to have done something good. Smackdown is relevant again for the first time since the last split ended. RAW feels fresh and exciting. WWE is pushing two unexpected guys into main event matches. I will be writing shortly about where we go from here, and look at how Summerslam is shaping up. Get excited, my friends. Wrestling is interesting again!
The Bad
Well... Obviously they weren't going to top Monday's show, as WWE may not top that for months, but I did feel this show under-delivered. There were a few things they could have done to make this show feel fast paced, fresh and exciting, however they went for a slow, dull approach in many cases. This two hour program felt as long as RAW to me which was just over 3 hours. Let's start with glaring issue #1...
This roster is small. It is severely lacking the depth that RAW has, particularly in the mid card. They didn't do themselves any favors this week by putting six of their top guys in the same match, making the rest of the show feel light. This shouldn't (hopefully) be an issue moving forward , as they should be spreading the talent from the six pack challenge throughout different programs.
I will also take this time to mention the lack of depth in the Womens' department, as the segment with all six wrestlers in the division came across badly. The only highlight of all of the women arguing was Eva Marie's ridiculous narrator. The match between Becky and Natalya was fine, but the lack of relevant talent and any championship to fight for is going to make this side of WWE's Womens Division hard to watch. This issue will also be relevant for the tag teams, who also don't have a championship to fight for at this time. These issues can be rectified, but they need to get there within the first month and a half of this launch, or this will fall flat early.
Overall Thoughts
This show honestly wasn't terrible. It just wasn't as good as it could have been. We do have something to look forward to next week in the debut of American Alpha. We also don't know when Shelton is coming back, so that's intriguing. I am really hoping we start to get an idea of where they are going with their mid card very quickly. I am hoping Daniel Bryan or Shane announce new championships since it looks like they are taking this brand split seriously for the time being.
This brand split can work. They have the talent to get there. They just need to show faith in the talent they have and give them the right opportunities to shine. They also can call guys up from NXT or bring ex-WWE guys in to boost the roster a tad. For the time being, RAW is the better show moving forward. That was what WWE wanted, as it is still the flagship. They didn't completely screw Smackdown though. They have a very good selection of main event talent, and if Dolph is being elevated there, it makes for a much more diverse main event scene.
Ultimately, WWE seems to have done something good. Smackdown is relevant again for the first time since the last split ended. RAW feels fresh and exciting. WWE is pushing two unexpected guys into main event matches. I will be writing shortly about where we go from here, and look at how Summerslam is shaping up. Get excited, my friends. Wrestling is interesting again!
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