SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
SMACKDOWN HITS
Opening Segment: After a week off, it was good to see the WWE Champion open the show. I thought that his promo was solid, and that he came across motivated and ready for the PPV this Sunday. While it started strong, The Singhs came across as borderline cheesy, but the course was corrected when Jinder appeared. I also liked A.J. referring to The Singhs accompanying Jinder to the ring last week in India. I was one of the fans who saw WWE post that, so it would have come across dumb if they simply ignored it.
The Yep Movement: This was a great arc throughout the show, and a nice call back to the actual Yes movement a few years ago. I like how Owens and Zayn are trying to get on Bryan’s good side, and doing whatever they can to get him to help them out. Kevin & Sami are gelling extremely well together, and they came across as obnoxious without being annoying. Bonus points to the team for taking Bryan’s old Yes! shirt and recreating it to say Yep!
Rusev/English vs. Usos: Another solid effort from the team that celebrates Rusev Day. With 2 consecutive wins, it’s doubtful that they’ll win on Sunday, but it still builds them up as a legitimate threat to the tag division, and makes them look strong. I also enjoyed them continuing the 12 Days of Rusev from last week.
Shinsuke vs. Owens: This was a good main event, and logical, since Zayn faced off against Orton last week. I liked the pre-match & post-match interviews, as it continues to give the story some depth. In my opinion, Shinsuke & Orton are more background players, so I’m glad that they (or Orton) had some interview time, along with a solid match from Shinsuke. With that said, I found myself starting to get a little annoyed with Byron Saxton continuing to call out Bryan on commentary. I understand the need to plant some doubt in the fans minds about what will happen, but it started to get a little overbearing at times. Other than that, good effort.
SMACKDOWN MISSES
Charlotte vs. Ruby Follow-Up: Firstly, the match was short, and with all the wasted time during the episode (more later), it seemed pointless to even have this match. Secondly, Smackdown has been criticized lately for essentially copying the Absolution angle from Raw, and it continued again as just like Monday, the rest of the women’s roster joined forces to stand up to the Riott Squad. I understand that we have the Lumberjack match this Sunday, but it just continues to be lazy writing.
Lots of recaps: This episode was full of recaps this week, which amounted to a lot of time that was wasted. In a show where the KO/Zayn/Shane/Bryan story took up close to half of the show, I felt it was unnecessary and cut into other possible segments (such as the Charlotte vs. Ruby match). It seemed like the writers were just spinning their wheels until the PPV, and only wanted to focus on the minimum until next week.
Jeff Indelicato 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. He 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. Follow him on Twitter @the_Indel or send him an email at indelpw@gmail.com.
NOW CHECK OIUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 12/5: Orton vs. Sami, Shane, RKO out of Nowhere, Bludgeon Brothers, Riott Squad, Rusev & English vs. New Day
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