WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 2/20: Ziggler’s lack of defined character, Bludgeon squash, Animated Promos, Jinder Mahal-Bobby Roode

HITS

The Bludgeon Brothers: I have really enjoyed the slow progression in building up this tag team. Harper & Rowan are great together, and the weekly matches against local teams are showcasing their abilities effectively. I also am appreciating the interruptions as they try to establish dominance over their fellow teams.

Nothing Else: While there were definitely some misses (below), the rest of the matches and segments were nothing more than okay and didn’t really belong as a Hit or Miss.

MISSES

Jinder Mahal: What may have worked last week with Jinder trying to turn Bobby Roode against Randy Orton, this week was a different story. Mahal supposedly having Roode’s Top Ten list did nothing for the crowd, or the segment, and went too long. While it may have been intentional from the writer’s perspective, anyone with an IQ could see through Mahal’s plan, so it would have been beneficial to give the fans something to actually question while building up a sense of drama to the story.

Inconsistent Characters: Is Dolph Ziggler a face again, or a heel? Right before “walking out” a few weeks ago, he told off the fans and said that they didn’t deserve him. Now he’s returned, still has the record scratch/spotlight entrance, but has been booked as an underdog working to accomplish a goal against two heels in two weeks. How can you get fans invested when they’re confused as to what’s going on?

Animated Promos: Every week that the WWE continues to broadcast selfie videos with animated words will come with a Miss stamped on it. I cannot begin to explain how annoying it comes across to this viewer. Did they seriously put “KNOW” on the screen when Baron Corbin was talking? Separate brands or not, this segment came across even worse following the great episode of Raw, which treated the wrestling more seriously and sports-like. Since this show has been dogged in the past for copying Raw, I suggest that the writers take a page from Monday night and drop this ASAP.

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 2/13: Owens & Sami attack Corbin & Ziggler, Logan vs. Flair, Animated On-Screen Text, New Day and Pancakes