TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – SMACKDOWN: Shane vs. Bryan heats up, Women’s Invasion continues, Jinder attacks Singhs, plus Random Thoughts

Shane vs. Bryan Heats Up…

Recap: Shane McMahon led off the show in the ring. He expressed disappointment at Owens and Zayn not being fired by Daniel Bryan last week, and invited Bryan down to the ring to discuss. Bryan stated that he believed in second chances, and reminded Shane that like Owens and Zayn, sometimes Shane’s temper gets the best of him. Bryan also emphasized that Owens and Zayn have tremendous talent, that they deserve opportunities, and that Bryan isn’t a yes man for management. Shane wasn’t pleased, and made the main event between Owens and Orton a no DQ match with Zayn banned from ringside. In the match itself, Zayn nonetheless interfered, hitting Orton with a steel chair on the ramp. This allowed Owens to finish off Orton with a frog splash.

Evaluation: The conflict between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan over the Owens-Zayn situation continues. Despite Bryan being the more sympathetic of the two to the heels Owens and Zayn, Shane is still coming off as a heel here. The actions of the roster directed by Shane during “Under Siege” came across as clearly heelish and set the table for this characterization. Last week, Shane’s decision to slack off and head back to the hotel while delighting in the misfortune of Owens and Zayn likewise came off as heelish. With Daniel Bryan’s popularity, Shane likely would have come across as a heel in this conflict in any event.

During his promo, Shane continued cheerleading brand loyalty, stating that everyone other than Owens and Zayn “bleeds blue”. Now that Survivor Series is over, this type of talk seems especially out of place. If WWE truly did create a different feel between the two shows this angle could work, but that’s clearly not the direction they’re heading.

My first reaction to Shane’s no-DQ stipulation while banning Zayn from ringside was that the two stipulations effectively canceled each other out. If Owens couldn’t be disqualified, what motivation would there be for Zayn to honor his banishment from ringside? As it turns out, my reservations at the top of the show were well-founded, as like me Zayn immediately recognized this loophole. I would’ve preferred more logical consistency here.

Forecast: It’s obvious that the Bryan-Shane feud will continue heating up, but to what end? It seems that WWE’s legal team has advised the company not to allow Bryan to wrestle. With that in mind, I can only predict that Bryan and Shane will end up having wrestlers or teams of wrestlers align with each of them, battling each other as proxies for Bryan and Shane.

The Women’s Invasion Continues…

Recap: Backstage, Natalya informed Naomi and Charlotte that she was willing to put differences aside to team up against the recent NXT callups. A six woman tag match was then set against Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan. During a backstage interview, Ruby, Sarah, and Liv revealed their new stable name, the Riot Squad. During the match itself, Natalya quickly became frustrated and abandoned the team. Sarah and Liv isolated Naomi on the outside, taking her out using steel steps. The Riot Squad then defeated Charlotte in what had become a 3 on 1 handicap match.

Evaluation: In isolation, there is nothing wrong with this angle. However, the problem is that it’s an exact carbon copy of the women’s invasion on Raw. Last night, the invaders were booked in a six woman tag match, revealed their new stable name, and then were able to turn the six woman tag into a 3 on 1 handicap situation. Literally the same thing happened tonight on Raw. Unless some connection is later revealed, this comes across lazy booking.

Then again, to paraphrase Corey Graves’ comments tonight on my fellow Garden Stater Liv Morgan, I’m writing this analysis from the streets of New Jersey, and since you can’t turn left here you never can know what’s going on in my head.

Forecast: Based on what we’ve seen so far, watch Raw on Monday night and you’ll know exactly what to expect from this angle next Tuesday.

Jinder Turns on the Singh Brothers…

Recap: Before the Singh Brothers vs AJ Styles handicap match, Jinder Mahal jumped AJ with the Singhs. As a result of the pre-match ambush, AJ was beaten for most of the match. He was however able to reverse a Frankensteiner attempt into a Styles Clash from the second rope for the pin. A frustrated and embarrassed Jinder Mahal attacked the Singhs after the match.

Evaluation: I’m higher on Jinder Mahal than most. I think he’s got a great look, carries himself with a good confidence and attitude, and has passable main event ring work. The angles that have been written for him to date have been pretty awful, but I can’t blame him as I doubt he’s in any place to protest. Thankfully the awful promos blaming his heel heat on xenophobia ended some time ago, but he has continued to look excessively weak in most matches due to the Singh Brothers’ interference. While it’s common for heels to benefit from interference, Jinder’s booking thus far has taken this too far, making him look less than credible as a main eventer.

I was heartened by his recent match with AJ Styles, where he looked much better and relied less on the Singh Brothers. Tonight made me more optimistic that his booking could improve, as I’m hoping the attack on the Singhs will either result in a split or at least have them off-air for some time.

Forecast: It would be great if tonight’s events left Jinder without the Singh’s for a while. This would give him the opportunity to look stronger in his matches. AJ Styles will likely continue to hold the WWE Title for some time, however a legitimate US Title angle for Jinder Mahal would be perfect.

Random Thoughts…

The slow-moving double-turn for the Usos and Gable-Benjamin continues. The Usos seem to be full-on faces tonight, playing along with Big E’s gift of pancakes out of his tights. Gable and Benjamin did act like heels in their match tonight, but on the other hand they received praise from the Usos on commentary regarding their talent. The Gable-Benjamin half of the double-turn seems to be the slow part….

The Bludgeon Brothers looked pretty good in the ring, but their outfits and music still have an ’80s cheese feel….

After Mojo Rawley’s heel turn tonight, it will be interesting to see if he continues to be an afterthought or if he enters the mid-card picture in earnest. Since winning the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, he’s essentially been MIA…

NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW: Reigns, Absolution, Balor – Recap, Evaluation, Forecast plus Random Thoughts