By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of The
SmackDown Files. Tonight marks the official debut of SD Live! on the USA Network
with a brand new roster. After last’s night hot episode of Raw, the blue brand
has to bring the heat in order to compete.
They do have a reason to brag as Dean
Ambrose kept the WWE Championship on SD which gives the show a much needed
boost in terms of excitement. However, the mid-card scene is shallower than a
Kardashian which is a major cause for concern. Outside of the established main
eventers, some wrestlers need to be built up ASAP. Who will answer the call and
rise to the occasion? The answer to that question can be found throughout this
blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s episode of SmackDown
Live! in no particular order.
·
The
new SmackDown Live opening intro is…Flashy.
·
A
new number one contender for Dean Ambrose’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship
will be decided via a Six Pack Challenge featuring John Cena, Dolph Ziggler,
Bray Wyatt, Baron Corbin, and AJ Styles. The sixth spot will go to the winner
of a battle royal featuring the rest of the SD roster.
·
This
was a good way to counter Raw’s opening from last night. It was simple and
straight to the point. I will say that the red brand’s visual presentation is a
touch better than SD’s.
·
This
Battle Royal is thin on believable threats and talent. It’s a little
concerning.
·
Mauro
Ranallo tried to make Zack Ryder look good by saying he nailed a dropkick to
the back of Kalisto’s head only for JBL to undercut him by saying Ryder missed
the mark. He’s 100% right, but there is a way to clean it up without making it look
too bad for the viewers at home.
·
Moments
later…
·
Ryder
is having a bad night in the ring. At least JBL tried to save face this time
around.
·
Apollo
Crews eliminated Kane to clinch the final spot in the Six Pack Challenge scheduled
for later tonight. The final four featuring Crews, Kane, Kalisto, and Ryder was
okay. There was some sloppiness that detracted from the match a bit, but it was
fine for the most part. The mid-card is lacking in depth right now. Several wrestlers
need to be revamped in order for fans to take them seriously. Hopefully, the SD
creative team will remedy this situation over the next few months because this
Battle Royal was hard to invest in at times because there were no legit
contenders that stood out from the pack.
·
Shelton
Benjamin is coming back! That is something I can definitely get behind. He is
super talented and can easily give the SD roster a boost in the credibility and
experience department.
·
Becky
Lynch and Natalya had a pretty good match that kept the crowd’s interest
throughout. Lynch made Nattie tap out to the Dis-Arm-Her to pick up the win. It
was nice to see Lynch pick up a quality win for a change.
·
Lynch’s
moment was ruined as Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Carmella, and Eva Marie made their
presence known. Carmella put a little too much stank on her promo which made
her slightly annoying. Bliss was spunky and cocky. Naomi appeared to turn over
a new leaf as a babyface which suits her much better in my opinion.
·
Eva
Marie stole the damn show by having her own ring announcer read a bunch of
bullshit superlatives to describe her awesomeness. I will say that her all-red
everything outfit put everyone to shame. As a female, I have no problem saying
that her body was banging from head to toe. Despite that fact, looks can only
take her so far. She’s in the big leagues now. If this was 2007, she would be
the hottest woman in the division. Times have changed and Eva needs to prove
her worth by showing it in the ring as a competent wrestler. She has shown
small flashes of what she can do when she’s not overthinking things in her head. Let’s
see if she can step up to the plate and cement her place in the Women’s Division
on SD.
·
Random
question. Will the women be getting their own title since The Women’s
Championship is exclusive to Raw? I need Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon to fill
in the blanks for me. Same goes for the Tag Team Title situation as well.
Fighting for pride is nice, but having some gold on the line adds incentive to
show up and show out every week.
·
The
Miz weaving in all of Randy Orton’s catchphrases only to introduce himself as
the guest on his talk show was pretty funny.
·
Here
comes The Viper!
·
I
have no idea what has gotten into Orton, but I am digging his carefree
attitude. He is having FUN as a babyface and that is something I have never
seen outside of him completely destroying The Authority on the mic last year on
Raw. He needs to stay this way permanently.
·
The good news for Miz: He looked like a badass
for a grand total of three minutes.
·
The
bad news for Miz: He got hit with an RKO out of nowhere. Twice. That was a nice
warmup match for Orton. It was nothing special, but it was effective.
·
Heath
Slater meet Rhyno. Rhyno meet Health Slater. Gore! Gore! Gore!
·
I
will give Slater credit for showing great fire on the microphone. That might
have been the best promo he has cut in his entire career. If WWE actually takes
his character seriously, he might be a good hand for Raw or SD.
·
It
looks like Rhyno is going to be on SD as a veteran mid-carder. He was revitalized
on NXT and can add some major cred to the blue brand as well. It’s sorely
needed at this point.
·
Wow.
Dolph Ziggler is going to SummerSlam to face Dean Ambrose for the WWE World
Heavyweight Championship. I am a little shocked.
·
The
Six Pack Challenge was easily the best thing on the show and it’s not even
close. The action was pretty good for the most part. Everyone had a chance to
shine. John Cena got a chance to run wild by hitting everyone with an AA only
to be drilled with the Phenomenal Forearm by Styles. Unfortunately, Styles got
nailed with a sick Superkick from Ziggler which ended any chance he had at
co-headlining the biggest party of the summer.
·
The
process of elimination was in full effect as I removed Cena and Styles from
championship contention before the main event started. They are still in a
heated feud and it would have made no sense for either man to be chasing a
title right now unless it was strictly a one-on-one affair against each other.
·
Therefore,
it would come down to Wyatt, Crews, Corbin, and Ziggler to punch their ticket
to SummerSlam. Wyatt would have been a bad choice because he and Ambrose have
faced each other too many times for it to feel special right now. Crews had an
outside shot, Corbin would have been a bland choice because he has more to
prove as a wrestler and character, and Ziggler was the scraps left on the
table.
·
The
Showoff has been beaten down for well over a year. Some fans have lost confidence
in him, but SD can be the place where he can start fresh. A heel turn would do
him a world of good. Ziggler’s babyface turn from a few years ago has run its
course and I think he has what it takes to be a villain if he doesn’t get too
cheesy with it. SD is the land of opportunity and taking ballsy risks will make
them stand out from Raw. They need a spark and a Ziggler heel turn might do the
trick. Let’s put his Twitter handle to practical use, shall we.
·
Overall,
I thought tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live was decent at best. There was not
a marked difference in how the show was presented outside of a few nifty camera
angles. The biggest issue SD is facing right now is the lack of mid-card
talent. It is skimpy right now and it seemed as if WWE had to stretch out the
show because of it. As I mentioned
earlier, several wrestlers need a serious reboot. The Battle Royal was an
indictment on how thin the roster is right now. Outside of the top five draft
picks and American Alpha, SD is borderline snooze worthy.
·
If
the blue brand is being portrayed as the underdog, they are winning by a
landslide right now. It’s like the tree from A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s ugly, but a little love would help
it grow and flourish. There are a few solutions to help SD Live forge its own
identity. They can sign some free agents, see if Raw is willing to make a few
trades in order to help both shows, or wait until after NXT Takeover: Brooklyn
to see who they can get to shore up their roster. Until then, the creative team
needs to get on the ball and shake things up. This is a live show now. The crowd
will be more attentive, but they will sit on their hands if the in-ring action
has no rhyme or reason to it. It’s going to take some patience, but I have to
believe that SD Live! will become must-see television in due time. Daniel Bryan
can rally the troops, but the follow-up is key. Let’s hope they can get the job
done. Fingers crossed!
On
that note this wraps up this week’s edition of The SmackDown Files. I hope you
enjoyed it and I will be back next week with a brand new installment of The Raw
Exposé. See you later, boys and girls!
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