WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 10/3: Shane McMahon-Kevin Owens developments, Natalya & Carmella vs. Charlotte & Becky, Shinsuke-Jinder angle, Hell in a Cell hype

SMACKDOWN HITS

Opening Segment: While it wasn’t great, the show got off to a decent start between Shinsuke Nakamura and Jinder Mahal. I was happy to see it take on a more serious tone and get away from the poor storyline that has been driving this feud for the past few weeks. I still feel that the WWE Championship is undervalued right now, and am holding out hope that things will change direction after this Sunday.

Natalya/Carmella vs. Charlotte/Becky Lynch: This was a nice little match that moved at a quick pace, but was entertaining. The biggest positive was seeing Natalya get the victory over Charlotte with the Sharpshooter. While understandable from a booking perspective, there are too many times in wrestling where someone has a submission finisher, but never gets anyone to tap out. It was good to see Natalya get that victory, and put over the seriousness of that move.

Shane-Owens (The Good): While this feud has been strong, there were a few things in the last segment that I enjoyed, and things that I didn’t. For the good, I enjoyed the brawl in the merchandise stand, as well as the continuation of it when Shane returned. The head-butt from Owens was a nice call back to his attack on Vince, and I thought that it brought everything full circle to their match Sunday.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Overall Show: With this being the last show until Hell in a Cell, I was expecting this to be more exciting; however, I felt there wasn’t a whole bunch that stood out. It felt mediocre, and told fans that it’s something they probably could have skipped, which is a poor message to send. What has been frustrating on my end, is that there is focus on the same wrestlers/feuds every week, without any consideration for other wrestlers in the roster. It feels repetitive, and fans begin to forget about everyone else on the roster. In fact, in just 2 weeks, we have seen Randy Orton vs. Aiden English & Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin twice. Meanwhile, the Fashion Files was promoted to return this week, only to be bumped to Sunday. Speaking of tag teams, where’s Benjamin & Gable? You could probably pick any episode from the last 3 weeks, switch them around in the rotation, and it wouldn’t hurt anything.

Shane-Owens (The Bad): While it finished strong, I got the feeling that the show was figuring out ways to fill time with this segment. Shane called out Owens, only for them to drag it out, and move up to the stands, where it finally picked up. Then, as KO made his way back to the ring, they pretty much showed the entire attack that we had just seen not more than a minute prior. It just seemed to go on too long, and for something that has been a strong feud so far, didn’t need that much filler.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell’s views to mine by visiting ProWrestling.net’s “Hitlist” section HERE.

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 me an email at indelpw@gmail.com.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 9/26: Owens-Sami, Jinder and the Singhs, Rusev/English-Orton, Charlotte-Carmella, Ziggler’s Glorious Conclusion