SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
SMACKDOWN HITS
Opening Segment: I enjoyed Shane McMahon opening the show, and addressing the attack on his Father. Shane kept it serious, short, and to the point, which I felt was the right way to go. There are still a few weeks until the match, so I would expect the emotions to escalate again as we move closer to Hell in a Cell.
Randy Orton vs. Aiden English: I really liked this match, and enjoyed the back and forth between the combatants. In my opinion, English has really been improving over the last few weeks, and I’d like to see him get a push. He got in plenty of offense, which could be considered surprising, given his opponent. The RKO was a nice cherry on top to conclude a fun contest.
Rusev: Firstly, I loved the callback to Summerslam, with Rusev now getting a 10 second victory over Randy. It can now lead to a third encounter which will up the fan anticipation. Secondly, the celebration afterwards was fantastic. Rusev had displayed disappointment last week in his loss, so I would have expected nothing less than a gleeful Bulgarian Brute following such a quick win.
Kevin Owens: Just like Shane’s promo earlier, I enjoyed the seriousness that Owens displayed. He acknowledged his attack on Vince, but then directed it towards his opponent, which was the right call. As the weeks go on, I’m looking more and more to this match.
Main Event: I thought this was a good main event. While I had thought that Charlotte would be the victor, there was some unpredictability to the outcome, which was great. Charlotte and Natalya had a nice little feud in NXT, so it will be nice to see it on a main stage. However, I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with what led to the main event. More on that below.
SMACKDOWN MISSES
Jinder Mahal: I discussed last week how poor, juvenile, and overacted Jinder’s segment was, and this week it was worse. It appears that anytime a wrestler refers to something on the screen, like Shinsuke’s face, that they don’t know when to stop and overdo it. Four times was more than enough. Secondly, the race thing was unnecessary. I don’t know if they’re now trying to make Mahal a hypocritical heel, but there are other ways to build this feud, and it’s not working.
Women’s Segment: I know that there is not much depth on the women’s roster, but it has grown tiresome to see everyone enter a segment when it’s time to determine a new number one contender. If you want to have the superstars wrestle to win an opportunity then that’s fine, but they don’t need to constantly interrupt each other. Just book the match, and call it a day.
Dolph Ziggler: See all of my previous week’s columns. The crowd and this viewer have gotten restless. In fact, the person that finally interrupts these may become one of the biggest babyfaces on the roster.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 9/12: The Headbutt, The Kevin Owens Show, Styles vs. Tye, Ziggler, Usos lose belts, Jinder and Singhs
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!
I have this horrid thought that it will be a returning Hogan interrupting Ziggler. Although it also could be a returning DX. In either case Dolph is getting buried, could he be crated off to training school AGAIN? Jinder was awful this week I could tell he wasn’t buying into the racial crap but he has to say what’s written for him. The sad part is this will follow him after his title run is over and after his WWE run is over. He needs a mouthpiece, perhaps Daivari could be resuscitated? I was pleasantly surprised that English was allowed to get some offense in, Randy is back paying his dues raising all these other athletes to a higher level in 2017. And I’m on the bus with Jeff and the multi-lady segments, although let’s add the fatal fourways, funky five-ways, six pack train wrecks and anything else WWE is pulling just so we can watch all the pretty ladies walk down the ramp.
It’s pretty obvious that Dolph will get interrupted by Bobby Roode’s glorious entrance one day.