WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 9/12: The Headbutt, The Kevin Owens Show, Styles vs. Tye, Ziggler, Usos lose belts, Jinder and Singhs

SMACKDOWN HITS

The Kevin Owens Show: Starting with the opening and throughout, I enjoyed Kevin Owens’ appearances, and got a kick out of how he conducted himself around the other superstars. They did a good job of keeping the viewer reminded of the pending storyline, and it was enough to build anticipation for Mr. McMahon’s appearance later on in the night.

Styles vs. Dillinger: I’m only giving this a minor hit, due to the talent involved, and the quality of the match in the amount of time that they had. I did have an issue that the match was kept relatively short, and feel that on another night, this could have gone longer, and been better. More on that later.

The Usos vs. The New Day: I thought both opponents did a great job of telling a story, and really enjoyed their match together. Both The New Day & Usos have great chemistry, and the feud has been nicely built to where I continue to look forward to their matches. I did have a problem with the result, which I will explain below.

Vince/Owens: This was a really intriguing and great close to the show. I liked how they quickly wrote off the Owens lawsuit, and moved on to setting up the match with Shane. Even at 72, Vince still commands the screen, and I couldn’t believe that he took the hits that he did. It helped elevate the story, and adds more interest to the match. In addition, I feel that this is the type of segment that will help build Kevin in his career, and I look forward to what they do next.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Jinder Mahal/The Singh Brothers: I was incredibly disappointed with this segment, and for a few reasons. Firstly, I feel that Jinder’s championship run has been poor, and it seems that many times he has been more of an afterthought instead of being in the forefront, which is where the WWE Champion should be. Secondly, I’m usually not a fan of the juvenile jokes that the company likes to rely on, and thought that there were other ways that Jinder could dress down Nakamura. Finally, while I’m usually a fan of The Singhs’, their acting has been way over the top in the last few weeks, and even for a big wrestling fan, it has me wanting to reach for the fast forward button.

The Usos Lose: While the match was well done, I was not a fan of The Usos losing the Tag Team Championships. I feel that the team has been working very hard and have done a good job with their characters and match quality. In addition, I think that it makes more sense for them to have the championships, since they are the strongest heel team on the roster, and have more interesting challengers.

Dolph Ziggler: Just like this segment, I feel that my criticisms are becoming repetitive. I like Ziggler, but this is getting him nowhere, and it’s not entertaining. Just like last week, he “impersonated” 3 wrestlers, and each character change got a lesser reaction. Another thing is that it’s almost hypocritical. The man still comes out to an entrance with bright pink lights, was known for swiveling his way to ring, talking to the crowd, and likes to “show off.” After 4 weeks, it’s time to move on or change it up.

Too Much Content: I’m all for building up the show, and while I enjoyed it, I feel that it may have suffered from having too much in this 2 hour episode. There were 3 title matches, as well as the big segment with Mr. McMahon. On top of that, you had other filler, which cut into match time. Since Smackdown has been really promoting episodes as of late, I would have liked to see them move 1 of the championship matches to next week in order to give all 3 of them more time.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 9/5: Ziggler’s segment, Shane-Owens, Ellsworth and Carmella, Shinsuke and Orton, more

Jeff has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was knee high to a grasshopper (little kid), after coming across the Wrestling Challenge episode after WrestleMania 7, and has not looked back. His passion has led him to winning wrestling trivia contests in his city, and even won him his Senior Talent Show by dancing to Shawn Michaels theme song. When not annoying others with wrestling talk, he loves spending time with his family and friends, and focuses on his other passion: movies. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @the_Indel or send him an email at indelpw@gmail.com. See you next week!