WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 12/19: Ziggler walks away from U.S. Title belt, Rusev & English, Usos vs. Benjamin & Gable, Charlotte & Naomi

HITS

Opening Segment: This was a decent segment that answered some questions, and advanced the storyline, without moving too fast. Firstly, I liked Daniel Bryan addressing the Women’s Rumble first as it was treated as a huge moment at the end of Raw. The tension between Bryan and Shane McMahon was strong at Clash of Champions, so it was good to slowly progress that without leading to Shane firing Bryan (yet). Even though Bryan fast counted Orton at the PPV, he is still coming across as the sensible one in this feud, so it’ll be interesting to see what the next logical chapter will be. It was also nice to see a break from Shane punishing KO & Sami, and just move on.

Usos vs. Benjamin/Gable: This was a good match, and I was glad to see B & G get the win. Over the last few weeks it appeared that B & G were sliding back down the ranks, so it was good to see them show some strength. Big marks for Chad Gable, who continues to make the most out of his time in the ring. I really appreciate the team’s athleticism, and it makes me question what could have been had they left American Alpha together.

Rusev/English: I love Rusev Day, and I love these two together. They are incredibly over, and I hope they continue to move up the ranks. That being said, I rolled my eyes more than a few times during their match on the show. More later.

Dolph Ziggler: This was a minor hit, as I felt there were some good things and some meh things. I’m a fan of Dolph, and I really was excited to see him become U.S. Champion. He has had so many start/stop pushes, that I was anticipating his segment to see where they went with it. The clips of previous championship wins started out promising, but after a while, they became repetitive. Him dropping the championship in the ring was intriguing enough that I am interested to see where they at least go with it.

Six-Man Tag Main Event: This was a really good match from all men. They’ve all been fighting against each other or teaming together for so long that they seem to really have gotten their chemistry down, and have made their matches entertaining. While it was good, my one hope is to see this main cast of characters moved around soon, as it is still incredibly repetitive. One thing to note thought is that this is not a knock on the actual wrestlers nor the match itself.

MISSES

Charlotte/Naomi: There were a few things that I didn’t necessarily care for in this segment. Firstly, I am in complete support of a Women’s Royal Rumble, and I am excited about it, but all of these Women’s Revolution speeches have really been overdone. Yes, Women’s wrestling is very important, but we don’t need to get the same type of speech every time something historical happens for the Women. When Charlotte told the fans how they were responsible for it all, it just came across as pandering and watered down from the last time we heard something like this. Naomi coming out further brought the segment down, and her slang comments surely didn’t help.

New Day vs. Rusev/English: I get that the WWE is all about entertainment, but why do they always have to have some sort of cheesy holiday match? They are not as funny as the company may think, and it is something I’d expect to see on a Saturday morning kids show. Both teams acting like getting their face shoved in whipped cream is the same as getting punched in the face is laughable, and not in a good way. It’s these types of things that insult the fans intelligence, and lose the occasional fan who may have stopped to watch for a minute.

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 OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 12/12: Nakamura vs. Owens main event, Yep Movement, Charlotte vs. Ruby, Rusev & English vs. Usos, Styles Promo